School Department offers level service budget for FY13

Date: 2/20/2012

Feb. 20, 2012

By Chris Maza

chrism@thereminder.com

EAST LONGMEADOW — Superintendent Gordon Smith and the leadership team for the East Longmeadow Public Schools have developed a level service budget and a "needs" budget for fiscal year 2013 (FY13).

The level service budget for FY13 is projected to be approximately $26.1 million, which is a 2.91 percent increase over last fiscal year's budget.

"Certainly any increase, because we're still in challenging fiscal times, is something we have to scrutinize and be sure we are doing everything we can to be as efficient as we can with all of our systems and supporting students in making continued academic progress," Smith said.

He added that he felt the increase was manageable and was actually lower percentage-wise than the increase from FY11 to FY12. That difference was 3.68 percent.

"We have put many things in place and we're trying to be very conscious of our increases," he said.

Smith touted the district's ability to utilize and manage grant funding, especially grants that can be rolled over, in cushioning the blow of increased costs and moving educational initiatives forward while being fiscally responsible.

Among the most significant increases in costs in the level service budget were contractual pay increases — salaries make up 84 percent of the total budget — and fuel.

"We're expecting fuel for transportation to go up roughly to $3.50 a gallon if — and that's a big if — the LPVEC [Lower Pioneer Valley Educational Collaborative], which does the purchase of fuel for the school system, can lock in at that price," Smith said. "If they can lock in at that, it's still a approximately a $33,000 increase."

The district also expects an increase of approximately $50,000 in LPVEC transportation for out of district special education programs.

The needs budget adds $382,583 to the total budget number for a total of $25.5 million, or a 4.4 percent increase over the FY12 budget.

Atop on the list of needs is the addition of an English Language Arts (ELA) academic coach for preschool through second grades and a second coach for grades three through five.

"As we continue to move into our tiered instruction model, we are looking at what we have achieved thus far and what still remains a challenge," he said. "One of the areas we have been successful is in moving into an academic coaching model, especially in the middle schools and to a certain extent at the elementary level. We'd love to expand that model."

Smith explained the importance of academic coaches, of which the district currently has two — an ELA coach and a math coach.

"They are able to really help all our teachers look at the most effective way to help the students directly in front of [the teacher] right now continue to make academic progress throughout the year," he said. "They will look at MCAS [Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System] and any interim assessments and help the teachers break down that data specifically to that group of students and then will help teachers implement the best instructional practices to help those students move [forward]."

The budget also calls for the addition of two full-time reading teachers at Birchland Park Middle School, which Smith said would offer children added support and help reduce class sizes.

Items from last year's needs budget that were once again included this year were a request for the addition of a part-time guidance secretary at Birchland Park School to aid in the dispensation of data to teachers and administrators.

"When you think about transition, progress monitoring and not only housing and incorporating the data, but getting it out to teachers and guidance counselors in a timely way, the clerical piece is becoming evermore important and right now there is no guidance secretary at Birchland," Smith said.

The needs budget also once again calls for two elementary school secretaries to go from a school year schedule to a calendar year schedule in order to aid principals, who under the current system, are the only faculty members in the school buildings over the summer.

Two new items on this year's list are the addition of a full-time assistant principal position at the high school, as well as the creation of a full-time athletics director position. Currently, East Longmeadow High School employs a principal, one full-time assistant principal and a combined dean of students and athletic director position.

"The reality is, I think, the athletic directing responsibilities probably on a daily basis take over and dominate the responsibilities that are accomplished," Smith said, adding that most comparable high schools have two assistant principals.

He also pointed out that a full-time athletic director would be able to work over the summer to better prepare for the school year and oversee the use and rental of the school's athletic facilities by outside summer programs.

Finally, the administration is requesting the freshman guidance counselor's position be made a full-time position to better help students with the transition from middle school to high school and get kids acclimated.