Sports back in play at SHS
Published on July 4th, 2007
STONEHAM, MA - With some new revenue due into the town coffers, including that in the form of a recently reinstated trash fee, the School Committee brought back a number of previously cut programs and positions for fiscal year 2008, including high school sports.
But its work is far from over since much of that revenue is anticipated rather than actual, and it does not recover all the positions that have been cut. In addition, there are various schools of thought regarding the School Committee's priorities.
The School Committee had previously been forced to cut $1,034,000 cut from the schools FY08 budget following a failed tax override vote. $800,000 from a recent action of the Board of Selectmen to reinstate a trash fee is expected to bring back some of what was cut, and another $130,000 is planned from anticipated savings being brought on by replacing retiring and resigning teachers and administrators. (The idea behind this is to fill a position at a lower salary that was paid previously). Those funds brings the gap between what is needed and what is funded down to $104,000.
According to School Committee Chairman Maureen Soley at the School Committee meeting on Wednesday, an increase in Chapter 70 revenue to the town has been indicated, but the state had yet to pass its FY08 budget just days away from the start of the new fiscal year. Other options to fill that gap is for the School Committee to appeal to the town for a bigger cut of the trash fee, increase high school athletic user fees, create corporate sponsorships, and reorganize some administrative positions.
Wednesday's School Committee vote brought back to the Middle School: 1 guidance counselor, 1 assistant principal, 3.1 art/music teaching positions, library/media specialist, physical education teacher, and keeps an entire wing of the Middle School open for sixth graders. The action also restored 2.1 art/music and 1.1 physical education positions at the elementary level, along with 1 high school assistant principal, 54 coaching stipends, 1 athletic, health and physical education secretary and 1 athletic, health and physical education director.
Incoming School Superintendent Dr. Les Olson advised the committee that the administration is actively looking at creative ways of restoring a number of key administrative vacancies and would be prepared with recommendations for the committee's July 12 meeting.
School Committee member Cheryl Walsh cautioned the board and audience that the trash fee is expected to yield significant funds for the school for this year only, as voted by the Board of Selectmen.
"The point must be made, (these programs and positions) are only being brought back because of a band aid approach...and that we're going to be in this exact same position next year, and I say that because we're going to continue on this same path until the structural problems in this town are fixed."
"We will all be sitting here next year with the exact same cuts," she continued, "unless this town embraces the fact that we have no industry, we don't have a large commercial base, we don't have malls, we don't have things to support the town, so the town has to support the town."
Public opinion was split on the ordering of priorities to restore. While some applauded the fact that high school athletics should be reinstated as part of a well rounded education and as important to the culture of a school, others said that educational needs required between the hours of 8 am and 2 pm should come first.
Scott Levine of Fieldstone Drive pleaded with the committee to address high classroom sizes in elementary grades where reading is taught, as a top priority.
"If you don't address their needs now, down the road you're going to be back tracking to get these kids up to speed...How can you justify a library specialist if you're not going to give them the basics?"
Highland Avenue resident Randy Petrillo agreed, suggesting that if the time and attention from teachers is not there in the elementary grades, then those children at a higher risk for needing special education services later on, an area that has proved to be a significant drain on the school budget.
Stoneham Teachers Association President Maureen McArdle questioned the anticipated savings the School Committee was depending upon through attrition, stating that she sees more of the younger teachers leaving rather than the veterans. If this is true, replacement would not yield too great a savings.
In addition, the expensive libraries and computers rooms in elementary schools will go unused and teacher planning time reduced.
"To be having classes that are this large and cutting back significantly on our planning time is going to have a ripple effect. Everyone knows our MCAS scores have gone down."
Another resident said that the credibility of our state legislators, and not the School Committee, should be questioned and much of the responsibility for the fiscal mess that Stoneham is in lies with them. Neither Stoneham's state senator nor its two state representatives were in attendance at the important Board of Selectmen meeting of June 26.
"I was shocked that none of them (were there) for an issue as important as this in their community...
If the town had a dollar for every time they told us how difficult and how hard they're trying to get the Chapter 70 formula changed, we wouldn't need a user fee."
He challenged the town to put pressure on the state legislators (State Senator Richard Tisei, State Representative Paul Casey, and State Representative Patrick Natale) to help fix Stoneham's problem at the state level.
The School Committee did not address any specific dollar amount increase in high school athletic user fees on Wednesday, but stated that it did welcome any private or corporate donations. More information on this can be obtained through the Stoneham Public Schools Foundation at stonehampublicschoolsfoundation.org.
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