SWAMPSCOTT — Eliminating four elementary school classrooms and moving students between the district’s three elementary schools are among the updated preliminary budget cuts unveiled by school officials.
Parents spoke out against the proposed cuts at the School Committee’s budget hearing Wednesday night, expressing concern over increased class sizes and the social emotional impact the transfer between schools would have on their children.
Superintendent Pamela Angelakis said it’s estimated that there would be approximately 45 students from Stanley Elementary School who would have to move in current grades K-2 and that approximately 20 students will move from Hadley to Clarke elementary school.
Jacqueline Shanahan, a parent of a Stanley student, said the transfer is a lot to ask of elementary-aged students. She said there’s a certain covenant created with a child, which is that the school they enter will be their school.
“(We’ve) heard a lot about the budget and not so much about the individual kids and the practical realities of that, (such as) explaining to a 6-, 7- or 8-year-old that have bonded with these kids for two or three years at this point that they’ll have to move,” Shanahan said. “Even for the kids who are not moving, someone close to them may be moving.”
About two weeks ago, preliminary budget cuts unveiled by school officials included eliminating one classroom per grades K-4, which would have also cut those teaching positions. But to target support for larger class sizes, two of those teacher positions would be restored for a net reduction of three teachers.
On Wednesday, updated budget cuts showed that there would not be a reduction of a fourth grade classroom, with one classroom per grades K-3 eliminated, which would also cut those teaching positions, according to a presentation from school business administrator Evan Katz.
But to target support for larger class sizes, one of those teacher positions would be restored for a net reduction of three teachers. Elementary schools would go from eight classes per grades K-3 to seven, Katz said. He said the budget shows that those classroom reductions would potentially be at Stanley, but the teacher reductions wouldn’t necessarily be from Stanley as well.
“The decision to reduce four teachers at the elementary level, though it shows in the budget and feels like a budget decision, is in reality an enrollment decision,” Angelakis said. “Our current enrollment, our enrollment over the past many years and our projected enrollment, warrants only seven sections at each grade level, not eight.”
Average class sizes would increase for kindergarten from 20 to 22 students; for first grade from 18 to 23 students; for second grade from 20 to 21 students; and for third grade from 18 to 23 students, Katz said.
School officials have said that the elementary classroom reductions are based on an effort to address the major space issues at all three of the district’s elementary schools that can’t wait for a new building, and need to be addressed now. Recently, the school district was accepted into the Massachusetts School Building Authority for replacement of Hadley School, which was built in 1911.
Angelakis said at a previous meeting that the amount of teaching and learning that is occurring in the elementary school hallways is a major issue, which is neither acceptable nor appropriate for the district’s students and teachers. She said the budget proposal is also about equity — equity for the district’s students, teachers and equity in learning space, adding that she was comfortable in the direction the district was moving.
Ted Delano, a school committee member, said he was horrified by the hallway learning he observed, adding that special education kids, who already have a barrier, are being assisted in hallways.
“I think we can do better for our children,” Delano said. “As a committee member, I can tell you that our best intentions are for each and every student.”
Gargi Cooper, vice-chair of the school committee, said change is really uncomfortable, and that nobody likes it, but kids are super resilient.
“It’s embarrassing for our town that we are educating our kids in hallways,” Cooper said. “It needs to stop.”
Other potential cuts include the elimination of a high school English/Language Arts teacher position, a high school special education teacher position, a part-time health administrative assistant at the high school, a position from the middle school’s Swampscott Integrated for Transition (SWIFT)/Harbor program and another district position, Katz said.
That would result in a potential net staffing cut of 7 1/2 positions and a FY19 budget reduction of approximately $373,500, he said.
“This is the beginning of a long process and we only hope the decisions of the school committee are based on the best interest of the children and the community,” said Nancy Hanlon, president of the Swampscott Education Association, the teachers’ union.
The School Committee has said the cuts are necessary as their goal is to remain within 2 1/2 percent budget growth, as town allocation increases to the school budget in recent years is not sustainable.
“The school committee set out to really take a look at the budget and slow our budget growth to more sustainable levels,” said Amy O’Connor, school committee chairwoman. “We have giant infrastructure needs coming up in the years to come and we’re looking at tens of millions of dollars realistically and we’ve got to plan accordingly and we can’t rely on free cash to do that.
“We know how critical education of our children is. We know that a strong district increases our home values, but more importantly that it’s just the right thing to do for our kids, which is why we’re here on the school committee.”
Angelakis said previously that she was tasked by the School Committee to bring in a budget with a 2 1/2 percent increase in town allocation. In FY16, she said the increase was 4.3 percent; in FY17, the increase was 4.2 percent; and in FY18, the increase was 3.5 percent, but the town also absorbed some of the school department’s expenses, including snow removal and facilities costs, making that actual increase 4.4 percent.
Katz presented a FY19 school budget with a $760,342, or 2.7 percent increase in town allocation — the town budget for the school committee increased from $28,197,500 to $28,957,842.
He said the total budget increase was offset by a reduction of $106,978 in grants and revolving funds, which lowered the total budget increase by that amount — the total FY19 school budget stands at $31,051,287, with an increase of $653,364, or 2.1 percent, over last year’s budget of $30,397,923.
The school committee is scheduled to vote on the FY19 budget at their Feb. 14 meeting.
