Town/district still facing net school spending issue

By Melissa Fales

Reporter

 WARE -At the Oct. 24 meeting of the School Committee, Ware School District Business Manager Andrew Paquette of the Management Solution, said the end of the year financial report for fiscal year 2012 shows that the town is under the minimum net school spending requirement established by the state by about $298,000. Paquette said the shortfall was not a surprise, but he wanted to bring it to the attention of town officials and residents.

In January, the state notified the town that it owed the district nearly $1 million after erroneously including retired teacher’s health insurance amounts in the school’s net spending figures. “The expectation is to begin to address this in fy 2013,” said Paquette.

According to Town Manager Stuart Beckley, the town’s fy 2013 budget will fund the schools at 95 percent of the state’s net school spending figure, at a total of approximately $10.37 million. The state can assess a penalty if a town pays less than 95 percent of its assessed figure. “Neither the town or the school can afford a penalty,” said Beckley.

Beckley said the fy2013 school spending amount includes the $270,000 appropriated at the Annual Town Meeting in May to be put towards the money the town owes the school. He said the town is committed to paying the district the full amount that it is owed, approximately an additional $666,000, but said it will take time. The state did not establish a deadline for all of the back payment to be in.

Dr. Mary-Elizabeth Beach, Superintendent, expressed her frustration that the district still won’t be receiving 100 percent of the net school spending funds the state has said it is due. She said students are doing without. “We actually need this money owed to us,” she said. “We need it.”

 

Committee reviews warrant articles for Nov. 19 STM

The committee reviewed two articles to be placed on the warrant for the Special Town Meeting set for Monday, Nov. 19.

The first is a $10,350 invoice for fy 2012 transportation costs the district received after the fiscal year was over.

The second article asks for a $638,436 supplemental appropriation for four different requests, including $60,000 for a full-time nurse. The district currently has two nurses to care for 1200 students over three schools. This would place a full-time nurse at each school.

Beach explained that some students who had previously been transported to programs out of the district are now attending school here in Ware. Some of these students have serious medical needs that require a nurse’s attention. Beach added that there is a significant cost savings on transportation by teaching them here.

The request also asks for approximately $118,000 in additional out of district tuition needs, approximately $250,000 in additional in-district Special Education needs, and approximately $212,000 in staffing needs due to an increase in student enrollment.

School Committee Chair Christopher Desjardins said the town doesn’t have $638,436 to appropriate. He suggested prioritizing the four items listed under the article and presenting a request for a more reasonable amount. However, committee member Aaron Sawabi said he thought the needs of the district were justified and suggested presenting the entire amount at Town Meeting and letting the voters decide. “I think we should stick with what we have and let the chips fall where they may,” he said.

Beckley invited the School Committee to attend the Nov. 13 selectmen’s meeting where the entire warrant will be reviewed by the town moderator, finance committee and selectmen for their final approval.

 

Superintendents working out contingency plans

Following the Oct. 21 hazmat scare that occurred in the area of the Ware Public Schools campus, Beach said she has met with nearby superintendents to discuss contingency plans in case one of their schools had to close for several weeks or months. She said the superintendents talked about what spaces might be available for instruction in case of an emergency school closing. “We’ll be continuing that discussion,” she said.

Dejardins asked about attendance in the schools on Oct. 22, the day after the hazmat scare. Beach said the three schools had attendance percentages in the high 80s that day. Attendance is typically at 95 percent.

 

Professional development day scheduled for Nov. 5

There will be no school Monday, Nov. 5, a professional development day for teachers.

 

Martens updates Water/Sewer Commissioners on systems

Flushing of water lines underway across town

 

By Melissa Fales

Reporter

 

WARE – DPW Director Thomas Martens was at the Oct. 16 meeting of the Water/Sewer Commissioners to update them on the town’s systems. Martens said it would take time, but that progress was being made as various water and sewer concerns were being addressed. “A lot of things have been put off for a long time,” he said.

Martens asked for residents to help the town by keeping catch basins clear of leaves and debris to prevent erosion and other problems. He also said that barring any unforeseen problems, he is not anticipating any increase in water/sewer rates for next year.

According to Martens, the town’s wastewater influent pumps need work. Only two out of the three pumps are working. Martens said the town typically runs one, but two are needed for high-flow conditions. “We don’t have a back-up right now,” he said. The town recently spent $50,000 to upgrade the wet side of the pumps, now the motors, drives and control systems need to be replaced. Martens said the bids received for the work exceeded the town’s budget for the project. He said he is working to reconfigure the project to get it done more cheaply. “It’s a critical situation and I’m doing everything I can to get it going,” Martens said. 

The town is awaiting word on its MassWorks Grant application. If approved, the state will award $2.5 million towards upgrades to the town’s wastewater plant, supplementing the $1 million the town and Kanzaki Specialty Papers will each put towards the project. The state is due to announce the winners next week.

 “We’re hoping for some good news,” said Martens,

Martens said the town has cleaned out one of two aeration tanks in anticipation of using it again. He said the tank has been out of commission for many years, but since the other basin needs to be cleaned out, operations will switch to the second tank.

The town’s septage receiving station is experiencing problems with a broken valve and non-functioning electrical components. Martens said he expected work to repair the station to begin this week.

Martens told the commissioners about a recent break in the sewer main on West Street near Phillips Plaza. He said during the repair process workers found a buried manhole that contained approximately two feet of sludge. Martens said he didn’t know how long the manhole had been buried, but it is now cleaned out and exposed. The break was repaired, but Martens warned that the six inch line there is too small to handle the flow. He said he will look into expanding the sewer main there in order to allow for more capacity.

According to Martens, there was a significant amount of grease in that line. He will be reviewing the town’s policies regarding grease traps as well as determining which businesses currently have grease traps and whether or not they are regularly inspected and cleaned.

Martens said the town is preparing to raise the well heads at three town wells as required by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

Regarding drinking water, Martens acknowledged that there are issues. “We have a huge water quality problem in town,” he said. To help address the problem, the Water Department is in the process of flushing the system. Martens said this is the first year the town has flushed twice. “It will help us get ahead, but it’s only part of the solution,” he said. 

Commissioner John E. Carroll asked if there was any way to let residents know where the flushing will take place each day. Martens said the flushing locations could be posted on the town’s website, but warned that the system is unpredictable and flushing affects different areas. “We’re flushing on Upper Church Street and getting complaints from lower West Street,” he said.

Martens said he is also trying to address the levels of iron and manganese in the source water. A consultant is working on determining the best chemical process, but Martens said it’s difficult to find the proper balance. While the cistern seems to be the biggest culprit for the iron and manganese, it would cost approximately $250,000 to take it off the system. The town is having a hydraulic model completed which will help the town optimize the flushing program and plan for future upgrades.

According to Martens, the town’s dirty water problem is compounded by the over 10 miles of cast iron water mains which are nearly 100 years old and corroded.

Martens invited residents to call his office with any questions they may have about the town’s water and sewer systems. He said he wanted residents to know that he was working on resolving the water quality issues. “I recognize how frustrating it is,” said Martens. “I appreciate people’s patience.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

School Committee reviews mixed MCAS results

Ware Public Schools scores beat state average in some areas

 

By Melissa Fales
Reporter

 WARE – The principals from all three Ware Public Schools were at the Oct. 10 School Committee meeting to review the district’s MCAS results for the tests taken in the spring of 2012.

“We had some mixed results,” said Dr. Mary-Elizabeth Beach, Superintendent. “I would love to see the scores higher, but I’m certainly pleased with the improvements.”

Stanley M. Koziol Elementary School Principal Daniel Somes said Grade Three English Language Arts (ELA) scores showed 59 percent of the students scored in the “advanced” or “proficient” categories, a three percent gain over 2011 scores. In Grade Three math, 38 percent of the students scored as “advanced” or “proficient,” down by 18 percent from last year’s scores. However, Somes noted that the statewide average also declined in this area.

Somes said students struggled with math open response questions. He said staff is making some changes to address this, including building lesson and unit plans in alignment with the new state standards that focus more on identifying desired outcomes first. He also said teachers will talk about goals with students. “We want kids to know what we expect of them by the end of the year in each grade level,” he said. Somes also said upcoming staff professional development days will focus on teaching math skills and helping students retain what they learn.

Robert Warren, Ware Middle School principal, was pleased with scores for Grades Four, Five and Six. “We had a good year,” he said. Grade Four ELA scores showed 51 percent scoring at the “advanced” or “proficient” level, up 17 percent from last year. Warren attributed the significant increase to the success of the “walk to read” program and thanked Somes and the Grade Three teachers for their help with providing that continuity as students transition to WMS. In math, 33 percent scored at “advanced” or “proficient.” While this is a slight decline from last year, Warren noted that two percent more students scored at “advanced.” Warren said teachers will use a new math assessment to better address the needs of the students.

Grade Five students showed 60 percent at the “advanced” or “proficient” level in ELA, down five percent from last year. Statewide, Grade Five ELA scores dropped by six percent. In math, Grade Five scores were up slightly to 54 percent at “advanced” or “proficient.” Grade Five students’ science scores were up by 18 percent, with 51 percent at the “advanced” or “proficient” level.

In Grade Six ELA, Warren said 60 percent of the students were deemed “advanced” or “proficient”. This number is down by one percent, but the number of students scoring as “advanced” was up by eight percent. Math scores, with 63 percent at the “advanced” or “proficient” level were up by six percent over 2011 scores. Warren noted that those scores are three percent higher than the statewide average.

Warren thanked the art, music, library, computer and gym teachers for their work serving as interventionists and assisting students with math and ELA readiness. 

Dr. Marlene DiLeo, principal of WJSHS, said she was “delighted” with the school’s results, which show increases in seven out of the 8 MCAS assessments. In addition, WJSHS students out-performed the state average in several categories.

Grade Seven ELA scores were up two percent from 2011 with 72 percent at “advanced” or “proficient.” In math, scores increased by 16 percent, with 56 percent of the scores at the “advanced” or “proficient” level. Statewide, the averages were 71 percent and 51 percent, respectively.

In Grade Eight, 68 percent of the students scored at “advanced” or “proficient”, a four percent increase from last year. Math scores were down by 10 percent, with 28 percent scoring at the “advanced” or “proficient” level. Science scores were up by one percent with 36 percent at “advanced” or “proficient”.

Grade 10 scores in ELA were up two percent, with 89 percent at “advanced” or “proficient,” just above the state wide average of 88 percent. Math scores were also up by two percent, with 79 percent at “advanced” or “proficient.” The statewide average was 78 percent. In science, 77 percent of the students were scored at “advanced” or “proficient,” a 10 percent increase from last year and eight points higher than the state wide average. DiLeo said staff was analyzing the data to focus on the areas that proved the most challenging for students. “We continue to strive for greater increases for all grades and all content areas,” said DiLeo.

Beach said that because the district is so small, each child’s scores weigh heavily. “A percentage point could be two children,” she said. Beach added that the Grade 10 MCAS scores are “where the rubber meets the road” as students must demonstrate proficiency in order to graduate. School Committee member Danielle Souza said the district should be proud to have so many of the high school scores coming in at above the state average. “We’re definitely doing something right,” she said.

Committee member William Gunn asked if there was any way to track the progress of students who have been in Ware schools since Grade Three when MCAS testing begins. Beach said there were certain privacy limitations, but some information was available.

Beach also said the district uses a variety of assessment tools to help improve instruction, such as the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) tests for students in Kindergarten through Grade Six, mathematics Benchmark Unit Assessments for students in Kindergarten through Grade Eight and the Group Reading Assessment and Diagnostic Evaluations (GRADE) for students in grades Kindergarten through 12.