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2000-04-24 with Budget HearingBEVERLY PUBLIC SCHOOLS BEVERLY. MASSACHUSETTS April 24, 2000 A Public Hearing on the School Budget was held on Monday, April 24, 2000 at the Bevedy High School Auditorium. Beverly. Members Present: Ms. Bell, Ms. Brusil, Mr. Cahill, Ms. Coburn, Mr. McHugh, Ms. Norris. Mayor ScanIon Members Absent: None Also Present: Mr. William Lupini, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Judy DeLucia. Assistant Superintendent Dr. Jim Hayes, Assistant Superintendent Ms. Judy Mulligan, Business Manager Ms. Judith Cronin & Mr. Jack Terrill. Citizen Advisors to the Finance & Facilities Subcommittee President Cahill called the meeting to order at 7:06PM. He stated that this Public Hearing on the School Budget was being held in accordance with Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 71, Section 38N The following citizens spoke to the Committee about the School Budget: Stella Mae Seamane' Lois Markham* Peg Hartmann John Doherty Liz Creen Toni Musante Debbie Bright Paul Lanzikos Dean Rubin Nancy LeGendre Pat Hamilton 840 Hale Street President of the City-Wide PTO 61 Cross Lane, Parent Advisory Council 8 Pearl Street 9 Johnson Street 12 Willow Street Common Lane, Pres. BHS PTSO 35 High Street 9 Meadow Road Corning Street *Written text/information attached. The meeting was adjourned at 7:38PM. BEVERLY PUBLIC SCHOOLS BEVERLY, MASSACHUSETTS April 24, 2000 A Special Meeting of the Beverly School Committee was held on Monday, April 24, 2000 at the Beverly! High School Auditorium, Beverly, MA. Members Present: Ms. Bell, Ms. Brusil, Mr. Cahill, Ms. Coburn, Mr. McHugh, Ms. Norris, Mayor ScanIon Members Absent: None Also Present: Mr. William Lupini, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Judy DeLucia, Assistant Superintendent. Dr. Jim Hayes, Assistant Superintendent Ms. Judy Mulligan, Business Manager, Ms. Judith Cronin, Mr. Jack Terrill, Citizen Advisors to the Finance and Facilities Subcommittee President Cahill called the meeting to order at 8:07PM. Mr. Cahill stated that the purpose of the meeting was to review the budget as it.. currently reads and discuss any changes that committee members might propose. He suggested that certain cuts be made with regard to the building and grounds maintenance budget. He made several suggestions as to what he thought should be cut and discussion ensued. Ms. Brusil made a motion that the building and grounds maintenance budget be reduced by $350,000 with the superintendent making recommendations as to exactly what would be cut. The motion was seconded and passed, unanimously. The next item that was discussed was the modular classrooms that currently exist at the Cove School. They need to be removed by June 30, 2000 so that renovations can be done at the property. Investigation into alternative uses for the classrooms prompted Mayor ScanIon to draft a letter to the School Committee which is dated April 24, 2000. (See attached.) In it, he recommends that the classroom with the bathroom be relocated to the property adjacent to the Briscoe Middle School that is currently used as a parking area for the buses. He further recommends that the other modular classroom be moved to the airport and erected as a classroom by Mark Fosters Emergency Response Group (Civil Defense). Because this second modular will be moved off school property, it must be declared surplus. It was moved by Ms. Brusil that the modular classroom without the bathroom be declared surplus by the School Committee. Seconded, the motion passed with a 7-0 vote. Discussion continued regarding the budget. Mr. Cahill suggested that the committee take a vote on the proposed budget. Mr. McHugh suggested that the committee have another meeting to further pare down the current budget. Ms. Brusil stated that the community has a right to know what we, as a School Committee, believe is needed to fund the schools. Mr. Cahill added that we have been in the procoss of challenging items on the budget for several meetings and that our responsibility is to put forth a budget that reflects what we think the schools need. The School Committee directed the Business Manager to substitute the House '01 Chapter 70 figure (7,077,302) for the Governor's figure (6,961,502) on the revenue page of the 2000-2001 budget, per Representative Michael Cahill. Ms. Brusil made a motion that we propose a School Budget for Fiscal Year 2001 in the amount of $37,379,364 which includes an appropriation from the City in the amount of $36,723,564. The motion passed with a 5-2 vote. Mayor ScanIon and Mr. McHugh were the two who voted in opposition to the motion. Following discussion initiated by Ms. Judy Mulligan, Business Manager, Ms. Brusil moved that the preceding motion be amended as follow: The total proposed School Budget for Fiscal Year 2001 be in the amount of $37,379,364 with a total City appropriation of $36,839,364. The motion passed with a 6-1 vote. Mayor ScanIon voted in opposition. The meeting was adjourned at 9:30PM. To: Beverly School Committee From: Lois Markham, Co-President, Beverly Citywide PTO Beverly's Citywide PTO feels that before establishing the final school budget for FY 2001, the School Committee--and particularly the mayor--should look carefully at the percentage of the city' s budget allocated for education and compare it to some other school districts. According to research we have done (the figures are attached to this document), the communities of Gloucester, Wakefield, and Melrose are comparable to Beverly in two significant ways. All four communities receive the same percentage of net school spending dollars from the state's Chapter 70 money. In all four communities, students make up between 12 and 14 percent of the total population. Yet, Wakefield spends 48 percent of its total budget on schools; Melrose spends 54 percent of its total budget on schools; Gloucester spends 49.5 percent of its total budget on schools. And Beverly spends between 41 and 42 percent of its total budget on schools. In other words, Beverly spends between 6 and 12 less of its total budget on education than three comparable communities. 41 percent is not enough, and we must begin to move to a higher percentage this year. The mayor is fond of saying that he doesn't print money. He just moves it around. I strongly urge you, Mayor Scanlon, to publish the city budget in narrative form (as the Superintendent of Schools does with his budget) so that voters can more easily understand it and evaluate it for themselves. It is no longer acceptable to shortchange our students. For too many years, we have been told that the city doesn't have the money. The city must find the money in its budget to provide a quality education for all of its students this year. Not next year, not some undisclosed time in the future. The students who will be in ninth grade next year have only that one year to get a ninth-grade education. And this is true for the students in every other grade as well. A seventh grader' s seventh-grade education cannot be deferred until the next year. A first-graders first-grade education must be gotten in first grade. To the argument that the city has other demands on its funds, I say none is more important than education. Well-educated students benefit the entire community. The students in schools today will be the doctors, plumbers, store clerks, and city councilors of tomorrow. They will be the property owners and voters living next door to you a few years down the road. To stint on the quality of their education today is to stint on the quality of your community tomorrow. I ask the School Committee to fully fund the superintendent' s budget. I ask the mayor to make education your top priority now. Give next year' s students the education they deserve next year. Give this community the educated citizens it needs now and in the future. (A) District Beverly Wakefield Melrose Gloucester (B) %NSS from Chapter 70 money 18.2 14.57 20.74 18.52 FY99 from Dept. of Education website NSS = Net School Spending (C) %Budget on education 48.29* 54 49.5 FY2000 * = FY2001 from calling town offices {D) Actual NSS 30,611,310 23,257,680 22,499,724 25,525,272 FY99 from Dept. of Education website (E) NSS per pupil 6553 6920 6619 6412 FY99 from Dept. of Educ. website (F) · #pupils 4671 3361 3399 3981 FY99 (D)I(E) (G) Pupils as Total Pop % of pop 38195 12.2 24825 13.5 28150 12 28716 13.8 from (F)/(G) Common. wealth of website SEAMANS' POLL #1; March 29, 2000 RESPONSES TOTAL INTERVIEWS OBTAINED: 65 DEMOGRAPHICS (Guessed by Interviewer) Male 43%: Female 43% Blanks 14% Age groups: (20-30)9%: (31-50)46%: (51+) 31%: (Blank) 14% (Given by respondents ) wd#1 11%: Wd#2 11%; Wd#3 3%; Wd#4 11%: wd#5 7%: Wd#6 9%; DKNA 52% Dem. 15% Rep. 6% Unenrolled 31% Blank 48% QUESTION 1 "On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being your greatest concern, how would you rate the following Beverly issues: Response Average Ratings o Personal response to your problems by elected officials ... 6 o Attention to senior citizens' needs by elected officials .. 6 o The needs of the homeless or poverty-stricken ............. 7 o Provisions for affordable housing ......................... 7 o Expansion of the Cummings Center ........................... 6 o The need to preserve open space ....... ~ ................... 7 o The need for an indoor ice-skating facility ............... 5 o Revitalization of downtown Beverly ......................... 7 o The need for tax relief ................................... 7 o Attention to the Beverly water supply ..................... 8 o Education in the Beverly public High School ................ 9 o Education in the Beverly public Middle Schools 8 o Education in the Beverly public Elementary Schools ......... 6 OUESTION 2 "DO you believe that your elected officials should attend all pertinent local forums and hearings and stay through to their conclusions? Responses Yes 72 %: No 3 %: Depends 11%: DK/NA 14 % QUESTION 3 "Do you believe that Beverly receives all the aid that it is entitled to or can get from the state? Responses Yes 12 %: No 3 2 %: Depends 5 %: DK/NA 5 1% OUESTION 4 "Finally, what do you think is the most important task Beverly's State Representative? for Responses- Number of times item was mentioned "Education --- get more money for schools "Attention to constituent needs & the homeless "Getting all possible state funds & retirement benefits "Revitalization of downtown & waterfront development "Getting road repairs and snow removal "Make sure Salen's power plant isn't killing us "Make sure train horns don't blow "Decrease taxes "Police station facilities;fire protection in Centorville "Associate with residents more "Dunham Road overpass "I know Cahill "work with elderly "Be in the legislative "Just act with integrity "Have concern for open space "Have concern for city issues "Be honest with constituents "Concern for healthcare "Fight crime "Present Beverly in a favorable light "To get what Beverly is looking for rather than what Beacon Bill wants to give it "cut Back on state government of our city