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Date: 4/27/2023
EAST LONGMEADOW — Superintendent Gordon Smith presented East Longmeadow Public Schools fiscal year 2024 budget at a public hearing on April 24. He explained that the upcoming fiscal year will build on the work done in FY23 to recover from the coronavirus pandemic and the learning gap created by the resulting school shutdowns.
The proposed FY24 school department budget is $34.61 million, an increase of 3.9% over the current fiscal year’s budget. Over the past decade the district has requested year-over-year increases between 1% and 4%. Smith said level budgets generally require at least 2% more than the previous year due to contractual obligations and state-mandated costs.
In FY23, the school department has added and “recovered” personnel, including a second assistant principal at East Longmeadow High School, a middle school intervention coordinator, and at the elementary level, a math interventionist and an art teacher. Smith said these positions allow consistent scheduling and a focus on collaborative time.
Moving into FY24, the department is slated to incorporate three paraprofessionals that had been funded through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief fund to the permanent operational budget because that grant funding will end on Sept. 30, 2024. A social-emotional teacher will also be added at the elementary level. Smith said the goal of hiring a social-emotional learning teacher now is to limit the number of students that require an expensive out-of-district placement in the future.
Smith noted East Longmeadow Public Schools is in the bottom half of per pupil expenditures among districts in the Lower Pioneer Valley Educational Collaborative and among similar districts as defined by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. While the state average is $20,110 per student, East Longmeadow spends just $17,691 per student.
The school department’s goal is to “support students by making them feel connected,” Smith said. One way to do that is with new curricular materials at elementary, middle and secondary grade levels that “better reflect students” and aligns with state standards and SMART goals. SMART stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time bound. Staff are also working to support students. Counselors are working in the classroom, and teacher professional development is focused on giving students options for learning.
Smith said he and the Finance Oversight Committee recently “had a really good conversation back and forth” when he presented the proposed budget to them. That body will review the budget and make a recommendation to Town Manager Mary McNally, who will then recommend a total town budget to the Town Council at the beginning of May.
ELHS project
Smith updated the School Committee on the East Longmeadow High School building project. The Massachusetts School Building Authority, a state-level agency that reimburses towns and school districts for a portion of accepted projects, has approved the high school project to enter the “schematic design phase.” This phase involves the creation of detailed plans. Between now and early summer, the building committee will make design decisions on security, labs and classrooms, materials, elevations, landscaping, the technology budget, and furniture and equipment. The construction cost estimate will be ready in July.
So far, the department has sought feedback on the project through four public forums, three presentations to parent teacher organizations and school councils, information provided at the 2023 National Night Out, a survey and meetings with faculty, academic departments and students. The next public forum is May 18 at 6 p.m. The location has yet to be decided.
Smith reviewed the design to date. “The floorplan has already changed,” he said. The layout has been tweaked and the district office and town Information Technology Department were moved to ground level.
School Committee member Elizabeth Marsian-Boucher said the team hired for the project has “evolved” the concept to incorporate community feedback. She asked that the outdoor learning spaces be covered for maximum usability. She also mentioned designing the building in a way that noise from the cafeteria would not disrupt nearby classes.
“Nothing is right now set in stone,” Smith commented.
Pool Building Committee
Smith also asked the School Committee to approve the creation of a Pool Building Committee. The Massachusetts School Building Authority will not allow a pool to be included in the high school designs. As such, the design team must complete a separate schematic design phase for the pool, which will cost $39,500.
Smith said a separate committee must be organized now if funding for the pool is to appear on the same ballot as the funding for the school in November. The School Committee approved the roster for the Pool Building Committee, as recommended by the High School Building Committee. The committee will include Smith, School Committee Chair Gregory Thompson, East Longmeadow High School Building Committee Chair Stephen Chrusciel, Athletic Director Kevin Magee, Recreation Director Donna Prather, DPW Director Bruce Fenney, a member of the Town Council and a parent.