Dr. David Hopson
As we enter a new ‘budget season’, particularly after the difficulty of the recent past, we are looking at how we can present information in an open, timely, and understandable fashion. The district seems to have the process down for informing people of school cancellations, delays, and early releases through using an automated dialer, email, website, and traditional local media. We are also looking at adding texting and making the website more ‘mobile friendly’. While we share other newsworthy items through newspapers, the web, and electronic newsletters, these do not seem to reach people as effectively as our weather related incidents.
Related to the budget, the school committee has developed two primers: one on the budget process and one on state education aid to schools which are available on the website. School committee members have also started holding open, information sessions in their towns to further explain and share information about the district for those individuals who do not attend school committee meetings (which are open to the general public). We’ve also been fortunate to have some town officials attending school committee meetings and the district administration has always offered to meet with town officials to discuss the district.
Gateway also has a group of “Key Communicators” (people who have been selected, or self-identified as being people to whom others go to find out what’s happening) who receive special communications throughout the year. As indicated, while these outreach efforts work for some, they don’t work for everyone which often means that people are still trying to understand the budget and school district when it’s time to vote on these items at annual town meetings. One of the ways to address this issue was, and is again, the use of the Gateway Towns’ Advisory Committee (GTAC), a group that work with the school committee and administration to review both school and town issues that impact the Gateway District towns.
We will once again use all of these venues to distribute information about the district and the FY’15 budget. I welcome other suggestions from the community in how to share budget information as each district is a little different and what works for Boston may not work for us here in the hilltowns. As always, your suggestions may be emailed to [email protected], mailed via the US Postal Service to my attention at 12 Littleville Rd, Huntington, MA, 01005, shared with any administrator via a personal email or phone conversation, or brought forward to a school committee member. I know that Gateway has one of the more open budget processes with much information shared with the general public, but I also realize there is more that could be done.
I believe that some suggestions made at GTAC regarding sharing specific items supported by the budget, and doing some comparisons with other districts, may be beneficial and we will continue to work with GTAC on the execution of these ideas. It appears that this budget year will be even more interesting than most as we’re facing the very real possibility that Worthington may be allowed, through legislative action, to leave the district, which is likely to cost all 7 towns in a variety of ways.
Despite these challenges, we stand ready to work with our towns to improve our communications process so that everyone has a better opportunity to both receive and provide information regarding the education of our children.
