Popular Gateway Middle School and Elementary Principal Todd Gazda announced at the budget hearing last night that he will be taking the position of Superintendent of the Ludlow School System, effective July 1. Elementary Principal Megan Coburn will add grades five and six to her coverage. (Photo by Amy Porter)
Gateway administrators present budget version 2.0
By Amy Porter
Hilltown correspondent
Gateway Regional School Superintendent Dr. David Hopson presented Budget Version 2.0 for Fiscal Year 2013 before approximately 30 school and town representatives at a hearing last night in the Gateway auditorium.
Kicking off presentations by various school representatives, Dr. Hopson said, “Gateway has reduced its budget in the last four years by almost $1,400,000.” He noted that Gateway has also lost $958,000 in state aid over that time, and has still reduced town assessments by $310,374 overall (-3.1 percent). Hopson said contrary to what has been reported in various news media, “We have not passed on the loss of revenue to the towns.”
Hopson explained that in the budget there is an overall 2.5 percent increase in assessments to the town of $236,878 due to decreases in state revenue, despite a decrease in expenditures. However, the assessments to Middlefield and Worthington are actually decreasing, while Blandford, Montgomery and Russell are increasing more than 2.5 percent. This is due, Hopson explained, to a combination of the towns’ minimum contributions (based partly upon the ability to pay) as determined by the state, and the number of students enrolled in Gateway as of March 1, 2012.
Hopson then took a moment to congratulate Todd Gazda, Elementary and Middle School Principal for his new position, effective July 1, as Superintendent of Ludlow Public Schools. In anticipation of Gazda’s departure, Hopson said, a new administrative structure is presented in the budget. The elementary and middle school principal position, currently held by Gazda, will be eliminated, and Gateway will return to a PreK-6 and 7-12 administrative structure, with a principal and assistant principal for each of these levels, resulting in a savings of approximately $75,000. Littleville Elementary School Principal Megan Coburn will add grades five and six to her coverage, aided by Elizabeth Bienia as assistant principal. Currently, Bienia is assistant elementary principal based in Chester, which she will continue to cover. The high school administrative structure will remain unchanged.
In order to address the equity issue between the two elementary schools, the budget also moves a teacher from the Littleville Elementary School to the Chester Elementary School resulting in a savings of $69,930, and an increase in the staff/student ratio at both schools.
Version 2.0 of the budget also reduces the stabilization request from $105,000 to $75,000.
Hopson said, “As a percentage of the budget, we’ve done what we’ve been trying to do for years, increase the actual amount spent on students.”
Also presented at the hearing were reports on technology, special education, curriculum, business & finance, and grant funding. Before taking questions from the audience, Hopson thanked the school administrators for their hard work on the budget, which he said, does not greatly impact student services. “When you start talking future cuts, you will directly impact student services.”
Hopson then called on Andy Montanaro of the Blandford Finance Committee, who thanked all the presenters, and said he appreciated all of the work that was being done at Gateway. Montanaro then said, “We are being asked to contribute an increase of 4.6 percent, and at this point that amount of funding is beyond our means.”
“Blandford has zero percent stabilization. Your stabilization means I don’t have stabilization. Your pay raises will negate our pay raises in our town,” Montanaro continued. “Provide the best educational possibilities at the level the towns can afford. The bottom line is we are asking that the increase to our town be 1.6 percent. That will not take all of the pressure off, but we do think the schools need an increase. This is what we believe we can afford.”
Pandora Hague of the Russell Select Board then commented that she believed that Dr. Hopson, as superintendent, should be lobbying state legislators for more funding for the district. “I want you to write to Congressman Neal,” she said. “You should be writing these letters.”
Aimee Burnham of the Huntington Select Board asked if it were true that the Gateway School Committee does not need to consult the towns before expenditures from the stabilization fund, as per the original agreement. Dr. Hopson responded that he checked with legal counsel following the last meeting when the question was asked. Hopson said that the law now requires a two-thirds vote of the School Committee for expenditures. “Legal counsel said the School Committee can vote to go to the towns and invoke the original policy, but they (the School Committee) have the override. That would be up to the School Committee,” Hopson said.
Burnham responded, “Any big purchases should have input from the towns.”
Phil Winterson of the Russell Finance Committee, who originally brought up the issue, said, “The new law does not prohibit the conditions voted by the towns several years ago, namely any money coming out of the stabilization fund should require a vote from the towns.”
Winterson added, “On the budget itself, I would like to compliment the School Committee for taking the vote for a level-funded budget.” He said that he had concerns about deep state cuts in regional school transportation. “When the Governor submitted his budget,” Winterson said, “Regional transportation was supposed to be level-funded. This is an area we all need to focus on. I would hope that Finance Committee and Select Board members all contact their legislators.”
Gateway Business & Finance director Stephanie Fisk responded, “If the Governor level funds regional transportation, it’s still a loss to the district, because the money stays the same, and costs go up.” Fisk added that Gateway changed their bus routes in recent years resulting in savings, but consequently their reimbursement also went down. “Dr. Hopson has asked for an incentive for districts that save money in this area,” Fisk added.
After further discussion from the audience on cost cutting, Dr. Hopson said, “The school district has already made up $957,000 in shortfall. We are your number one employer in the seven towns. 80 percent of the employees here live in the district,” noting that future cuts will result in loss of jobs.
As to the suggestion to bring legislators to Gateway for a meeting, Dr. Hopson responded, “Yes, we could certainly have them come in.”
