Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 3/13/2023
WESTHAMPTON — School districts have been accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) for at least 50 years. The stamp of approval was universally recognized and required, but this year Superintendent Diana Bonneville asked, what’s the benefit for the Hampshire Regional School District (HRSD)?
“When they come to visit, you have to have hotel rooms for, I think, 12 visitors, and you have to feed them for three days,” Bonneville said. “It’s a lot of prep work and a lot of money that go into that, and we really didn’t see the benefit.”
According to a handout at the School Committee meeting on March 6, dues to NEASC, formed by a Harvard president in 1885, would be $4,100 this year. Every 10th year, a school receives the “accreditation visit” that may last several days. The cost of that visit, including hotel charges and meals, may reach $25,000.
Discussion revealed that many other school districts in the area, including Northampton, Granby, Gateway Regional, Frontier Regional and Amherst Regional have declined future accreditation, the expense and headaches. Bonneville said the visit by NEASC evaluators consumes hundreds of hours of research for school employees. The key fact? The state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) allays the need for certification.
Bonneville told School Committee members that colleges need to know a school district is legitimate and properly prepares students for post-secondary education. Historically, accreditation confirmed a district’s enrollment, per pupil expenditures, programs of study, course offerings, graduation requirements and other key metrics. Now, all that information is displayed on the DESE website, NEASC accreditation is therefore unnecessary.
“The biggest thing to gain from the whole process … [is] a self evaluation among all the constituents,” Bonneville said. Accreditation is based on that information, “so it’s kind of like you’re paying them after you’ve already done the hard work. We’ll continue to do the self-assessment on the high school because it’s very important to [be] accountable.”
The room was packed with teachers, standing room only, but the topic drew minimal discussion. Many teachers in the school came for the review of the budget. The Budget Subcommittee and principal, working together, drew up three possible budgets for committee members to choose from. Two involved the loss of a teacher and paraprofessional position.
The first option did not involve cuts to staffing and, according to Bonneville, had the least financial impact on students. The second option, which also included dropping NEASC accreditation and other cost-cutting measures, also eliminated a teacher and paraprofessional. The third option added further cuts, on top of eliminating two positions, to reach a reduced budget increase.
“The [committee’s] budget subcommittee had suggested the middle option, number two,” Bonneville said. “Somebody made a motion for No. 1 — with the most minimal cuts — which is what was approved, which is wonderful.”
One of the primary drivers of the budget increase is special education costs. The line item jumped 14 percent in the fiscal year 2024 budget. The superintendent observed that if a student comes to the district mid-year it means an out-of-district placement.
“Special education out of district costs went up by 14 percent,” Bonneville said. “It’s our job to make sure that all students’ needs are met, and if we can’t meet them here it’s our obligation to make sure those needs are met elsewhere. It’s expensive.”
Utility charges went up, but there are no new curriculum initiatives. Bonneville said the district hewed to the status quo. This year, excitement was not a goal. The superintendent did clarify, in a later conversation, her plans for the health education coordinator’s position currently held by Stephanie Faas.
Bonneville and Faas have been working “to develop a new job that would blend health education with nurse leading duties,” Bonneville said. To this point, the job description for the health coordinator does not involve lead nurse duties, which will probably be incorporated. Faas is listed as the health education coordinator and lead nurse on the school website. “It’s not finalized yet, but we are definitely on the right track.”
Bonneville meets with five school committees during the budget process. Those who worked on the budget were intent on staying the current course. She was pleased to see so many teachers supporting the budget at the March 6 meeting.
“We were trying to be as status quo as we could be,” Bonneville said. “There’s no new programming, nothing exciting to report there.”