Sue Flicop

School Committee Budget Meeting
March 9, 2009

Continuation of High School Discussion:
The discussion centered on reducing the number of blocks that high school students take to 26 from 28 per semester, and the “unintended consequences” regarding certain classes. One example was the potential reduction in the number of students taking orchestra due to the restrictions—however, this decrease would not lead to FTE reductions and cost savings. The Central Staff and principals are aware of this problem, and expect to make exceptions in certain cases.

Regarding setting a bottom limit on the number of students in a class, this number is expected to be a guideline for principals to help them make decisions about which classes to cut. One of the tradeoffs if this limit is not increased is an increase in class sizes.

The proposed change in PE requirements is within the state law. Newton needs to offer PE every year, but can allow students to fulfill their requirements in a variety of ways if the School Committee policy allows it.

Other high school issues raised include:

• • Re-evaluation of enrollment projections in light of new financial reality and potential increase in the number of private school students entering public school
• • Effect of current uncertainty as students are now choosing classes for next year
• • Possibility of using “remote collaboration” through technology to offer classes at both North and South even if the individual numbers are low
• • Amount of supplies available in high schools
• • Effect on “programmatic integrity” as certain classes are cut due to low enrollment

Technology:
The addition of a Program Evaluation Specialist would enable the district to use effectively the “data warehouse” set up by the State. The Program Evaluation Specialist would create of a process for staff to design and gather data and assessments to inform classroom instruction and perform analyses about current programs. The Instructional Technology Specialist for Online Learning would focus on online course development. Online learning would focus on teacher professional development as well as offering curriculum extension at the secondary level to improve the home-school connection. This new position would allow the current Web Facilitator to implement a content management system to manage the thousands of webpages in the NPS web site. [Currently, both jobs are done by one person.] These new positions are important to help keep the system “fresh” and to properly maintain what we have.

Student Services:
There are two program expansions proposed: the Elementary Stabilization Program (ESP) and a 4th grade integrated program at Memorial-Spaulding. Both extensions would keep students in Newton, provide them with the services they need, and be cost-effective. Current out-of-district placement costs have increased by 8% and are not under the control of NPS. In contrast, the expected in-house costs are far less, even when accounting for transportation costs.

A new alternative high school is proposed. This is a program that would serve high school students with a wide range of disabilities who would otherwise be sent out-of-district. The program would take place in a separate facility, as these are students who would have difficulty re-entering a large school. As with the two program extensions, this program has the benefit of serving the needs of students while being cost-effective.

Reductions in elementary SPED aides are a cause for concern, but have been looked at carefully. The cuts are basically one per school.

ELL:
The ELL population has stabilized, and the program is level-funded from last year. Part of the funding is used to train classroom teachers to work with ELL students, meeting State requirements to place children with these teachers.

Career & Tech Ed:
State regulations define this program, limiting some classes to 15 students for safety reasons. The director will be looking at classes and programs where the enrollment numbers are low. It is difficult to add new areas of study due to cuts. Areas to be looked at in the future are law enforcement, biotechnology, and allied health industries.

Collaboration between math and voc-tech have occurred, but have been limited by lack of common planning time. Past planning work has been done over the summer through grant programs.