2012-01-09 School Committee Minutes

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January 9, 2012 Ms. Testa reported on the winter band and choral concerts, the upcoming drama production of "The Little Prince" and the upcoming Battle of the Bands. She also shared that the seniors are starting to hear back from school. It is an exciting time for them. 2. Liaison Mrs. Gibbs reminded the audience of the upcoming Coolidge Middle School production of Cinderella. Mrs. Janowski reported on the recent Thomas Darrin Wrestling Room dedication. It was a nice ceremony and was well attended. 3. Superintendent's Report 4. Assistant Superintendent B. Continued Business C. New Business FYI Budaet Presentation Dr. Doherty presented an overview of the FYI budget development process and calendar. He thanked the administration and budget parents for their role in the budget process and went on to thanks Ms. DeLai for developing a clear, concise and transparent budget document. The Superintendent went on to review the budget drivers which include the district mission and the Strategy for Improvement of Student Outcomes. The challenges faced developing this budget included the effects of 3 years of level funding, Federal Stimulus funding ends, unknown impact of state aid and health insurance costs, unknown kindergarten enrollment and the use of 1.5 million in reserves. In the development of the FY13 budget the district faced challenges that include absorbing the 3 years of level funding which accounted for the reduction of 34.8 positions, increased enrollment and class size, restoration of FYI reductions, addressing technology hardware replacement, addressing the social - emotional needs of our students, implementing the Common Core Standards and Educator Evaluation tool, and the need for continued improvement and innovation. Dr. Doherty outlined the district priorities for the FYI budget. Behavioral health of all students, continued growth and development of staff, low class sizes in grades K -2, middle school interdisciplinary model, 21" century learning initiatives, maintenance of the technology infrastructure, maintenance of our facilities and retention of all regular day programs are the outlined priorities. Ms. DeLai continued to review the FYI budget drivers. She pointed out that the teachers are not receiving step or COLA increases for the first year of their contract. She reminded the Committee that the Administrators and non -union employees did not receive increases last year. It is important to restore the cuts in per pupil funding to the schools as well as the return of the paraeducator hours that were reduced. The district must also absorb the cost of the salaries funded by the EdJobs grant. Ms. DeLai shared that we have benefitted from lower natural gas prices and have seen a savings and plans increased use of accumulated revenues in revolving accounts available to offset approximately $400,000 in expense in FYI 3.