Proposed policy on non-budgeted funds

At the January 22, 2008 School Committee meeting, the proposed policy on Donation of Non-Budgeted Funds (File KCD) was discussed in a first reading. The policy amends the current file KCD entitled Public Gifts – Donations to the School. It has been under review by the Policy Subcommittee over the past year. The Milford Daily News report on this discussion can be viewed by clicking here. There is a discussion of the topic taking place on Towncommon.net which can be viewed by clicking here.

The policy came under close examination following the gift of $27,000 from the Brick School Association in FY07 to finance the operating costs for the Brick School. The acceptance of that gift raised questions about the role of private entities in funding public education. The School Committee agreed to accept the gift in the spring of 2007, with the understanding that it would consider and deliberate on the policy implications of private funding for future budgets. The proposed revisions to KCD are a step in that direction. In designing the policy, the Committee is looking to ensure equity, consistency, and compliance with law in the acceptance and disbursement of donated funds.

This type of policy is particularly important in tough fiscal times. In cash-strapped school systems around the state, it is common for parents to raise money for extracurricular activities, equipment, and extra supplies. But when the fundraising turns to an academic, rather than extracurricular, program, many public school educators feel the line has been crossed as to what is acceptable. Without a policy such as this, advocates for particular disciplines can go out and raise money, while other disciplines which are no less worthy don’t get supported because they don’t have wealthy benefactors.

Franklin’s proposed policy would encourage and welcome future giving, but only to the extent that the donations supplement rather than supplant – take the place of — the operational budget. The “supplement not supplant” language mirrors federal education laws which dictate that school districts may use federal funds only to supplement and, to the extent practical, increase the level of funds that would, in the absence of the federal funds, be made available from non-Federal sources for the education of participating students.

These types of policies came into focus several years ago when the Town of Wellesley rejected $380,000 in private funds to save its Spanish immersion program after a failed override attempt. You can read the Boston Globe report by clicking here. The New York Times did a report on deep pocketed partners for public schools which can be viewed by clicking here. PTO Today magazine published an article on the topic, raising questions about the equity of private donations. It can be viewed by clicking here. These policies also came into play recently in Northbridge and Winchester. Northbridge’s efforts can be reviewed by clicking here. You can view information on Winchester’s Promise fund by clicking here.

The policy is scheduled for a second reading and discussion at the February 12, 2008 School Committee meeting.

School budgets strained

Inflation and operating costs have far outpaced state spending on education, putting intense financial pressure on a broad spectrum of school districts across the state, according to a preliminary report released yesterday.

The report, by the Massachusetts Department of Education, found that while healthcare, salaries, and special education program costs have escalated sharply, state funding has remained stagnant since 2003. As a result, cities and towns have had to shoulder a greater portion of the burden, raising property taxes and instituting fees for once-standard services, such as bus transportation and athletics, in order to make ends meet.

The increased costs also mean that school districts are spending a smaller percentage of their budgets on student instruction and salaries for teachers, guidance counselors, and other employees who have direct contact with students, according to the report. On average, districts spent just 51 percent of their budgets on instruction, a decrease of 6 percentage points since 2002.

For more information on this state report, read the full article in the Boston Globe by clicking here.  To view the full report, click here.   You can view the acting Commissioner’s PowerPoint presentation on the report by clicking here.

There is a discussion of this report going on at Franklin’s Towncommon.net.  To view and/or participate in that discussion, click here.

Hats off to Mrs. Johnson

She’s a Franklin original, and she helps get our kids safely across the street.  Susan Johnson has been a crossing guard for the Franklin Public Schools for the last seven years, and she’s been affectionately dubbed the hat lady in the process. 

On any given day, while working the streets, you can see Johnson along Oak Street “bearing” her animal hats, a birthday cake, a witch’s cap, or just about anything that can sit atop her head.

The Milford Daily News ran a piece about her that can be viewed by clicking here.  You can view video of her haberdashery by clicking on the picture below.

Governor’s budget announcement

Governor Deval Patrick announced today that his budget for Fiscal Year 2009 will include a $368 million increase in education funding, including a record level of school aid to cities and towns and significant increases in Universal Pre-K, full day Kindergarten and Extended Learning Time programs.

“Our budget will reflect the priority our administration places on providing Massachusetts students with the top quality education opportunities they deserve,” said Governor Patrick. “While the Commonwealth faces tough fiscal challenges in the year ahead, we cannot afford not to invest in strategies that work to help students excel. We are making tough choices necessary to make this targeted investment.”

The Administration’s budget provides $3.9 billion to cities and towns through Chapter 70 state aid, a $223 million increase over FY08 that will result in additional funding for every school district in the Commonwealth.

The Governor’s FY09 proposal to be filed later this month will also include a $51 million expansion for high priority programs including universal pre-K, Kindergarten Expansion Grants and Extended Learning Time Grants.

The budget also includes $43.2 million to transition an estimated 440 half-day kindergarten programs to full day. This $8 million expansion brings the Commonwealth significantly closer to universal full-day kindergarten. Currently, there are 1,050 half-day kindergarten programs statewide.

The education-related items included in the Governor’s FY09 budget proposal were informed by the ongoing work of the Readiness Project, a 200-member group of education, business and community leaders established by the Governor last summer to develop a comprehensive 10-year plan to reform the state’s education system. That plan is expected to be completed this spring.

The Governor’s entire budget will be filed later this month.

FHS’s own featured artists

On Thursday, January 3rd the Franklin High School “Sound in the Hall” musicians and recording students under the direction of Michael Peacock recorded a live radio show. During this show students performed and were interviewed by DJ Mark Maverick from 104.7FM iRadio in Los Angeles. FHS teacher and studio founder Mike Peacock and FHS Principal Pam Gould were also interviewed for the show.

This interview was conducted from the Franklin High School music room to Los Angeles using the Skype software. On Monday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. the show was broadcast live from Los Angeles. It will be rebroadcast on Wednesday 1/9 at 7:00 p.m. and on again Thursday 1/10 at 8:00 p.m. It will then be added to iRadio’s pod cast page for on demand listening. Because this is one of the first student run record companies in the country the station has decided to make “Sound in the Hall Records” their featured artist for January.

This student run record company has created an outlet to highlight the talents at Franklin High School. Students are involved with all aspects of music recording and production. Students are creating and performing as well as designing the CD labels and marketing and distributing the CDs to the public. Franklin’s music director Nancy Schoen observed that Mr. Peacock has done a wonderful job with this program and described it as a great opportunity for our Franklin High students.

EQA audit report

In April and May 2007, the Massachusetts Office of Educational Quality and Accountability (EQA) conducted an independent examination of the Franklin Public Schools for the period of 2004–2006. The EQA analyzed Franklin students’ performance on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) tests and identified how students in general and in subgroups were performing. The EQA examined critical factors that affected student performance in six major areas: leadership, governance, and communication; curriculum and instruction; assessment and evaluation; human resource management and professional development; access, participation, and student academic support; and financial and asset management.

On Tuesday, January 22, 2008, the audit report will be presented to the School Committee. The report validates many of the good things going on in Franklin’s schools, and identifies some areas in which the district needs to improve. If we want to stay on the path of districts that are moving from good to great, we will have to address those concerns. The Franklin Public Schools was considered to be a “Very High” performing district, marked by student achievement that was “Very High” in ELA and “High” in math during the review period as measured by the MCAS tests. The EQA gave the district a Management Quality Index rating of “Strong.”

The state report finds that, on average, three-fourths of all students in Franklin attained proficiency on the 2006 MCAS tests, much more than that statewide. More than four-fifths of Franklin students attained proficiency in English language arts (ELA), more than two-thirds of Franklin students attained proficiency in math, and nearly two-thirds of Franklin students attained proficiency in science and technology/engineering (STE). Ninety-seven percent of the Class of 2006 attained a Competency Determination.

The report also pointed to shortfalls in school funding, which was “insufficient” to fully fund costs associated with increased enrollment, additional special-education teachers, contractual salary increases, and utilities. But the report praised Franklin for passing a $2.7 million property tax increase last spring, which “solidified the community’s commitment to the school district and the educational needs of the children in Franklin.”

This audit is just one of a series of accountability measures that school districts undergo. The agency looks to see how Franklin uses the funding money we receive from the state and provides outside scrutiny of our public school system. The questions that the audit sought to answer include:

• How does student achievement data drive the school improvement process in the district?
• Are the educational decisions data-driven and student-centered?
• Is the instructional focus on what is learned rather than on what is taught?

The EQA was created by the Massachusetts Legislature in July of 2000, to provide independent and objective programmatic and financial audits of the 350-plus school districts which serve the cities and towns of Massachusetts. The agency is the accountability component of the Education Reform Act of 1993, and was envisioned in that legislation. The complete standards can be read by clicking here.

The full 28 page EQA report on Franklin can be read by clicking here.

Interestingly, this year, the state Legislature decided to phase out the EQA office. Legislators and policymakers are currently exploring options for establishing a new accountability function for the Commonwealth’s school districts.

Accountability, one of the key components of standards-based education reform, is intended to spur academic achievement for all students by applying pressure and consequences to public schools and school districts. Aligned with the accountability provisions envisioned in the Massachusetts Education Reform Act (MERA) of 1993, the Office of Educational Quality and Accountability (EQA) was created by the Legislature in 2000 to provide an “independent mechanism to verify the efforts of school districts and charter schools in order to promote higher levels of academic achievement by students.” However, EQA has faced steady criticism about the ways in which it has operated, and policymakers are determining a new way to perform the district accountability function.

The Rennie Center is presenting an event on January 16, 2008 where it will release and discuss findings from its policy brief entitled Post-EQA Accountability: A Menu of Policy Options. This brief is intended to contribute to the discussion about a new accountability function and includes case examples of accountability models from four other states and three countries. The brief concludes with an array of policy options for consideration by Massachusetts policymakers.  Information on this event can be found by clicking here.

Brick School Task Force to report

The Brick School Task Force will present its report to the School Committee on Tuesday, January 8, 2008. The group, which has been working diligently since July, has produced a four inch thick binder full of information and data on the school and issues presented by the charge.

The Task Force has worked hard over the past six months and the members all contributed a great deal of time and resources to this effort. I don’t think I can begin to describe how grateful we are for the energy, enthusiasm, passion, and commitment demonstrated by the members. We all knew at the outset that serving on this Task Force would be difficult at best. There was one underlying goal, and that was to make our education system the best for our youth. The work involved some polarizing issues, and the group had to work through some of these differences to provide objective information which will be helpful to the School Committee in its future decision-making.

The chair of the Task Force, Sue Rohrbach, sent a note to the group’s members last week, thanking them for their hard work and perseverance. In the note, she observed:

I wanted to take the opportunity to thank you for all your hard work and dedication to the Brick School Task Force. Most importantly, thank you for volunteering your most precious commodity, your time. I am sure that your families will be glad to hear that our work is complete, so that they can enjoy you being at home, rather than at a meeting.

At the beginning of our journey, I asked all of you to keep track of the hours you put into this effort. I am sure at this point they are too numerous to count. Only a couple more hours left.

The Task Force report is available on line and can be read by clicking here.