WARE SCHOOL COMMITTEE NOTEBOOK – 4-27-11

By Melissa Fales
Reporter

School Committee approves $15,289,148 fiscal year 2012 budget

Following a final public hearing on the fiscal year 2012 budget, the School Committee unanimously approved the district’s proposed $15,289,148 budget at their April 27 meeting.
The total reflects a four percent cut from fiscal year 2011’s budget of $15,856,046.
The total budget for Stanley M. Koziol Elementary school is $2,146,607. At the Ware Middle School, the total budget is $1,917,252. The total amount budgeted for Ware Junior/Senior High School is $2,971,868. In the area of Special Education, the budgeted amount is $1,912,373. The total maintenance budget is $1,151,509. The amount budgeted for the Central Office is $871,873.
The latest version of the budget includes the unexpected gain of approximately $84,000 as the result of a lower than expected retiree assessment. Beach explained this money was placed back into the budget and will cover the costs of one semester of dual enrollment. Andy Paquette of The Management Solution explained that the budget also includes a 10 percent increase in fuel costs to heat each building due to anticipated price increases.
The budget factors in the reduction of one Kindergarten classroom at SMK. This year, there are just over 100 Kindergarten students with just under 80 students registered to start Kindergarten in the fall. Beach warned the number of students may change right up through the first day of school. In the maintenance department, one full-time position and a part-time custodial position have been eliminated.
Beach said a vacancy in the high school math department due to a resignation will not be refilled. Instead, a business teacher position which had been eliminated in an earlier version of the budget will be reinstated.
While the current budget shows the elimination of a CAD position at the high school, Beach said she recently learned of an opportunity for Ware to partner with a neighboring school district to share a CAD teacher. As the budget stands, the high school will also see the loss of an English teacher and a Special Education teacher. Ware High School Special Education teacher Nancy Slater spoke about the impact the loss of a Special Education teacher would have on the program. Slater also expressed concern about the loss of the English teacher which she thought would mean the loss of the drama program. Beach said cutting an English position didn’t necessarily mean the end of the drama program. She said teachers in all departments where cuts will be made will be working together to reorganize tasks and see what they can continue to offer students.
Desjardins noted that the budget is a living document and changes will continue to be made as money becomes available or is spent. Beach said the budget was as accurate as possible with the information available. “We still have unknowns,” she said.

NEASC continues Ware Junior/Senior High School accreditation

Ware Junior/Senior High School Principal Lucille Brindisi announced that the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) has continued the school’s accreditation. “This is very good news,” said Brindisi. According to Brindisi, NEASC was especially pleased with the school’s increased offerings of Advanced Placement classes in subjects such as biology.

Truck Day to be held April 30

SMK Principal Marlene DiLeo reminded the committee about Truck Day which will be held Saturday, April 30 from 9a.m. to 3p.m. The event will feature many different types of trucks including an 18-wheeler and emergency vehicles. There will also be face painting, a bounce house and food. Admission is $10 per car on the day of the event, $5 per car if paid in advance. Call 413-967-6236 for more information or to purchase a ticket. The event is sponsored by the SMK PTO.

Fundraiser tag sale/ electronic and appliance recycling event set for May 7

The Ware Public Schools campus fundraiser tag sale/electronic and appliance recycling event will be held Saturday, May 7 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the campus of the Ware Public Schools. 10 by 10 spaces are available for the public to rent for $20. For more information or to rent a space, call 413-967-4271.

Ware School Committee Notebook – 4-12-11

By Melissa Fales
Reporter

Desjardins, Sawabi retain chair, vice chair positions

Following the Annual Town Election on April 11, the first item of business at the April 13 School Committee was to elect officers. The committee unanimously voted for newly-re-elected Aaron Sawabi to retain his vice chairman position and for Christopher Desjardins to remain as chairman.

University of Phoenix donates more furniture to district

Superintendent Mary-Elizabeth Beach thanked the University of Phoenix for once again donating a large bunch of furniture to the district, including chairs and computer tables. Beach thanked Ware Junior/Senior High School Assistant Principal Cory Rogers whose connections with the University of Phoenix led to the donation. Beach also thanked Christopher Dymon and Bill Alderman of the Facilities/Maintenance Department for making the trip to the school’s Westborough campus to pick up the items.

DESE site review set for week of April 25

Beach said representatives from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education will be visiting all three schools for a site review during the week of April 25. The DESE is making the visit in response to the district’s academic achievements, particularly the strides made at Stanley M. Koziol Elementary School in closing the achievement gap between low-income and non-low-income students. The representatives will try to identify the specific practices that have made Ware so successful in this regard.

First public reading for fiscal year 2012 school district budget

The committee held its first public reading of the draft of the fiscal year 2012 school district budget. Currently, the total funding amount for the school district is $15,344,270, down by three percent, or $511,776, from last year.
While reviewing the budget, the committee freed up an additional $500 after Desjardins suggested eliminating the line item for school committee travel expenses.
One of the larger projected increases is under the line item for transportation. The current budget anticipates that costs will rise by 12 percent, or $59,767, to $557,828. Andy Paquette of The Management Solution explained he’s projecting the 12 percent increase because the contract will be going out to bid for the first time in five years and he anticipates higher labor rates as well as higher fuel costs to factor in the bids.
Paquette explained some increases in salaries need to be increased due to longevity and step rates. Other increases are due to the district needing to continue to fund items that were previously funded either in full or in part by grants. “The grants aren’t there anymore, but the expenses still are,” Paquette said.
Sawabi, chair of the Budget Subcommittee, noted that although the budget is still a work in progress, it has come a long way. “When we last discussed this, we were trying to balance a $1.9 million deficiency,” he said. At that time, the committee was considering eliminating a total of 13 positions with a combination of layoffs and attrition. The current draft of the budget includes the elimination of 9 positions, with one coming from attrition. Those positions include one part-time maintenance worker, one part-time custodian, the CAD instructor, one business teacher, one English teacher, one Kindergarten teacher, one half-time pre-Kindergarten teacher due to attrition and two Special Education positions. “We certainly value all the adults in the learning community, but tough decisions have to be made,” said Beach. “It’s a very hard year.” Sawabi noted that despite these cuts, there will not be any cuts to the curriculum except for the CAD program.
Sawabi cautioned there are still several yet to be determined variables that will affect the budget. Voters will have to approve the budget at the Annual Town Meeting in May. Beach added that contract negotiations will start soon, opening the budget up to more potential changes. Additionally, Beach warned that once the state releases its final budget figures, changes may need to be made.
Desjardins commended the administration for their work. “You’ve come up with some creative ways to maintain programs at no additional costs,” he said. Sawabi said he thought the budget reflected the district’s philosophy of keeping the cuts as far away as possible from the students. “We’re still protecting their interests in terms of the academics we offer,” he said.
A second public hearing for the budget will be held at the committee’s April 27 meeting. Residents are encouraged to attend to share their input. Comments and suggestions for the budget may also be made via the district’s website at http://www.warepublicschools.com

SCHOOL COMMITTEE NOTEBOOK

By Melissa Fales
Reporter

School nurses offer campus health report

School nurses Jane Saletnik, who splits time between Ware Junior/Senior High School (WJSHS) and Ware Middle School (WMS), and Marie Healey, who works at Stanley M. Koziol Elementary School (SMK), appeared before the committee with a campus health report. “Most people don’t realize what we do,” said Saletnik.
Saletnik said the nurses are required to turn in data about students and their health to the state. One of the figures the state is interested in is the percentage of students who return back to class after visiting the nurse’s office as opposed to how many are sent home. The idea is to have as many students returning to class as possible.
Based on the 126 days of school so far, Saletnik said she has seen 2900 students at WJSHS, approximately 24 per day. When Saletnik is in the office, approximately 97 percent of the students return to class. However, Saletnik warned that the percentage is somewhat skewed because of her split time position. “Often when I leave the building, those students leave after me,” she said. Saletnik said when she was at the high school fulltime, about 92 percent of students returned to class.
At WMS, Saletnik has seen 2800 students this year, approximately 22 per day, with a 95 percent return to class rate. At SMK, Healey has seen 4300 students, approximately 35 per day. The return to class rate there is 92 percent, which Saletnik called “remarkable.” According to Saletnik, through conversations with other school nurses she has found the numbers of students visiting the nurse in Ware schools to be about average. Saletnik said district wide there are 21 students with “critical medical conditions” and some with multiple medical problems.
In addition to tending to the students who visit the nurse’s office, the nurses are also responsible for other tasks, such as mandatory screening. At one time, nurses were responsible for screening student in grades K-12 for vision and hearing, but now it’s only for grades K-five.
Additionally, students in grades one, four, seven, and 10 are weighed and that data is sent to the state. “The state has new health initiatives towards preventing obesity,” explained Saletnik. “They want to know how many of the students in those grades are at an average weight, how many are underweight, overweight and obese.” The state also asks the nurses to record the Body Mass Index (or B.M.I.) of each of these students.
Nurses fill out immunization surveys on students in Kindergarten and seventh grade. “It doesn’t only ask whether the students got their mandated shots, but also whether they received recommended immunizations,” said Saletnik. Nurses are also asked to send information to the state on how many students have asthma and diabetes, to keep track of the records on student physicals and to perform checks for scoliosis, or curvature of the spine, on students in grades five through nine.
Saletnik said this year for the first time, the state audited the district’s seventh grade immunization records to ensure the students individual records matched up with the data the district sent in. “We expect they will be doing that more and more,” said Saletnik.
The nurses also oversee the district’s oral-health program including the optional weekly fluoride swish for grades one through six. “Out of the eligible 570 students, 445 take us up on the fluoride swish,” said Saletnik, which is a 78 percent participation rate. Committee Chair Christopher Desjardins asked why parents might opt out of the swish. Saletnik said it is possible for children to have too much fluoride and some families take fluoride tablets at home. In some cases, students simply don’t want to take the swish and their parents comply with their wishes.
Healey outlined a new oral health initiative at SMK, coordinated through Baystate Mary Lane Hospital, where a dental group called BEST Oral Health out of Springfield has piloted a program with school children. In December and January, 44 SMK students received on-site education about good oral health practices, cleanings and sealants. Soon, a dentist will return to the school to provide those children with dental exams and if needed, x-rays, fillings and extractions. Saletnik said the district was very fortunate to have this service. “We have a lot of students who need a lot of help,” she said. Next year, BEST Oral Health hopes to expand to include WMS.

First public reading of school district budget set for April 13 meeting
Budget Subcommittee Chair Aaron Sawabi announced that the first public reading of the school district budget will take place at the next school committee meeting on April 13. The public is invited to attend and to offer their input on the budget.