State Education Secretary Paul Reville was in Fairhaven yesterday and talked with local school administrators. The Standard Times article on his visit is here. The Standard Times reports,
"Mr. Reville had given his audience of about 80 a rundown of Gov. Deval Patrick's "Readiness Agenda for the 21st Century," and spoke at some length about regionalization in response to the budget crisis."and ...
...
Mr. Reville said that school districts should "take advantage of the crisis to make long-term, systemic changes,"Areas where he thought savings could be realized were purchasing, cafeteria operations and other back-office functions.
The state has urged districts with under 5000 students to regionalize. This makes a lot of sense since administration costs can be shared and the state pays a large portion of the transportation costs for regional schools. The Secretary is quoted in the Standard Times,
"Massachusetts has 328 school districts, 391 on paper, for 1 million students," he said. "Maryland has 24 school districts. New York has one. I think the right number is somewhere between 1 and 391."
If Dartmouth and Westport schools entered a regional arrangement, the savings in transportation alone would probably be over $3 million. Add to that the decrease in administrative costs and there would be a lot more money for classroom instructors and curriculum. I think it is an idea worth pursuing.
Changes such as these must be driven from the School Committees. The school administrators are not going to volunteer to reduce their numbers.
Mr. Reville also advocated for charter or hybrid schools which is an idea that I support. Dartmouth has two idle school buildings which would be good venues for a charter school.
How do you feel about regional or charter schools for Dartmouth?
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26 comments:
same speech for the hundreth time.lots of promises no $$$
If Dartmouth Transportation budget is just over 2 million dollars and Westport spends just over 1 million,(according to DOE) how do you plan on saving three million dollars while providing services.?????. decrease administrative costs? how? close buildings again? like the other guy said stick to the mess on slocum road leave the education to educators
No problem. I will happily leave education to the educators if they will stop trying to take what's left in my wallet. As a middle class worker it seems to me the unions are trying to put me in the poor house. Education has been left to the educators and they have made a mess of it. If they wish to maintain the attitude that nothing needs to change in the way they handle contracts, staffing, priorities etc. then the public will maintain the attitude that they will not support the schools.
"...the transportation savings alone would probably be over $3 million"
How do you figure that Bill? Make 'em all walk?
If you read my post carefully, I said "the state pays a large portion of the transportation costs for regional schools". That portion is currently about 85%. If the state pays it, our municipal budget does not and the money is available for appropriation.
Bill;
Please provide your numbers to save 3 million dollars in combining the transportations costs if Dartmouth and Westport join together? What are savings based on? How long will the routes be? Would this include SPED transportation costs? Co-curricular activities too? At what point will combining the contracts will a savings be expected? What will be the percentage between both towns be? How many miles of road is there for each town?
You have a savings figure stated but no back up. Please provide it so we all can see. If it can be done, forward your figures and suggestion to both school committees and the Selectmen of Westport. After all, isn't transportation costs a "town" expense versus a school expense?
Part of my paycheck goes to the state. Does that mean I am helping to pay the 85% that you say I'm saving?
A state thats currently 1 billion in the red? thats cutting aid to towns? love to see those 1.5 hour bus routes
If you pay state tax then you would pay a portion of the 85%. The point is that the town would not have to budget for the funds which are then available for other things. Dartmouth spends over $2.3 million for student transportation, Westport spends over $1.2 million (I think that this Westport number is correct, their financial reporting is a different format and I am not positive I captured all the costs). Total cost between the 2 districts, $3.5 million. 85% of that is $2.975 million. That is how I arrived at my $3 million figure.
The other significant savings come from having a combined administration. One superintendent, and assistant, one business agent, etc. That adds up to a tidy sum as well.
Hey Middle Class Worker get a job that is UNION. Instead of everyone coming down to you why don't you come up to the UNION payscale. Life is good up here!!
My you union people are really nice and compassionate towards others. I hope the new contract negotiation lawyer realizes just how nice the people are that he will be negotiating with.
"the savings in transportation alone would probably be over $3 million"
If the total cost of transporatation between the 2 towns is 3.5 million, what you are saying is that you can reduce the cost to 500,000.00 dollars?
If you go back and read Bill's last post in these comments, he explains the savings.
Another example of how we can save money. Other areas of the country have regional school districts and it works fine. In this area it is all about the turf wars and control. People hate change!
New York has one district? That does it for me. Way to save money and give kids a good education. I want to hear more.
New York? Sure, here's some more info on per pupil spending in the Empire State: (2008 figures unless noted otherwise from Utica NY newspaper)
Suffolk County Avg: $20,800/pupil
Nassau County Avg: $18,600/pupil
Utica Avg: $13,800/pupil
Webb Avg: $30,179/pupil
(Very small district)
Oneida County Avg: $15,300/pupil
Herkimer County Avg:$15,700/pupil
State Avg.
Except NYC: $18,763/pupil
NYC Avg: (2005!!) $18,000+/pupil
Dartmouth MA $ 9,000+-/pupil
I would be happy to support a regional system if there was a commitment to not let our schools be degraded in the process. Bill has already stated, when asked , that anything that was not mandated by the state was fairgame to be cut in his opinion. I would not want regionalization in his control because he has a very different philosophy and set of values.
A regional school district has a School Committee, just like any other district, which is in charge of allocating the funds that are appropriated to the schools. The appropriations may come from one or more towns but the School Committee functions the same.
On another note, an MMA publication I received has an article about how Barnstable has consolidated the human resources and financial functions of the town and school district. They say it is working well and has reduced costs. No school business agent or human resources in the school, it is all handled by the town departments.
The critical phrase is "A regional school district has a School Committee" and "No school business agent or human resources in the school, it is all handled by the town departments." and the town departments are controlled by the select board.
There was a local TV news story last night about the town of I think West Warwick. Although I wasn't paying full attention, I think the town tried to move in a similar direction of having the town finance manager take the reins of the school finances. The school department is suing. They interviewed some people who were not happy with the schools. It may be an interesting story to follow.
Would human resources, controlled by the town do the hiring/laying off? Would they control salaries and raises? If this is the case, I could not support regionalization in the current environment. We need to retain our highly qualified teachers, not lay them off or force them out when their salary becomes unpopular with the CFRG. Bill I have not seen you moderate your positions at all, and being a first time elected official, I have a hard time believing you have learned nothing that has informed your positions in the last year. If I felt you valued education in a real sense I would trust you more. I understand you don't support the "whole" person education, sorry if I have misstated your words, but I think you have misjudged the Dartmouth schools actual mission. For example, if my child pursues music at DHS, this limits his ability to pursue other programs, such as sports or AP courses. A student must choose a path which fits their needs and goals, they do not have access to all. To deny them access to any enrichment does hinder their success in the future.
From the MA DOE site:
Barnstable: $12,300/pupil
Dartmouth: $ 9,200/pupil
Wouldn't regionalization saving almost $3mil in transportation alone help preserve some of the whole child programs like music and sports?
Not necessarily. Transportation costs fall on the town gov budget, i believe. This means the school budget would only benefit if the sb used some of the savings for the schools, which is no guarantee if they believe mnss is good enough every year.
Good point, there should be some incentive for the schools to share in the savings of regionalization. Otherwise, why would they cooperate? Although my gut feeling says that they will fight regionalization anyway. Savings may be in the best interest of the students but are they in the best interest of the adults with control of the purse strings?
Anyone with anything to lose will fight tooth and nail to protect it. We've been seeing it all along and it's not going to stop now, that's for sure, especially if the SB gets on everyone's case.
It's just natural to protect what you have, but our financial crisis surely isn't bringing out the best in many people when it comes to acknowledging that some sacrifice must be made on everyone's part. Some will just ask for more money, no less.
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