Meeting Minutes of January 16, 2007

Regular Meeting of the AMHERSTSchool Committee

Tuesday, January 16, 2007, 7:00 p.m.

High School Library

 

Present:            Andy Churchill, Chair                              Jere Hochman, Superintendent

Tom Flittie                                               Susan Kennedy Marx, CF Asst. Principal

Elaine Brighty                                          Mark Prince, WW Principal

Alisa Brewer (arrived at 7:23 p .m.)         Russ Vernon-Jones, FR Principal

Paul Wiley, CF Principal

Nick Yaffe, MM Principal

Rob Detweiler, Dir. of Finance & Operations

Public

Press

Debbie Westmoreland, Recorder

 

Absent:  Sonia Correa Pope

 

1.  Welcome                                                                                        7:00 p.m.

A. & B.  Call to Order/Agenda Review—Mr. Churchill called the meeting to order at 7:04 p.m.  He then reviewed the agenda and welcomed everyone to the meeting.

C.   Minutes—None

 

2.  Announcements and Public Comments                                        None

 

3.  Superintendent’s Update                                                              7:05 p.m.

Dr. Hochman noted that on Wednesday, January 17 there will be a
parent input meeting for the elementary school budget at Crocker Farm
beginning at 7:00 p.m.  In addition, Dr. Hochman’s Budget 101
presentation will air on ACTV several more times during the next two
weeks.   It was noted that the next Budget Advisory Committee meeting
is scheduled for January 24 at Noon.  The group will continue the
discussion of the pros and cons of an override. 

 

4.  Unfinished/Continuing Business                                                  7:10 p.m.

A.  Policies for Approval—Mr. Flittie made a motion to
approve the following policies, which have already been approved by the
Regional School Committee, as a block: 

• Policy 400.14 Students: Tobacco Use
• Policy 700.06 Staff: Tobacco Use
• Policy 230.10 Prohibition Against Firearms and Other Weapons
• Policy 410.20 Students: Field Trips and Overnight Travel

Ms. Brighty seconded and the motion passed unanimously.  Mr.
Churchill thanked Ms. Brighty for all of the work she is doing in
updating the policies.

 

B.  Budget Development Meeting #3: General Overview—Dr.
Hochman noted that January is the month during which the district is
gathering input regarding the budget.  He emphasized that the budget is
not built at this point. What is being presented tonight is a working
booklet for use as the budget is being built.  Dr. Hochman then briefly
reviewed the assumptions that are being followed in the budget-building
process.  Mr. Detweiler then distributed and reviewed a worksheet
outlining the projected changes in the FY08 budget.  He noted that as
the budget building process begins, most budget items are being moved
forward with no change.  Line items that reflect a change are those
that have a known, fixed cost that must be factored in.  Mr. Detweiler
explained that to meet the Finance Committee guideline of a 1% maximum
increase, the budget will require net cuts of $706,447.00.  Mr.
Detweiler then distributed and reviewed the document “Amherst Public
Schools: FY08 Base Budget Preparation Document.”  He noted that the
bulk of the lines show an increase of 0% to reflect what the budget
looks like when it is simply rolled forward with only the required
increases and decreases as outlined in the worksheet.  Dr. Hochman
explained the process that will be followed to review and determine
what will be added and what will be cut in order to build the final
budget.  Mr. Churchill reviewed the items that were cut in the budget
in FY07 as a reminder of what has already been lost in the district
budget.  He noted that these cuts are on top of major cuts that were
made in FY06.  Mr. Churchill expressed his concern about the effects
these cuts will have on all students, but particularly on those
students who are most at risk.  Dr. Hochman asked the School Committee
if they want to provide any particular direction regarding priorities
as these cuts are considered.  Ms. Brighty noted concern about the
different experiences students are having class by class due to class
size variations at the schools.  Mr. Churchill noted that he is glad
Dr. Hochman is meeting with staff and parents for input.  He stated
that he would argue hardest for trying to save those things that
support students at risk.  Mr. Flittie asked about the possibility of
shifting boundaries of the schools to save money.  Dr. Hochman said the
idea has come up in budget discussions with staff and that it is part
of the demographic discussion.  Ms. Brighty noted that the entire
supply budget for the whole district has been cut to $70,000 in a
budget of more than $19 million.  As a result, teachers must buy
supplies on their own.  Mr. Churchill stated that professional
development has been cut drastically, too, so teachers are also being
asked to do new things without training.  Ms. Brewer asked what the
timing is for releasing the specifics about the cuts that will be
made.  Dr. Hochman stated that the original plan has been to gather
input during the month of January and to release the final list in the
first week of February. 

 

5.  New Business                                                                                7:49 p.m.

A. School, Program and District Organization Discussion Related to Demographic Study—Mr.
Churchill noted that the district is about to undergo a demographic
study made by a non-profit organization (New England School Development
Council) to assist in making decisions about the best configurations
for the Amherst elementary schools.  He noted that the current boundary
lines are somewhat arbitrary and that there are some equity issues
among the schools.  Dr. Hochman said that this is a good opportunity
for the School Committee to give input about concerns they would like
to see addressed by the demographic study.  Mr. Churchill noted the
following equity issues:

 

• There are class sizes in kindergartens ranging from 14.5 all the way up to 26.
• One school has only 14% of the student population receiving free- and
  reduced-price lunch while another has a population of 53%. 
• One school has a 9% ELL population while another has a 20% population. 

 

He stated that he feels it is important to consider whether these
are significant enough issues to warrant making a change in the
schools.  He is also interested in looking at whether there are any
professional benefits to clustering the schools by grade level.  Mr.
Churchill noted that some drawbacks to moving from neighborhood schools
to grade-level schools could be reduced parent involvement,
transportation issues, opportunities for inter-grade level interactions
among students, and the ability to implement a grade-level system with
the buildings we have.  Ms. Brighty stated that it is also imperative
to learn from the demographic study how the population is changing
since these changes have a huge impact on the schools.  Mr.
Vernon-Jones expressed his appreciation that the district is gathering
data; however, he noted that there will be very different cultures
developed in grade-level schools.  He encouraged School Committee
members to ensure that there will be visits schools that have any
alternative type of structure that may be considered.  Mr. Churchill
stated that if other configurations come under consideration there will
definitely be visits to other districts before any changes are made. 
Mr. Yaffe encouraged the School Committee to look at The Cambridge
Model when they are considering any potential changes.  Ms. Brewer
asked who will be in charge of determining models that should be
considered during this process.  Dr. Hochman noted that the public
engagement process will be important, much as it is in the Town’s
Master Plan.  In addition, it will be important to map out a long-range
plan.

 

6.  Reports                                                                                          None

 

7.  School Committee Planning                                                          9:12 p.m.

A.  Sub-Committee Reports—Dr. Hochman reported that the
Budget Advisory Group met for the first time last Friday morning.  He
noted that the idea of the group is to gather input on the school
budgets from community members whose expertise is in finance.  They
will be asked to scrutinize the budgets and ask the tough questions.
The group is scheduled to meet again on January 26^th at 8:00 a.m.

B.  Calendar Review—AmherstSchool Committee on February
13, Elementary Budget Meeting, January 17 at Crocker Farm, January 30
AmherstTown Budget Forum

C.  Items for Upcoming Meetings

 

8.  Adjournment                                                                                  8:37 p.m.

Ms. Brighty made a motion to adjourn at 8:37 p.m.  Mr. Flittie seconded and the motion passed unanimously.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Debbie Westmoreland

 

Approved 2/13/07