North Adams School Budget of $16.7M Holds Few SurprisesBy Tammy Daniels, iBerkshires Staff
01:47AM / Thursday, June 02, 2016 | |
 Chairman Mark Moulton, Tara Jacobs and Nicholas Fahey review the budget with Superintendent James Montepare and Business Manager Nancy Ziter. |
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The School Committee's finance committee is recommending a $16,744,198 budget for fiscal 2017.
Members Chairman Mark Moulton, Tara Jacobs and Nicholas Fahey motioned the budget after reviewing it with Superintendent James Montepare. The School Committee will hold its public hearing on the budget on Tuesday, June 7.
The proposed budget constitutes a 2 percent increase on the city side, with an additional contribution of $328,318 over this year. The total budget is actually up 3.52 percent but is being reduced through using $250,000 in school choice funds for salaries.
"This is a very true picture of the North Adams Public Schools spending protocol and map," said Montepare at Wednesday's meeting. "Every year we've gotten better and better at the detail of it and now I think there's a place for everything."
Montepare described the budget as straightforward and "fairly lean," with few significant changes but one that is building back some of the things lost since 2007.
"I think we've been able to put this together without compromising programming."
The proposed budget is a far cry from this year's spending plan, which saw the reduction of more than 10 positions as school officials tried to avoid the use of school choice funds.
The fiscal 2015 budget had depended on some $400,000 in school choice and officials were forced to use another $200,000 for an unexpected out-of-district placement. This year, $90,000 was used for technology.
One language teacher at the high school and 1.5 science positions who have resigned or retired will not be replaced, and a special education communications post in the elementary schools is being eliminated. An English Language Learners teacher is being added, replacing a tutoring teachers assistant, to comply with state certification. Each school is also being allowed to designate two permanent substitutes at $90 a day to ensure coverage and prevent the "madness in the morning" as principals try to find subs.
"It's easier to guarantee work for a few people than trying to sprinkle them all over the district," said Montepare.
Business Manager Nancy Ziter said the district should have $750,000 stored back up by the end of the year and the account is growing by $250,000 to $290,000 a year.
The district has relied heavily on school choice funds — monies that follow out-of-district children — since the economic collapse in 2008-9.
Montepare said the opening of Colegrove Park Elementary School and the redistricting and reallocation of staffing this past year had helped by dropping down to two classes per grade level, getting rid of "the highs and lows" in different schools, and there was a rash of retirements.
The Legislature is expected to pass a budget with an increase in Chapter 70 education aid allocations of $20 per student, which means about another $29,540 for North Adams' 1,477 or so students. Montepare said an additional $35 is also being considered, which could mean another $51,000.
If that $35 happens, he said the $51,000 will be used to offset some of the school choice funds.
"We'll see how that plays out ... it's always hard because the state budget isn't finalized," Montepare said.
He is hoping to see some restoration of programming "squeezed out."
That includes developing an athletic coordinator position. Currently the post is filled by someone getting a $4,000 stipend but Montepare said the envisioned scope of position would be too difficult for someone working on the side with a full-time job.
The coordinator would be expected to schedule not only varsity and junior varsity athletics, but also develop intramural sports at the elementary level and partner with other youth programs like T-ball and Little League.
"We've been having conversations ... about enrichment activities, how to keep kids active and engaged," he said. "Our numbers in sports have been dropping intramurally, have waned away, and other exploratory arts programs at the middle school level and high school level have just been squeezed out by testing, and MCAS, and frameworks. ...
"I think it's important to do everything we can to provide active engagement, for theater and drama, or wood workshop or horticulture or whatever it is, project based to keep kids on task and excited about what's going on."
Montepare said he hoped to use $30,000 from the school budget to match with $30,000 from the city to create a joint position that could also work on summer programs, youth sports and parks activities.
The school district has some 450 children in after-school programs and also runs a summer program for some 400 children.
The superintendent is also trying to build back up other programs, pointing to the successful drama and horticultural programs as examples. It could be photography, life skills, or more art and music, or business-related. The district is charged with preparing students for the world, and that isn't always a four-year college, he said.
"This was a tough year but it wasn't like last year or the year before," Montepare said. "We have spent a huge amount of time and energy to adjusting what we do ... there's no waste and we utilized whatever we can."
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