Yay, Diana!
Every one of your sensible questions and ideas about the PVRSD budget are worth
considering, and I hope you do get invited to serve on a committee looking into
them. How about sending your letter directly to the School Committee, and
talking to one or more of Warwick's members - Sue O'Reilly, Martha Morse, David
Young?
The new acting superintendent would be wise to invite you onto an expanded
financial management or budget committee, where ideas can be thoroughly
considered. Your expertise and level head are sorely needed.
It seems that the state is finally responding to rural district budget crises
by adjusting the formula for transportation costs. I think they are not going
far enough, suggesting just $100 per pupil more each year to rural school
districts.
Louise Doud
Louise P. Doud MS.Ed., Ed.S., F/AOGPE, Dyslexia Therapist / IDA
Teaching for Literacy
prescriptive, multi-sensory, phonetic teaching of reading, writing & spelling
teacher training in the Orton-Gillingham approach
978-544-2181
5 Chestnut Hill Road, Warwick, MA 01378
lpdoud@xxxxxxxxx <mailto:lpdoud@xxxxxxxxx>
On Jun 17, 2018, at 5:53 PM, Diana Noble <nobled@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I don't usually post but I have to share some of my thoughts. Tom, I
appreciate the updates. I will be there Tuesday.
Thank you to those of you who have been working hard to understand and fix the
Pioneer Valley School District budget crisis. Thank you to teachers who made
sure the whole community is paying attention, to the Heart committee for
exploring options that some couldn’t admit were necessary, to the new PVRSD
Treasurer who has brought clarity to this failed budget and to the new
Superintendent for his willingness to serve in difficult times for a half-time
salary.
I am not a current PVRSD parent nor do I work in the district. I am a
concerned Warwick taxpayer and I care deeply about providing quality education
to all children. I also believe in providing a well-rounded education that
includes the arts, exposure to real world projects and team building. My
perspective is shaped by my own experiences; my (now grown) children are drawn
to the arts and preferred sports that aren’t available at school. I was never
a traditional athlete. We all still had extremely strong college applications
when we finished high school.
I have looked through the district budget (the old version available on the
district website) and read all of the information I could get my hands on over
the last few weeks.
I see how expensive it is to provide education in the small rural schools but I
absolutely cannot support closing any of the PVRSD schools until and unless the
hard work is done to consider many options including these:
Can we educate younger children in their hometowns, with a teaching principal
if necessary, but consolidate all the older elementary classes in one or two of
the bigger schools?
Explore all the potential benefits and impacts of a four-day week.
Expand fees for extracurricular activities using a consistent and fair sliding
scale (for example 3 tiers: free lunch recipients, half price lunch recipients
and full price).
Look for parity between budgets for the Arts and for Athletics at PVRS
particularly as a per-student contribution to extra-curriculars. I have heard
many members of the community talking about the value of the arts as well as
athletics but what I see in the budget for PVRS is $88,300 for Athletics
(including $48,500 for athletics transportation and the rest for referees,
coach workshops, athletic supplies, athletics-grounds) but just $12,400 for the
Arts (art supplies and band/vocal).
Reach out for possible cross-district partnerships including increasing the
size of the region but also for less common things like extracurricular
activities/sports. For example, a football team that includes both Turners
Falls and PVRS – perhaps paired with a PVRS-TFHS swim team.
Pre-K has its own unique challenges. Should early childhood education be
provided centrally at just one location? What percent of families take
advantage of this now and how would this change if just one full day program
were available?
I don’t have the expertise to evaluate the options listed above but I am
available and ready to help where I can. I have worked in transportation my
entire career and always circle back to the part of the budget that I
understand. I have more questions that are closer to my field.
What is the deadline for finalizing the busing contract with Kuzmeskus? Has
anyone contacted their staff about possible transportation efficiencies?
For most transportation companies there is just minimal savings associated with
running smaller buses so the best way to find transportation savings is to fill
the larger buses as much as possible. How full are they now?
Are there still 10 buses pulling up to PVRS twice a day, even as students stay
late or take rides with parents and friends?
What is the transportation savings associated with realigning school days so
high school and elementary students can share buses in the am and the pm? Is
this possible?
I expect it is impractical for the district to run all of its own buses but
what about 2-4 small buses for field trips and half-day transport for Pre-K/K?
In this case I suggest small buses that require certification but not a
commercial drivers’ license.
Can I be part of a team set up to try and answer these questions and evaluate
the transportation impacts of any other changes being considered?
Diana Noble
dianainwarwick@xxxxxxxxx <mailto:dianainwarwick@xxxxxxxxx>
From: warwicklist-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <warwicklist-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> on
behalf of Tom Wyatt <tomwyattphoto@xxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, June 15, 2018 9:54 PM
To: warwicklist
Subject: [The-L] School Committee info
The beat goes on. PVRSD budget sub-committee meeting on Tuesday June 19 @ 7pm
in PVRS Library. During the last meeting extensive cuts proposed by the
principals and administration were reviewed. But the committee is still 300k
away from a balanced budget, which is needed by June 30.
AGENDA
I. Call to order
II. Discuss more assessment or supplemental appropriation by towns
III. Development and Giving
IV. Report on budget changes since 6/12 meeting
V. Ranking and making recommendations on further cuts and restorations
VI. Member concerns and ideas
VII. Next meeting: Tuesday, June 26, 2018 7:00 p.m. PVRS Library
VIII. Citizen’s Comments
IX. Adjourn
The school situation is not on the Agenda at Monday's Selectboard Meeting at
6pm in the Town Hall. The draft minutes of the last meeting (attached) detail
the long discussion on schools. The coordinator's report (attached) have a
school committee report from David Young at the end.
Tom Wyatt
