FY10 budget numbers finally settled

For the FY10 fiscal year, Franklin’s net loss of positions will be approximately 12. That should come as welcome news to the community, considering that in February, we faced a budget gap of nearly $3.5 million. At an average of $50,000, that gap represented approximately 70 positions. The gap we faced forced the school department to issue 60 layoff notices in April 2009, and many of the recipients of those letters have received recalls.

We reduced that budget deficit through reductions in expenditures (as shown in the column on the left in the table below). In addition, we received revenues from one-time federal and state resources, including stimulus funds, and school choice revenues (shown in the column on the right).

	FY10 Level Service Original Budget	53,807,773							FY09 Level Funded Budget		50,297,820
LESS									PLUS
Reduction in Expenditures		Amount							Sources of Revenue		Amount
Health Insurance Pemium		(192,000)							State Fiscal Stabilization Funding		219,523
Administrative, etc. Wage Freeze		(124,000)							Federal Stimulus Package		343,091
Additional Health Insurance changes		(200,000)							Circuit Breaker Extraordinary Relief Revenue		426,339
FEA Wage Deferral		(800,000)							School Choice		145,000
Degree Advancement		(150,000)
Attrition		(210,000)
Prepaid Tuition to out of district placements		(200,000)
Positions eliminated		(500,000)
Total Reduction in Expenditures		(2,376,000)							Total Increase in Revenue		1,133,953
Revised Level Service Budget		51,431,773							Increased Level Funded Budget		51,431,773

 

Some have suggested that we “found money” or were “crying wolf” during the budget discussions over the last several months. A careful examination of the data demonstrates otherwise.

Some of the confusion lies with the fact that because of contractual obligations, we had to notify 60 staff members of impending layoffs, even though we knew the number would be smaller.  Our budget gap was approximately $1,500,000 when the layoffs were announced in April.  That is the equivalent of about 30 positions that we expected to lose. We had the pay freeze from the teachers voted in June which saved us $800,000, we prepaid some special-education tuitions which saved us approximately $200,000, we had attrition funds available due to retirements, we had some available revolving account money, and some funds in the degree advancement category which allowed us to cover the gap. We were fortunate in this regard, because that helped us absorb some of the stimulus cuts announced in late June which interfered with our ability to bring everyone back.  

In general, we were able to get to this point through a series of cost savings and budget reductions.   It is great news that we are able to be in this position after perhaps one of the most difficult budget seasons in a long time. I appreciate the patience and perseverance from everyone on the School Committee, administration, and staff. This was truly a team effort and we should all be very proud of the hard work that got us to this point.

But all of this does not bring us back to level service on teaching positions. In fact, the actual layoffs for this year involved 12 positions, and 10 of those were teaching positions.  We started the year with 399 teachers.  Next year, we will have 389.  The positions that we will end up losing will be five physical education/health positions at Franklin High School, the five librarians spread throughout the district, one assistant principal at Franklin high, and the data analyst position (for a total of 12 positions).

In addition, you should consider the following:   we had 443 teachers as of October 1, 2007. The historical numbers going back five years show that we are on a dangerous trend for staffing of our schools.  The table below shows that we are down from a high of 466 teachers in 2006-07.    These staffing cuts have taken place at the same time we have seen increasing enrollments, resulting in larger class iszes.  That’s frankly not good for education, and again, dismisses the “crying wolf” theory.

 
 

School year	# of classroom teachers
2003-04	408
2004-05	459
2005-06	449
2006-07	466
2007-08	443
2008-09	399

 

You can get some additional history on teaching positions in Franklin by looking at this blog post from last year which can be found at: http://franklinschoolcommittee.wordpress.com/2008/05/17/information-on-teachers-in-franklin/.

A good name is a priceless possession

The increase in the use of anonymous rants and postings on newspaper and other blogs is concerning.  Often times, they express a view from folks who suggest that they have all the answers, but are unwilling to “step up to the plate” and do anything about it.

When reading the remarks of these critics who are weak and unwilling to sign their name, I am reminded of this quote from Teddy Roosevelt:

It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.

In today’s Milford Daily News, former state representative Marie Parente offered her view, which includes an analysis of efforts to identify anonymous posters.  You can view that piece by clicking on this link:

MARIE PARENTE: A good name is a priceless possession – Milford, MA – The Milford Daily News (Posted using ShareThis)

As she notes in the opening of her piece, “The past few months, several published comments on local newspaper articles by anonymous posters appear to have ‘crossed the line.’  One wonders whether they believe they are contributing to a forum, offering constructive criticism or simply intend to inflict pain, damage community standing and humiliate targeted victims.”

The Boston Globe ran a similar piece critical of these anonymous posts.  In it, the author notes that “these forums are insidiously contributing to the devaluation of journalism, blurring the truth, confusing the issues, and diminishing serious discourse beyond even talk radio’s worst examples.”  The author goes on urging newspapers to restore journalism’s integrity by removing these reader forums.  You can read the full Globe piece by clicking here.

Participating in government is no doubt important.  But the destructive use of anonymous rants can hardly qualify as participation.  It is easy to sit back behind a computer screen and hide behind electronic guts.  But in order to be a force worth reckoning, one must be in the arena. 

Jobs of tomorrow report released

President Obama issued a new report this morning on the “jobs of tomorrow” — even as the jobs of today keep disappearing. In the report, titled “Preparing the Workers of Today for the Jobs of Tomorrow,” the President’s Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) present a projection of potential developments in the U.S. labor market over the next five to ten years and discusses the preparations necessary to develop the 21st century workforce. The report (read it here) discusses the skills and training that will likely be needed for the growing occupation categories, and the education and training system needed to prepare people for those jobs.

With regard to education in particular, the report notes the following:

Occupations requiring higher educational attainment are projected to grow much faster than those with lower education requirements, with the fastest growth among occupations that require an associate’s degree or a post-secondary vocational award. Key attributes of a well-trained workforce as well as elements of an effective education and training system are detailed below.

The elements of a more effective system identified in the report include:

• a solid early childhood, elementary, and secondary system that ensures students have strong basic skills;
• institutions and programs that have goals that are aligned and curricula that are cumulative;
• close collaboration between training providers and employers to ensure that curricula are aligned with workforce needs;
• flexible scheduling, appropriate curricula, and financial aid designed to meet the needs of students;
• incentives for institutions and programs to continually improve and innovate; and
• accountability for results.

The report concludes that the U.S. economy appears to be shifting towards jobs that require workers with greater analytical and interactive skills – skills that are typically acquired with some post-secondary education. Mindful of this, we must do what we can to maintain a solid foundation in our public school system.

The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics offered its analysis of tomorrow’s jobs and highlighted the importance of on-the-job training as follows:

For 12 of the 20 fastest growing occupations, an associate degree or higher is the most significant level of postsecondary education or training. On-the-job training is the most significant level of postsecondary education or training for another 6 of the 20 fastest growing occupations. In contrast, on-the-job training is the most significant level of postsecondary education or training for 12 of the 20 occupations with the largest numerical increases, while 6 of these 20 occupations have an associate degree or higher as the most significant level of postsecondary education or training.

This report underscores the importance of learning how to learn, an important element for a successful education.

You can read the full CEA report by clicking here.  You can view the Bureau of Labor Stsitistics report by clicking here.