Leitmotif – “an associated melodic phrase or figure that accompanies the reappearance of an idea, person, or situation; a dominant recurring theme” (Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary) – seems to be a word that we should be using regarding the budget process of the last twenty years. Although the individuals and even towns change over time, the recurring themes that the school committee and district hear each year are that paying for the education of our children is bankrupting the towns, that there is never enough time or information provided to make an informed decision, that (fill in the blank – school administration, school committee, teachers, etc.) either are misinforming the public or don’t know what they’re doing, and that things were so much better in the ‘old days’.
Perhaps we’ve all become inured to these refrains and have begun believing in them; after all, perceptions can prevail despite facts, but are they true and should they be given enough credence to impact the decision making process?
Let’s look at some of the ‘realities’ within the district over the last 5 to 10 years. First, according to the Massachusetts Department of Revenue, each of our towns is now spending a smaller percentage of their total town budgets on education (this includes both vocational education and the Gateway District) than they had previously. In fact, over the last five years, the aggregate reduction in town budgets allocated to education has decreased over 5%. This has only been accomplished by severely curtailing educational spending; in fact, the overall budget is significantly less than it’s been despite the impact of inflation on items such as utilities and personnel costs. As Dr. Wagner from Worthington pointed out in his letters to the Country Journal, “Had total town assessments increased at only 1% annually over the past 5 years, the total assessments for FY’15 would have been $10,478,664 or $781,803 more than the towns were actually assessed this year, and a number far larger than the wildest estimations of the cost of the Worthington withdrawal.“ He further wrote that “Have your taxes been going up even while overall town assessments for Gateway have remained flat or declining? Then look at where the rest of your tax money is going. You will see the need for the decision Worthington residents had to make in order to support education reform . . .” As a town resident and moderator, I can’t argue that the financial challenges the towns face are significant, I just wonder if the education of our children should be the place that we elect to not support at the same level as other town services.
The so-called lack of information and time complaints continue despite the wealth of information the district provides to not only the school committee, but every resident in our towns. The district has also provided multiple ways for people to ask questions and provide input. I’ll agree that we can always improve, but in what I’ve heard from parents and community members, both in and outside of the district, they’re very impressed with our communication efforts. I’m not sure what more we can do about the time factor, we did start sharing budgetary information about next year’s budget in September and have consistently shared ongoing budgetary information with the committee and the public. The timing and amount of time devoted to the budget really hasn’t changed in the nearly 40 years I’ve lived in the district. In fact I’d argue we spend more time on this now that we did 20 years ago.
I am concerned with the lack of trust and belief in the members of the Gateway District family on the part of many individuals. We’ve all shared information that we develop from various sources and much of this information is supported using multiple sources, often outside of the district (i.e., DESE or DOR). While our staff are particular about providing solid information based upon facts and filtered through the lenses of professional experience, it appears that many individuals have perceptions about education from the past that may not completely align with current requirements.
Perhaps this is why the ‘old days’ seem so much better. Fewer laws and regulations tying the hands of both the schools and towns, more flexibility in meeting the needs of students, less financial requirements and more local control, and of course, more local business and industry. I’d also add that it seems as though we have less participation in town government, both at town meetings and in filling town positions, than we had decades ago when I moved into the area. Is this a reason why the minority of the population that actually attends town meetings are driving the agenda while not being a representative sample of the actual town population? Perhaps the focus on this year’s school budget and the potential withdrawal of Worthington will help the average citizen become more involved in deciding what towns do regarding the future of their town and their educational system.
