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Date: 4/4/2023
HADLEY – The Hadley School Committee voted to approve the school budget for fiscal year 2024 at its meeting on March 27.
According to the budget documents, the FY24 total budget is $9,261,688 which represents a $151,198 or a 1.66% increase from FY23. The local contribution is $7,748,069 which is a $156,596 increase from FY23 or 2.06%.
Superintendent Annie McKenzie said she appreciated the town being supportive of the school budget. The consistent support allows for stability, she added.
She explained the slight decrease in some title grants means the town must contribute more.
The vote was unanimous.
The budget document gives a snapshot of the status of the school district. “The Hadley School District includes two schools, Hopkins Academy (7-12) and Hadley Elementary School (PreK-6). On Oct. 1, 2022, Hadley Elementary had a total enrollment of 271 and Hopkins Academy had an enrollment of 223 students. Student enrollment has decreased each year since 2009.”
“Charter schools, inter-district choice and vocational education have affected enrollment in Hadley Public Schools, a declining school age population has affected foundation enrollment. Foundation enrollment refers to the number of students for whom the Town of Hadley is financially responsible.”
“While overall enrollment has declined and enrollment by selected populations has increased, the percentage of African American/Black students has doubled. The percentage of students in the district who qualify as ‘high needs’ and the percentage of students who qualify as ‘“low-income’” have increased by 10% in five years.”
This school year, 27% of students are low income; students with disability are at 17.2%; and high needs students are at 38.9%. To qualify as “high needs” a student must fall into one or more of the following categories: low-income, students with disabilities, or English language learner.
This school population includes: white 76.9%; Black 4.3%; Hispanic 9.9%; and English language learners, 3.4%.
The budget documents noted the impact of School Choice. “The number of families sending their children to Hadley Public Schools from other districts exceeds the number of Hadley families who choose to send their children to a district other than Hadley. Consequently, School Choice revenue consistently exceeds expenditures. The district continues to invest in programs designed to benefit resident students and increase the number of students attending Hadley Public Schools through inter-district choice. Examples of these programs include: STEAM lab, elementary Spanish program, Innovation Pathways program, Early College High School, a robust offering of elective courses and extra-curricular activities, and advanced coursework offerings.”
The impact on the budget of charter schools decreased slightly in the new fiscal year. The document noted, “Charter schools are independent public schools that operate under five-year charters granted by the commonwealth’s Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. In 2022-23, there are 47 Hadley resident students attending three different charter schools. This is down from 49 in 2021-22.”
In other action, the committee voted to approve to raise its rate for a certified substitute teacher from $100 a day to $130 and increased the rate of non-certified subs from $95 to $115. McKenzie explained the increase was to make the district more competitive with neighboring districts and to compensate certified educators more. This increase puts the Hadley district more in line with neighboring district Amherst/Pelham, she added.