Dear Everyone Learning at Amherst, Regional, and Pelham Schools:
While the budget is center stage for the community at this time, I can assure you that our students and their work is still center stage in the schools! And, student performances continue to be ON stage as our high school presents the Broadway musical, Urinetown this weekend.
I am enclosing the column that I sent to the Amherst Bulletin this week.
Have a great weekend.
Jere Hochman
Superintendent
Our teachers, staff, administrators, and School Committees are focused keenly on continuous improvement for our schools and greatness for our students. We now pursue our ambitious mission while fighting to protect the core and structures that define our unique schools.
Our unique schools: Our schools include 3,460 students. We offer a comprehensive, progressive (and non-standardized) curriculum with our eye on college for every student. A quick statistical review notes approximately 16% of our students are on special education Individual Education Plans (IEPs). Over 7% of our students are English Language Learners whose native languages represent over 30 different countries. Over 20% of our students are, by state definition, from low income families. While research indicates these statistics offer challenges for student achievement, when we say we focus on every students success, we mean every student!
Greatness: We aspire to awesome goals in our Amherst schools. While good schools seek high achievement for their students, welcome test scores above state averages, and limit their curriculum and focus to attain those scores, we aspire for more. Over 90% of our graduates attend two and four year colleges and universities including Yale, Princeton, Harvard, UMass, Maryland, Bates, and over 100 others. In 2004, the average SAT verbal scores of our students of color exceeded the state and national average of white students. Still, we seek continuous improvement. Our overarching goals include student achievement of high status knowledge and skills and the elimination of any predictability of student achievement based on race. In Amherst, good is just not good enough.
Current reality: The President and Congress have broken their promises to children with disabilities and those living in poverty as federal funds for IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) and reading programs diminish. While state legislators are opening their eyes to inadequate funding of Regional schools and may tinker with the overall school funding formula, real dollars from the state are still behind 2002 figures. Since 2001, the percentage of state funds has dropped from 43% to 37% (Region) and 39% to 30% (Amherst). In Amherst, the business-to-property ratio in town revenues remains at an approximate 10/90 split. Simply, our local schools are increasingly and dramatically dependent upon local funds and 90% of those funds come from local taxpayers.
The brutal facts: The budget process began by calculating a "level services" budget. Adjustments to maintain our current level of service included 1) adding those costs already contracted or predictable for next year (utilities, insurance, transportation, salaries, and others); and 2) expenses based on student enrollments to maintain the same level of service or compliance with mandates and regulations. These level of services budgets resulted in an approximate 10% increase over the current year Amherst, Region, and Pelham budgets. Following the planning of the towns finance committees, targeted increases are between 3 and 4%. In Amherst and the Regional schools, that means cutting $1.2 million and $1.9 million, respectively, from these level services budgets.
Looking ahead: There is no quick fix here. At the September 9 Comprehensive Planning Committee Forum, attendees were asked: What should be our long-range strategy to resolve our fiscal problems? Of the 215 sticky dots (two per person) placed on the five choices, 183 responded Increase non-residential tax base and Direct future development to where it will be easiest to provide services. Eight responded, Cut local services and 15 responded, Raise local fees. The message was clear: Develop long-range financial and strategic plans for recovery and don't raise taxes!
Discipline and Progress: We continue to look at efficiencies and duplication in our budget. We have implemented energy reductions (temperature drop in buildings) and other management efficiencies. We have frozen current year spending. We are meeting with legislators for support. We are seeking alternative and additional means of revenues. And, we are identifying cuts.
We will live within our means but we also plan to live up to your expectations. The former necessitates cuts. The latter necessitates protecting the core and structures for student achievement. Our schools maintain superior teaching, leadership, and support. Each provides excellent models balancing whole class instruction and supports for students with special needs; each provides for professional learning and enhanced home-school communication. We are designing curriculum, organizational support structures, safety procedures, new plans for evaluation and accountability, and more. After moving forward from previous years cuts, we must now take steps backwards with devastating cuts.
In Good to Great and the Social Sectors , Jim Collins notes the Stockdale Paradox: "You must retain faith that you can prevail to greatness in the end while retaining the discipline to confront the brutal facts of your current reality." Amidst this painful process, we will preserve that which makes the Amherst schools the Amherst schools, schools in pursuit of greatness for every student.
Jere Hochman is Superintendent of the Amherst, Amherst-Pelham Regional Schools, and Pelham Schools. He can be contacted at hochmanj@arps.org
Amherst School Committee
March 7, 2006
AGENDA
1. Welcome 7:00 PM
Call to Order
Agenda Review
Minutes--February 13, 2006
2. Announcements and Public Comments 7:00 PM
3. Superintendent's Update 7:05 PM
4. Unfinished/Continuing Business 7:15 PM
FY07 Proposed Budget
5. New Business (None)
6. Reports (None)
7. School Committee Planning 8:45 PM
8. Call for Executive Session (None)
9. Adjournment 9:00 PM
Upcoming Meetings
Monday, March 6: Budget Forum re: Schools, Bangs Center 9:30 AM
Tuesday, March 7: Amherst School Committee, ARHS Library 7:00 PM
Tuesday, March 14: Regional School Committee, ARHS Library 7:00 PM