HUNTINGTON – The Gateway Regional School District began 2017 budget discussions at Wednesday’s School Committee meeting with a proposal that is $400,000 less than this year’s budget without dramatically impacting student services.
Using a combination of realignment of responsibilities due to the scheduled retirement of two senior administrative officials, returning to a middle school model, closing one administrative office, and closing the school at 10 p.m. instead of 11 p.m., “We think we can come to a reduction of $405,000 with no layoffs,” Dr. David B. Hopson, Gateway superintendent said.
Hopson had been charged at the last School Committee meeting with creating a budget that backed out the $630,000 in mitigation funds received this year to lessen the impact of Worthington’s withdrawal, but that added in 2.5 percent cost of living increase, for a total cut of approximately $400,000.
Retiring will be Joanne Blocker, director of academics and Alice Taverna, pupil services director. Hopson said that he does not plan to replace Blocker’s position, but instead reassign her responsibilities to several other staff, including Wendy Long, district grant writer, who will take over her Title I and Title II responsibilities, and to Jason Finnie, junior and senior high school principal, among others.
“One of the nice things about planning this far ahead is that I’m working closely with Joanne on Title I responsibilities,” Long said.
Title I is a federal grant program that provides financial assistance to schools with high numbers or high percentages of children from low-income families based primarily on census poverty estimates and the cost of education in each state. Title II provides assistance for language instruction for limited English proficient and immigrant students.
Another change the administration is looking to make is moving the fifth grade back to the elementary school, and returning to a sixth through eighth grade middle school model.
“If we move the fifth grade into the elementary – last year, we were going to have some layoffs and larger class sizes,” Anne Marie Buikus, School Committee member from Montgomery commented.
“Last year, we were looking at K-6, not K-5,” said Megan Coburn, elementary and middle school principal. Coburn said due to one retirement and one teacher who left over the summer, there would be no anticipated layoffs.
“I’ve been doing some creative thinking,” Coburn added, including the idea of a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineer and Math) teacher who would work with all the classes.
“As the way things have happened, seventh and eighth grade have been dragged into the high school model due to teacher sharing,” Jason Finnie, junior and high school principal said. He said the new model would allow for the most opportunities for student groupings, and less teacher sharing with the high school. “This is a good thing about a potentially bad situation,” Finnie added.
Coburn was asked if fifth grade students would balk at returning to the elementary school.
“If kids haven’t gone to the middle school, they don’t know what they’re missing,” Coburn said. “Parents think it’s a good thing.”
She said that they plan to have some changes between the upper and lower grades “to make them feel different, like they’re growing up.” One of the anticipated challenges will be how to keep fifth graders in the band program.
“We’ve seen a real struggle in the transition from elementary school to junior high with a high school schedule,” Finnie said. “Teachers think having a middle school model is a good thing.”
“There is also a huge curriculum benefit,” said Blocker, explaining that curriculum is set up on a K-5 model. “At least it’s going to be helpful for that.”
“I’m wondering if you are making any considerations to the high school in terms of making more opportunities there?” asked Jeff Wyand, School Committee member from Huntington.
Wyand said his concern was about advanced placement classes which have fewer students.
“Those are the things that we have to flesh out,” Finnie said. He said a lot of the details will be presented to the School Committee in a line item budget at its February meeting.
“I was wondering about the bus schedule,” said Tara Balboni, School Committee member from Russell.
“It will actually allow us to cut a bus,” Hopson said.
“I think what you’ve done is elegant and doable,” said Diane Dunn, Chester School Committee representative. “We have to make cuts, and I think you have used a nice sharp scalpel instead of a blunt axe.”
“I’m just going to commend the leadership team, teachers and staff,” Hopson said. “This doesn’t impact student services. It impacts what we as administrators do.”
