Hello everybody, and welcome, welcome to tonight's special Westfield Public School School Committee meeting. It is six o'clock, and if you're not familiar with the building, the flag is immediately over to my right, Mr. O'Connor, will you call the roll? Jeffrey Gunther? Here. Mike Terrell. Here. Kathleen Hillman. Here. Bo Sullivan. Here. Heather Sullivan. Tim O'Connor. Here. Chairman McCabe Here. All rise for the pleasure of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag, the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty,
justice for all. How is everybody happy today? Huh? Um, Ms. Sullivan couldn't make it today. She had another work engagement that she absolutely could not get out of. So she sends her regrets, uh, in her stead is the capable vice chair. And now Secretary du jo, Mr. Timothy O'Connor. Woo Ha. I like it. Um, so I guess it's up to me to give a bit of a, uh, budget overview from the city side, um, which I'm obviously happy to do. We moved public participation this time to the end
of today's meeting, and then we will put it again back to the front of next week's meeting. When we look to take the vote on, on the budget as a whole, the reason for us doing this is because we wanna be able to capture as much as we can from you, um, prior to making a decision. And we'll have a couple of days obviously to mull over some of that stuff. Um, the only thing I would ask you during public participation is to make sure that you don't speak about a person. It's okay to speak about a position, but it's not really, uh, in the best interest of anybody to,
uh, speak about a person specifically. So if you, you know, you wanna talk about a certain position, feel free to, uh, I don't wanna limit free speech, but we would appreciate it if you kept that speech to the position, not the person. So I was before, Um, the school, uh, the city council. I, it's all kind of coming to as a blur a little bit. So last week, maybe the week before, um, and I gave kind of address, I think it was the 17th of April, I gave an address to the city council relative to the weird culmination
of circumstances I would say that led us to the position where we're now currently in and trying to figure out a way out of, um, in there are three things really that have not really helped, um, the city's finances over the last couple of years. Um, and that's really the reluctance on folks to raise taxes, raise healthcare, or raise fees. So the problem now that we now face is that we used free cash last year of about $5 million,
4 million the year before that in order to offset fees and not move with the inflationary times. Well, unfortunately, what we thought was a good policy, turns out it wasn't the best of all policies because we were really trying to, um, create a gap, if you will, between the levee ceiling and the levee limit. Uh, which we were under the impression was a really good thing to do. Well, as it turns out, when we're looking at chapter 90 formulas and chapter 70 formulas and chapter 74 formulas, it doesn't really have the effect
that you want it to have because the state will then tell you, well, if you have a, uh, a gap of 12 and a half million dollars, it means that you didn't tax 12 and a half million dollars worth of taxes. And coming to the state to fix your financial problem is not really gonna go over well at the state level. So, um, if you kinda use that as your backdrop and you, you, you have an appreciation for what we're trying to get to and how we're trying to help this thing along. Um, that $5 million of free cash that we use in FY 25 is non-existent for FY 26.
Um, so that's one of the issues. The second issue, um, is healthcare. So the healthcare Trust meets with the city of Westfield and really has a, um, the, the last say in what we use for, uh, finances and how we increase finances for healthcare for employees across the city. Now, for you, city employees and myself included, um, you'll notice that the increases in healthcare have been extremely nominal 0 0 1 3 0 0,
and didn't keep up with the times. Um, last year, um, it was suggested that to the healthcare trust that they move at 7% and they added zero again. Now, the downside of the upside of, lemme give you the upside first. The upside first is that city employees didn't pay more for health insurance last year than they did the year before. This year, we put in a budget of 7% and hope that 7% was gonna be good enough to capture the actual inflationary rate. Well, as it turns out, the inflationary rate was about 27 or 28%, which means that the original 1.3 million
or so that we put in, I'm kind of trying to find my numbers, 1.2 million or so, um, quickly ballooned to 3.4 million on top of the 1.2 million. So the overall healthcare increase that the city will see in FY 26 is $4.6 million over FY 25. So now we're at about a nine and change 9.6. I'm looking over Joanne 'cause we went over the numbers earlier today. Um, so now we're looking at about a $9.6 million, uh, funding shortage. The inflation rate, if you believe the consumer price index,
is about 2.8%. I will tell you that our taxes over the last three years during my tenure has never once equaled 2.5%. So reaching 2.8% in FY 26 is going to be a reach in. In fact, last year, not only didn't we charge 2.5% of proposition two and a half, we actually went under that and charged a minus percent. So everybody across the city, um, that didn't see any like really crazy adverse effects on assessment saw a tax break as opposed to a tax increase.
And what that meant was that there was another $3.3 million that never hit the bottom line of the city's finance page. So that's another thing that wasn't really helpful. Now, I'm gonna continue to keep going down these things that weren't really helpful, but then I'm gonna go into the sum of the good news and there is some good news, but there's not a lot. Um, we saw contractual obligations. Now, I don't want anybody to think that I'm upset with teachers or unit B folks or unit D, but these are just factual realities, uh, teachers and unit B and unit D and librarians and custodians
and all those folks had three year contracts. Well, when you made the three year contracts in FY 23, you didn't have a crystal ball to see what was gonna happen in FY 26. So you just kind of, I don't wanna say you just kind of wing it, but you know, if you're trying to be fundamentally fair with people, you really have to be fair with people. So to give them nothing for the work that they're doing is silly to me. So we attempted to take the best shot we got, and that resulted in about a $1.8 million increase in the FY 26 budget. Now, again, it's deserved.
There's no issues here whatsoever. It's not a union busting. That's just the, the, the reality of things. Then when we came up with an FY 25 budget for the school department during the FY 25 years, so from September through till now, we had to increase the FY 25 capacity by about a million and, uh, $1.1 million in additional services that are basically covered by law. So if you had a one-to-one, then you didn't have a, uh, you didn't have the right person
or, you know, whatever it happened to be, that was another $1.1 million increase. So the number, as you could see, it continues to keep growing. Um, that was about a million dollars, I, sorry, I I misread one, sorry. Special education increase was 1.1 and the additional increases throughout the year was another million. So, um, it, it hasn't really been terrific for our bottom line. Then we went to trash collection and recycling. So, so that everybody's on the same page. I'm gonna tell you the same story that I told City Council
in 1986. I'm gonna let that sit for a second. In 1986, it was proposed that we have a trash fee of $95. In 1990, it was adopted at $95. It was never charged at $95. For some reason it was charged 2125 a quarter. I have no idea how it turned into $85, but I have an idea. And then in 1993, there was a surcharge on it that went from 92 to 93 for, to cover the year from 92 to 93, and it went to $95 for that given year
and then reverted back to original charge of the $85. It has been $85 since 1993. The estimated income revenue on tax collection was $1 million in 1993, the estimated revenue in FY 25 for trash collection, as you guessed it, $1 million because it hasn't moved in 35 years. The problem with it not having moved in 35 years, and again, this is not a blame game.
The problem with it not moving in 35 years is as expenses started to creep up and it creeped up astronomically starting in the covid years, we had to begin trying to figure out how we're gonna balance the trash service with other fees within the budget. Currently, the gap between revenue and expenses over $2 million, it has been over $2 million since 2021. Which means if you're trying to balance a budget, you don't have expenses that are, you don't have revenues coming in to meet the expenses, there's only one way to balance it, and that's to take it from other places in the budget.
Now, um, fortunately we didn't do that much cutting on the school sides of the budget during those years. Yes, we did a little bit, but the trimming pretty much came out of the city side of the house. But it was for exactly the same reason. It was because our trash expenses never went up with an inflationary rate when it should have, in my humble estimation. So that brings about another, um, another $321,000 increase in year over year of expense from DPW 25 to DPW 26
on top of the $2 million gap that already exists. So none of this is really very pretty. And then I tried to include money for, um, employee compensation. So as luck would have it, this is the way this has to work, right? As luck would have it all, pretty much all 18 union contracts are up this year, which means we are now embroiled in contract negotiations across the city with almost every single union out there. And I can't look union people in the face and tell union people that they're not worth anything. So it's a real kind of quandary to be in
and we're kind of hoping that we can get this thing figured out. And then across the board in our service lines, we saw about a 14% increase in all utilities. So that's the bad news. If you're wondering what that comes out to, the quick thumbnail sketches that comes out to about 20 and a half million dollars that adversely impacted this budget. Now, the flip side, which isn't as good as the first side, is that the school department has already gotten together on under two rounds and they have trimmed their budget requests
asked by $5.2 million, um, which we've talked about. We've talked about it openly. It's been seen, it's been demonstrated. Mrs. Barry has been up at the podium on, on numerous occasions trying to get this figured out for us. The city side of the budget has been trimmed by 3 million. It got trimmed, uh, last night by about another million dollars, um, of work from that was being done in my office. So those two numbers together are about $9 million. Then comes the real hard part I am proposing
me, by the way, I'm not, this is not the city council. This is me. I am proposing a 2.5% increase in taxes to meet the property pro proposition two point a half allowance. I am also asking for another two point half percent, which trims into the spending gap between the 12 and into the 12 and a half million dollars. Now, if you remember, I opened with the 12 and a half million is the gap between the limit and the ceiling. That was untaxed money that could have been taxed.
So as a government, you're allowed to go back into that untaxed money and tax it each two point a half percent for you math majors out there. And I know there are a couple, I could see a couple math folks over there. Um, each two point a half percent is worth $2.2 million. So 5% increase is worth $4.4 million. But I wanna, I don't wanna make the same mistake that was made on the water fee for goodness sakes. I wanna talk about real numbers. So, oddly enough, my home, my personal home eight Hawthorne Avenue is valued at
$355,000, which is exactly the mean point in the city of Westfield for real estate. My property tax currently that I pay is $6,000. So an increase of 5% on $6,000 is $300. Okay? Just so that you have a good basis of understanding really what this 5% is actually talking about. So you can do it with your own taxes, multiply the number by 5%, you'll come up to whatever you think your increase is. Again, that 5% alone is worth $4.4 million.
I've also asked the city council to join forces with me. I see, uh, city Council President Beltran and city counselor Ralph Figu are in the room with us tonight. I've asked them to join forces with me and close the gap of the trash fee. Now the trash fee is currently at $85 a year. I have asked them to move that number to $260 a year. Yes, that's an increase of $175. And when you look around the cities and towns that are next to us, Southwick is $50 a month. Montgomery is $175 a quarter.
Um, so Southwick is 600 Montgomery's 700. Most of the other cities and towns are well beyond the 260 that I'm proposing. But what's important to understand is I'm proposing it as a fee and not as a tax. And there's a reason for me to do it that way. A fee can be used to level off the playing field of an expense. A tax can be used to raise revenue. My purpose is not to raise revenue. My purpose is not to carry that revenue along people who are not sharing the trash service.
So if you raise the trash fee to $260, you come up with magically 3.4 million, which is exactly the amount of expense that trash services costing the city of Westfield to provide. And we're obviously, we're happy to provide it. From there we go to what are our other ways to increase revenue without harming the taxpayer. So there's really only two more spots. Now, there's only two more markers that we can use. One is new growth. Well, new growth in the city of Westfield is interesting. Um, we have land to use,
but we don't like to use that land for, for reasons, whatever those reasons happen to be. But we don't like to use those lands. Obviously, the proponents of Jupiter power when they came through, um, we're touting the fact that they could give us x number of dollars, even though that x number of dollars was never actually said, by the way, just to let everybody know, um, x number of dollars. But there was no way in God's great earth that anybody was going to settle for, um, having it over our aquifer under any circumstance. But that also holds true for other businesses.
So it'll be up to the city council and God bless them. It'll be up to the city council to create ordinances or change the zoning laws to, uh, protect the aquifer so that we don't have to, uh, go through this every time somebody wants to have a large commercial project over the aquifer. Uh, currently, um, the north side seems to be the only place where we can expand because that's the only place with available space. But we don't wanna do that 'cause we're still trying to protect the north side. So, um, we look at new growth at being flat,
new growth is about $500,000, uh, in FY 26 projections, which is clearly not what we would like, but there was no way that we were going to lose one natural resource to, to safeguard greenhouse gases. We just, that wasn't a good idea for us. The other is local receipts. Now, I'm almost done. I promise you you've been extremely patient, but I think you really do need to understand this stuff as a backdrop in order to really make considered, um, decisions for yourselves and how we're gonna get through this together.
Um, the other thing is local receipts. Now, the governor keeps talking about, um, an initiative to allow local mayors to put, for lack of a better term, more taxes on its own public restaurant taxes, bar taxes, hotel taxes, paint the lines, taxes. I don't care what the taxes are, but the fact of the matter is the mayor's association of which I'm an executive board member on now, doesn't wanna do it that way. We would say to the governor, as the governor is saying to us, if you think that we should spend our own money,
which is the 12 and a half million dollars, and by the way I think they're correct, then you should also spend your money of which you have a $9 billion surplus. So you are in a much better position to help us fix our Chapter 90 problem. And more importantly for this conversation, our chapter 70 problem and our circuit breaker problem. Now, for those of you don't know, and the learning curve was pretty steep for me, and I'm not even saying I've got it all, but I've got most of it. Circuit breaker is supposed to be refunded at 75% from the government. It's actually refunded at 44%.
That in and of itself, if it were funded correctly, would be a huge deal breaker for us. So when you're talking to your state representatives, and this is why I am, uh, it's a long-winded ask, but it's coming. When you're talking to your state senator and your two state reps representative, uh, Kelly PE and Representative Michael Finn and Senator John Veli, please encourage them. 'cause right now is budget season for the House Senate budget season. I think it's coming next week, and we should get some House and Senate numbers. Uh, we, we already have some house numbers, but we should get some Senate final numbers by Memorial Day,
which is another positive thing for us. I can't say where it's gonna go. I don't know where unrestricted general government aid is. I don't know how that, that's the UGA money. I assume that it's actually gonna go up. Um, the governor had it in her budget at 2.2, at 2.2%, increase the house, cut it. Now, I'm not saying the house is bad, I'm just saying the house cut it. They didn't wanna fund the 2.2%. We're looking for the road increase to go from $200 million a year to $300 million a year. If that happens, that means that $600,000
of the current spending budget for FY 26 and the engineering department can be immediately taken off the bottom line in order to help massage these budget numbers. So you have been terrifically patient. I'm gonna give you the bottom line number though, 'cause you're gonna see it's still a deficit, unfortunately. So right now the deficit as it sits is about $4.1 million. How do we close the gap? I don't know. My hair's getting a little grayer getting a little older. I don't wanna look like President Obama after eight years, but it's kind of creeping up on me. I can see. Um, we're gonna ask for your help and support.
We need you to speak to directly to your house reps and your Senate reps. I'm looking to see whether or not there's an appetite on the Senate side to move the chapter 70 funding to where it's supposed to be in the circuit breaker funding for where it's supposed to be. So that unfortunately is a very doom and gloom forecast, but it's the best one I got and I'm offering it to you so that you'll understand. And you have some background for the amount of work that's being done behind the scenes. When you looked at what happened in the first round
of cuts in the second round of cuts, if, if I have to make a third round of cuts, it, it, it's just gonna be unbelievable that the school department would have to see this level of funding shortfall. But unfortunately, with this level of funding shortfall, most of this thing that we have is adversely costed out by unfunded mandates within the school department. Unfunded, we have some interesting transportation issues and I'm just gonna leave it at that. And this healthcare, uh, back breaker that came through.
So with that, I'm gonna end my dialogue and I'm gonna move back over to the city side of the house if you have questions. By the way, I have received many emails. I have read them all. I can promise you I have not gotten back to everybody. Some people have asked me to read things, not read things. Um, I think that anything that anybody's asked me to read or not read, I'm just going to say, um, to those people. I have one from Sophie Perez and I have one from Chris Topa that I'm just gonna move to enter those into the, uh, in the school share file.
And they can be made available to the public as we like, as we see fit. 'cause I think that's a reasonable thing to do. I don't know if I can get through them in the three minute public participation period. Uh, and it wouldn't be right for me to actually take up your time. So with that, I'm gonna conclude my end of it and move on to the school budget itself. Thank you very much for putting up with me, Ms. Berry. Mr. Han. Good evening. Shannon Berry, director of Finance. Um, so I'm just gonna review a couple of the slides that I presented at the beginning of the month, um, during the budget presentation before we get into the question and answers. Um, so just to recap, our budget for FY 26 as it's proposed,
is $75,566,339. And if we look at the split between personnel expenses before offsets, when we're looking in the line item budget, 32.3% of that budget is expenses. And 67.7% is personnel. And it's a 4.3% increase from FY 25. Can I say something real quick? Yeah. So in the, uh, just one thing I'd like to point out about the expense side is years ago, um, the personnel made up 80% or more of our costs. So you can see that the increases are coming on the expenses
now it's 67 20, 33. So when we look at the drivers on the expense side, we'll see that special education is 44.8% of expenses transportation, 25.9% and utilities and rent 11.8%. And then on personnel, we have 118.2 staff total. Um, unit B obviously makes up the largest percentage of the number of staff. And then also, as you can see, um, the largest percentage of the amounts that we're spending on personnel. And So
again, this is just the budget over the past four years. As you can see, this is a first this year where personnel is increasing such a small amount, um, less than a half million dollar increase from FY 25. Um, again, as we just saw on the expense side, expenses are the huge driver of the budget this year. Um, and then our chapter 70 increase this year was just $1.1 million. And then finally, when we talk about, um, offsets in the budget that we use to help support the budget, school choice is a big one that we have used in the past. We have traditionally stuck around about a million dollars. Um, we increase that in FY 25.
And for FY 26, um, this budget includes $1.93 million worth of school choice funds. Circuit breaker has increased, but not enough. Um, so again, we use a year behind. So we're using our FY 25 circuit breaker to offset the FY 26 budget. Um, special education, our two 40 grant also helps with out of district tuition $650,000. And then also we have a variety of grants, which we're supporting salaries with $2.8 million. Can you stay on that slide for just a second? Sure. So do you remember what I was talking about? Circuit breaker funding at 75 versus 44%?
Quick math tell you that the difference between what we're supposed to be being funded and what we are being funded is about a million and a half dollars. So, um, when we talk about things like, why are we falling behind and why can't we keep up, that's one of the driving factors that doesn't pop up the screen to those folks that aren't following it. But it's very clearly one of the reasons why we're, we're in where we are. And that was the last side. So we're ready for questions. Okay. Members of the committee, do you have any questions
Of me or Shannon, I guess Right. You have to call. I'll go first. Who do we got? Hi there, doc. Uh, Kathy. Kathy first. Go ahead. Go. It's go ahead Ms. Hillman. I just have a question about the, uh, children's coroner. Um, that program has been very successful and it really feeds our high school children into a career in educa as an educator. Um, I'm concerned that we are allowing, um, we have preschool and we in certain schools, but we do not have it for, for three year olds
and four year olds throughout the city. By keeping this program in line, we would be able to provide more seats. Why aren't we doing that? So the preschool program at Westfield High School, uh, is not, um, uh, it's not part of, um, I guess it's separate from our school in that we are not able to get chapter 70 money for those students. So we do not receive state funding for those students. There's a modest tuition that is charged. It is nowhere near what is needed to cover the cost.
Um, we had hoped to be able to expand our CPPI grant opportunity, uh, and add two classrooms there, but that has not come to fruition at this point. So the program costs us money to run without getting state reimbursement. And we do have, we have opened up many preschools across, um, the only school that will not have it because of space right now would be paper mill. So we have opened up many other, uh, spots for that. So in terms of cost savings, it was significant. Uh, no one wants to see that program closed. If there is, um, an opportunity for CPPI grant expansion,
that would be what we would do with it, uh, is add to two classrooms there. That was our hope at the initial, uh, initially, uh, but we were unable to do that. Are there any other grants out there to keep that program going? If there is, I will find it. And we are looking. Joanne and I look regularly. Um, so I'm hopeful that something comes out, but at this point, nothing has come across our desk. It was really a good feed for our students to go to Hoya community free of charge. Sure. Um, from the high school. So I was really disappointed to see that not being funded.
Thank you. Mr. Roski. Dr. Gunther. I'll start with just a couple, couple of the, the more specific line items. Um, the 200 K that we have an out of grade, so we use that as a, a place where we cut from the budget last year and we, we, that was a bet we took. It didn't work out in our favor. As the mayor mentioned, the, the budget is running higher this year. Mm-hmm. Is that 200 K of out of grade known? Um, or is that in case? Are there, I guess my question is, are there specific adjustments that we know are coming that that's a, you know, conservative investment?
There are specific adjustments. So out of grade is where funds are placed for contracts that have not yet been settled. So both the custodial custodian's contract and the secretary's contract are up at the end of this June, um, and have not been settled. So that funding will cover any, um, increases to those contracts. And also in that line is degree advancements for teachers. Um, they're able to advance, um, twice a year, which would change their salary. Um, so there is a certain amount of money, nowhere near what the potential could be if everyone did it, I take an average. Um, and that's in there.
So we can cover those changes in salaries throughout the year. Thanks. The other quick couple ones, um, the sub nurse line, I noticed that that's not increasing despite the fact that we are cutting float nurses. Is that a area that we need? Do we have concerns about overrunning that with removing the float nurse position? I don't currently have concerns. Okay. Um, we were okay with that line this year. This year. Okay. And the last one was just the vocational out of district. Could you remind me what that line is and why that's increasing? Sure. So Under transportation Under, I'm sorry. No, the it is under is on the expense.
The OUTTA district tuition on Page one. Yes. It is line, it's under other system expenses. Yep. So that's the tuition for students that we send out of district, either Smith Vocational or LP vec. And those are students that are attending programs that we do not offer at Westfield Technical Academy. Um, so the increase, there's obviously a tuition increase each year from those programs. Um, but we also just have additional students that are attending those programs. Got it. So We, I mean, I think it's, it's well known that there's an increase in interest in career technical education. And so students that are interested in cosmetology, which we do not have attend Lower Pioneer Valley Educational
Collaborative, and the interest in animal science has ballooned. Uh, and those students would go to Smith Vote Smith Vocational. We used to send students to Smith Vocational for Criminal Justice as well, but we created our own program so that we're able to keep those students in district. Okay. I'll save my other ones and let other people have a turn. You sure? You're on a roll. Alright, I'll keep going then. Um, I want to talk about, um, special education. I know if there's not major shifts in the special education budget, other than it looks like, you know, meeting some
of the needs that we saw identified in year, um, I know we just approved Dr. Rosenthal. I, I'm making an assumption that, uh, we're letting him kind of get his arms around things. But I, I do continue to have some concerns that our ratio of special education teachers relative to special education students, is much lower than peer districts. Right. And so I just wanna better understand how you're thinking about so special education staffing as we go into the next year. So I, you know, we, we know what's happened over the last several years is
that we've had an increase of special education students, particularly those that have moved into our district. So, um, our in-house programs are pretty much full. And so you'll see that we've had also have to, and, and we are sending more students out out of districts. So when Dr. Rosenthal begins, um, I will certainly, uh, I mean, he's gotta do an assessment of where we are and what we need to do. Uh, but I think one of his strengths, and one of the reasons why we wanted to, uh, why we move forward with his candidacy is he has a lot of, um, experience opening internal programs within a district,
uh, which would save us some, some funds. And I know I've mentioned before, our thought for the community action building down the road, uh, moving forward, and I think he might be our, our guy to do it. But, um, you know, I think what's happened over the last several years is that the move-ins have really, um, taken a toll on our, on our, on our finances and our staffing. The last one, and then I'll, I'll move on. Um, I just, as I, I, I appreciate the mayor for laying out all of the context here because there are a lot of cuts in this that I'm not very excited about.
Um, I am curious, as you're weighing this, if we're thinking about advocating for putting specific roles or additional funding back in, like what are the next things on your list that need to come out to maintain the budget at this level? If we wanna put back in any of the things that are, So you're asking what we would've put back? No, I'm asking the opposite question. I'm asking, like, as I'm thinking about the things that, the cuts that I don't necessarily agree with, what are the things that we would need to be trading? Um, or the, I guess the things that become on the table if we need to cut further as a,
So I mean, when we looked at what we, there were, the further reductions would be in, in, in personnel. Uh, the expenses that we have were pretty tied to. So we would see, um, I mean, I'd rather not go into specific, I get You don't wanna be specific positions, but like, But it person, but things that you're, we're down to personnel. Okay. The expenses that we have, as the mayor referenced, they're unfunded mandates. We really can't not pay them. And I assume, um, personnel you're talking about like class sizes or programming? It's, we're, we're down to the last few things
that are discretionary, right? If I may, um, one thing that has been clear with our state delegation and our executive delegation, so the governor's office and Lieutenant Governor's office is this, this is not a ification of special ed. Don't, don't let that be part of your thought process. Well, that, that's not the problem. The problem is the cost keeps going up. So let me give you, if I may, let me give you a, um, an example, let's say like
is a special ed student that requires special services and like goes to a program that costs $300,000 and that program decides that it's going to reorganize by using the term reorganize. It exempted itself from any of the requirements on how far it could go in charging expenses. So that fee went from $315,000 to $370,000. That's an increase of $55,000 on Mike alone.
There's another cadre of programs that went from $65,000 to $125,000 with seven kids, six kids, seven kids, eight kids, somewhere, somewhere in that ballpark. So don't let anybody think that this is about the vilification of special ed. It's not. It's just trying to figure out how to get costs under control. Back to Mr. Terrell. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Um, So, uh,
thanks to the mayor, thanks to, uh, uh, Mrs. Barry and, uh, superintendent Zaki for laying all of this out. It is very good to have some context, although it doesn't make any of the decisions any easier. That doesn't make the situation any better. But it is, it is helpful to, to hear that. Um, you know, looking at the, looking at the budget and looking at the fact that, um, we are at, uh, 75 in some change and 4.3% over, over last year's,
um, uh, number, it's very difficult to believe that we're still in a $6 million deficit. Right? I mean, that's a, that is, that is a very, uh, it's hard to get. Yep. It's a very tough, very tough, uh, concept, uh, to swallow and, uh, understanding that there are things that we're trying to do on the city side, and obviously some levers that we'll try to pull in that we're asking folks to, uh, to, uh, talk to state senators, congressmen, um, and so on.
Um, it's not all of that aside. It's, I don't see it getting a lot better as time goes on. And, and I think, um, you know, it's one thing to get into the specifics of, of, of what's, what has to be cut, what has been cut, what would the next thing out be? What would the next thing in be? But to me it's a much larger problem. Um, and this probably isn't the, necessarily the forum for it, but, um, I, I, I think it's becoming upon us to
try to set the, the foundation now to try to rectify some of this so that 10 years from now we're not in, in, in a, in the same issue and potentially exponentially worse issue, um, in terms of special education programs, transportation. Um, I know there's been some conversation about maybe some, some things that we can do as a district to try to bring some of our out of, out of district students back in. Um, I, I, I, I hope and,
and I will advocate for trying to, trying to move in that direction to try to recoup some of that money. Um, obviously we want to be able to get as much revenue as we can from any source we can. And if the city can help more, that's fantastic. If the state can help more, that's fantastic. But, uh, you know, the other lever is trying to lower our, our expense, uh, internally. And I, and I think that's one I I, I know it's been done and I'm not, I I'm not saying that that hasn't, it's not something that we've looked at, but, um, you know, I think we really need to take a,
a hard look at, um, how we, how we can recoup some of that, how we can bring some of those students back into district and reduce some of those expenses. 'cause they're gonna keep going up. Um, I know that's not news to anybody. Um, in terms of specific questions about specific positions, um, I've gotten a lot of emails and I just want to thank everybody that sent me an email, uh, or called me or stopped me and, and, uh, asked me a question or offered some concern. Um, if you've sent me an email, I've read it. Um, I, as the mayor said earlier,
I have not responded to everybody. Um, I have actually, I, I, it's just, I, I, I look forward to hearing everybody's feedback here tonight. Um, so I look forward to public participation and that'll inform, I think, some of the lines of questioning that we get into at the next meeting when we actually sit down to vote on this budget. But, um, I just wanna say thank you for the, for the concern and the outpouring of support for numerous different positions within the district. Um, understand that we think that they're all important or else they wouldn't be positions in the district. Um, unfortunately, we're at this point where, um, you know,
it's a decision between, between a a, a tough decision and a worse decision. And, um, you know, I do think there are a few things that I would like to advocate for. I'm not going to get into those specifics this evening. Uh, but, um, you know, fingers are crossed that there may be some, some good news here with state budgets, uh, and, um, some of the, some of the things that the mayor were talking about was talking about. But, um, yeah, uh, definitely we're in a tough, we're in a tough spot and, uh, you know,
certainly not a position that any of us want to be in. So I'm gonna hold it right there for now and, uh, reserve the right for additional questions and comments. You will always have that right, Mr. Terrell. Mr. Sullivan. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Um, thank you all for coming. First of all, um, there's a lot of people that get these jobs. They're like, okay, let's do this in behind closed doors and silence and quiet and not this group, as far as I can tell, we'd rather do it in front of, in front of you and hear your feedback. So I appreciate you all coming tonight. Um, there are other topics
that we talk about at other meetings, um, that I'm sure that would interest you. So if you ever want to come to a meeting, feel free to. Uh, but I also have gotten, obviously all the emails, uh, on of a variety of topics. They're all, all of them are worthy. Um, there's not one thing you could say and make an argument that everything you have advocated for doesn't deserve to be in this budget. Um, the reality is, is the number, uh, the mayor, I thought did a pretty good job of going over what that number is and how we are still getting to that number.
Um, we still have that deficit, um, that we're gonna need to figure out how to get to the budget that is proposed without going any further. And that's one of the jobs that we have and, and the superintendent and the finance director have along with the mayor. So we will do our level best to make sure that happens. But there's a couple things I want to point out. Um, and I've said this, I don't know how many times I say it every meeting when there's numbers, but I'm gonna switch it up on you. Uh, the mayor was good enough to quote me in the paper on Pittsfield. I appreciate that. Um,
but I'm gonna switch another one up on you. And this one I think is even more shocking. The good little town next door of West Springfield, chapter 70, money in Westfield versus chapter 70 Money in West Springfield. A city that is two thirds of the size of Westfield gets $2 million more than we do. Let that sink in. $2 million more in the city budget for schools from the state West Springfield gets that. We don't get Why is that? Why is that?
It's the formula. The mayor laid it out plain and simple. It is the formula and the tax levy in this town. We've heard about it forever and ever and ever. And you're, you're paying the same amount because the assessments went up. That's all there is to it. I'm not saying anybody is at fault for that, but that's where we are. So think about that when we're talking about this budget is a town, two thirds the size of this city that we live in. Next door is getting 2 million. What could we do with $2 million more, just 2 million.
Besides the 20 million more that Pittsfield gets. It's crazy. So we do have to figure this out moving forward. Mr. Terrell said 10 years down the road, we better not be having the same conversations 10 years down the road. That's all I've got to say about that. There's a couple other things. Um, Ms. Barry and the superintendent both said, um, expenses versus personnel in this year's budget, 2 million more than $2 million more this year of an increase in expenses than personnel.
The people teaching our kids. And your kids are $2 million less than transportation and special education. Those are the two biggest drivers. We just saw the numbers. So, um, I said it last time, I'll say it again. This budget is not on the backs of the personnel. It's not on the backs of the teachers, the paras, the librarians, central office staff. It's not on those backs. It's on everything else that they've talked about with unfunded mandates. And they're exactly correct. One question I do have, and I've asked this one before,
but I'm gonna ask it again because we have people in the audience who may not have heard it. Um, the school choice number that they had up on, on the screen to balance or to use, it's not even balanced yet to use in this year's budget is just under $2 million after next year's payments and everything. What will be in that line item next year? So at the end of this year, we'll have $2.6 million in school choice. Yep. We're gonna use almost the 2 million to offset next year's budget. Yep. So we'll have 600,000 now borrowing that we don't need
to tap into school choice for the budget deficit that we're currently facing in FY 25, which I'm hoping we don't, we'll have the 600,000 and then we'll receive about another $1.2 million, um, during next year. So obviously, I mean, as you can see, this isn't sustainable to be using this amount of school choice. So at the end of next year, basically before next year's budget, we should have about $1.8 million in school choice money. Um, one thing that I am going to disagree with Mrs. Barry on is she said we've used a million dollars pretty much on average. That's the last couple years. When I first got here, there was a fight, not a fight, a
disagreement, um, on how much school choice money to put into the budget. And we went with the higher number and the higher number was $600,000. We have more than triple that where the mayor talks about free cash on the city side and c uh, councilor Orkis in the back there too. I just wanna make sure he gets credit for being here. Um, when, when the mayor talks about free cash, this is sort of our free cash account, but it's not for budgets. The three things, I think if we bought a brand new piano for the high school band uniforms, which they hadn't had in almost 20 years,
and a playground at one of the elementary schools, I'm not gonna try to guess which one it was 'cause I forgot. There were two that we bought in the same year and we paid one of 'em out of this, uh, outta school Choice money. I think it was actually Abner Gibbs, but that's okay. We'll go with that. That's okay. I think it was higher. But that's what that money's for, is when the expense comes up, we can allocate that money to pay for the expense. It never was supposed to be used to balance a budget. So, um, that's the last one of that. And the other one I had was just as another example. Technology kids, kids
with computers, Chromebooks. There was $300,000 in that budget line to make sure we updated and replaced Chromebooks. We had to cut $250,000 outta that. There's $50,000 left in that line item for the full city school system. I hope the Chromebooks last another year. That's what, that's what we're dealing With. I hear the teachers laughing. Yeah. Yeah. Are you laughing that I said it or you're laughing? 'cause there's not gonna be $50,000 at the end of the year, but that's what we're dealing with. Um, and everything you've ad advocated for, like I said
before, should be in this. It absolutely should be in this budget. The numbers are the numbers and we have to make some very, very difficult decisions that not everybody's gonna like. As a matter of fact, I can guarantee you most people in this room are gonna hate 90% of the, uh, decisions we make, but they need to be made. So I can't stress enough. I know everybody up here has said, get in contact with Senator Ellis. Get in contact with Representative Pease and Representative Finn. It works. Trust me. If they hear it from people other than ourselves, if they hear it from you guys.
'cause let's, let's face reality. You vote for 'em. Who are they gonna listen to? They're gonna listen to the people who vote for 'em and put 'em in that office. That's what you do. That's what they do. They're politicians. They wanna be reelected again. Right. They're gonna listen to you. So help us out by getting in contact with them. I know you can send emails. I've gotten a lot of 'em. Send them to vli PS and Finn too, please. Thanks. What A great segue. He's unbelievable. This guy's like set up guy. Uh, there's some other people who I know came in late from committee meetings across the city. I see councilor Bill Ky from Ward six.
I see city councilor Bridget Matthews Kane from Ward three, and I see counselor at large Brent Bean who's sitting out there in, in the middle of the crowd. I wanna thank them. They obviously don't have to be there, but they care enough about the budget and the city and your kids to show up. I also wanna say something to Matt Roth. Matt, your your help is not going unnoticed. We appreciate it. We get it and it's gonna be a mess, but we'll, we'll get there together. Mr. O'Connor. Yeah. Thank you. Um, well welcome everybody, and thank you for coming here this evening. And as, uh, others have said, your, your emails
and your thoughts and some phone calls and other things, it's very important. And I, you know, the the ones I was able to respond to, I talk about passion everybody has for supporting your cause and do not ever give that up because we need to continue to hear about it. It'll make us better as school committee members. Um, and we certainly wanna make sure that yeah, your voices are, are being heard. Um, I think Mr. Rell was talking about it and, and others. And when you're the sixth speaker outta six people, a lot of things have been talked about already. So I'll try not to repeat much of that. But I think what Mr.
Rell was, was leaning towards is responsibility school committee. And one of our greatest responsibilities is to build a sustainable budget. And it's an easy sentence to say, right? A budget that's sustainable. Um, we've had trouble doing that, uh, over time. And, and part of the reason Covid Covid, uh, knocked EE everything, everybody for a loop. We had the insurgence of Esser funding the emergency, uh, funding, uh, during covid to help with, with behavioral and, and, and lost learning and,
and everything else that went along with it. That fund, that fund the funds ended this year, right, is our last year of funding. But the learning gaps haven't stopped. And, and the lost learning gaps and the behavioral issues haven't stopped. So we're, we're up against bigger challenges already as we move in into these year, uh, this next, uh, budget cycle. Um, Mr. Sullivan talked about the technology. I think we're up against era some of the advances that we've made in technology over the years, and we've done a really good job of getting technology into the budget.
Uh, and, and overnight it seems to be getting wiped out. Um, that's gonna be a significant challenge that we're gonna have to really, really look long and hard at. Um, I do wanna talk about the, the big three. The, the, the special education, transportation and, and contractual and again, contractual services, uh, that they are what they are and, and, and everybody, uh, who's, who's getting an increase is in deserving that. But if you just add those three up, it's $4.2 million. And our budget, I think the difference in the budget from
last year to this year is about 3.1 or 3.2 million. So we're already, we're already down $1.1 million just with those three service areas that that's it. And, and that doesn't cue utilities, the, the cost of going up. So it's been a real challenge to sustain and get any kind of traction on things as well. Um, but I did want to talk about Esser funding for a minute because, um, I think we've done a good job, and I just want to make sure folks know that we did add a number of positions with the emergency funding
because we had to spend it, we're gonna lose it. And a lot of those were in behavioral services and other support services. How, how many positions are kind of remaining now that funding is, is stopped and how many positions are we still going to have to fund that were what we call esser positions. So there were two unit B positions that we added through Esser funds that we still have, which are the EL supervisor and the health and safety supervisor. And then we had always had reading interventionists through Title one funds, and through SR we added math interventionists through, um,
the intermediate school. So those were, um, positions that in the FY 25 budget, we had to make accommodations to be able to keep those because they felt, we felt they were positions that were still needed. Yeah, I, you know, I was expecting much more in terms of the staff that we retained, but I know we had my cuts mm-hmm. Over over years. So I think we've done a good job and I think we're concerned about that. We knew it. We, we knew it when we were, we were putting budgets together that, that, that, the influx of that and how we would, how we would support it after the funding stopped was a, a big concern.
So I think that's kind of a positive, you know, I'm looking at the sustainability of budget on the children's corner. Is there any chapter 74 monies that could come in for, So we would have to apply for Chapter 74 certification, um, which hasn't been successful in the past. Um, and so it takes a few years to build that. So it is not an immediate fix, it's a long-term fix. You have to build the program, then the state will come in, inspect your space, inspect the instruction, do all of that,
and then decide if you're chapter 74 worthy, uh, or, or if, if you could be a Chapter 74 program. And what, what have been the situations in the past that have not made that something easy to, to obtain, Um, the willingness of the staff in the program at the time. Um, all right. I think the, the staff would do it now, but again, it's a two year pros, two three year process before you can make that work. Yeah. Um, yeah,
just a couple a a couple of other things. Um, again, it's been said before, this is what, what we're facing as a body is trying to make the least worst decision that we can make based on, on the circumstances that have been shared with you a couple of times over, over tonight. And we're, we're all feeling it. Um, talk about the technology, talk about, uh, the loss of specialists and interventionalists and, um, and teachers and other counselors in other critical positions. And, and something very close to me is the school libraries.
School libraries are not obsolete. I wanna make sure that we, we, we talk about that and, and we look at that as we go into further budget discussions. One of the primary budget goals that the superintendent had put forward in a priority, the very first one, is to increase academic achievement. And, you know, I think what research consistently demonstrates that students with access to school library and school librarians tend to have higher reading comprehension, achieve greater academic success. Um, we can't just let that go by.
So that's something that I think, um, I'm gonna be further interested in, talk about as, as other areas. Um, but they're, they're critical. They're not just bookkeepers. I think they're vital to educational information that's being provided. And, and we're gonna have to continue to look at all of that very, very closely. And so, just to clarify, and I think you know this already, obviously, but I mean, we don't wanna make any of these cuts. There's no one on the school. I get it. And I know you don't either. And, um, you know, and to Dr. Gunther's question earlier, like the next steps, I mean,
you know, we don't, we don't want 30 children in a classroom, 35 kids in a classroom. That's not productive for the staff or the students. And I think, um, that has to be something we look at as a Priority. I get it. And there are, there are, you know, I think any of of the members here can talk about any of the positions, any of the programs, um, and, um, all, all doing that. Really, very concerned about, you know, about the cuts that are, that are in front of us. So, can I, uh, Ms. Barry, can you address how we came up
to the, um, the number, the, the target number, the 75,000,541 number, How we got there from the beginning? How, how was that calculation made it wa so that that number wasn't a mystery number? And I want everybody to understand how that process went. So can you take me from the 72 and change to the 75 number that we now have and how we did that? Sure. So we originally built a budget that was level service, not necessarily our budget of need, um, but level service. And we are around the $80 million mark. Um, so we were asked to make different tiers of cuts,
three different levels, which we did. Um, and in the end, to get down to the $75 million budget that we're at now, we had to do the level one and two tier cuts. Um, and we did not have to do level three. So those cuts the target number just so that everybody in the room knows wasn't, uh, a number that was picked out of the sky. It was picked out a little arbitrarily, but it wasn't picked out of the sky. Um, we received about a million dollars, $1.1 million in state aid in chapter 70. Um, clearly that wasn't gonna be enough,
so we added another 2% on top of that, which comes up to the number that you see and how we got to the 4.3% that we're now dealing with across the city budget. The city budget increases 1.8%, um, because we have been actively trying to trim out all that we can. So I don't want anybody to think that, you know, the school budget is being treated disrespectfully over the city. Budget is not. It's getting almost three times the amount of money or increase, if you will, as the school department side. But we have a, we have a very, very,
very difficult challenge in front of us, and I hope it doesn't get worse. Um, there was, I'm just gonna ask the question because I know many of you emailed me. I probably have 20 emails and 18 of them were on the topic. Can you go over the manufacturing, cut The, the numbers? So, currently enrolled for manufacturing on a second. There are 13 students in the freshman class. 11 students in the sophomore class, eight students in the junior class, and 10 students in the senior class. So outta 64 possible seats, there are 42 that are taken.
And how many, how many people are assigned currently to instruct? There are four instructors. Okay. Do you wanna jump back in? Hi there, Mr. Hillman. Same question I was gonna ask. Um, what, and, and you're putting in an assistant instead, so, um, what is the differentiate with the money wise that's gonna happen? It, it, there's a significant difference because an assistant is a unit D position versus a unit a position. So we're talking, you know, $30,000 versus $80,000. Dr. Gunther, Um, the one question I had,
and then I have, I have some thoughts I wanna share as well. Um, the tr I'm similarly concerned about the sustainability question. Can you just speak a little bit about what's driving, I know that the transportation is driven in part by out of district transportation costs continuing to grow related to our special education transportation. Mm-hmm. What is the driver of our regular transportation increases? Sure. So regular transportation is obviously just our regular in-district transportation, but it also includes McKinney bento, um, homeless transportation. So that is included in that line.
And for next year, that's $683,000 of that budget line item. Um, so that's significant. So we are using our out of district company van pool to do that transportation, um, back into the, into town. Um, we obviously cost share with other districts where we can, but I mean, this is significant. If we have a student that's on a, a ban and requires a monitor, we're talking almost $60,000 a year. Yeah, That makes sense. Um, yeah, I, I, I mean I share a lot of these concerns that have been named about the sustainability, the tech that you mentioned.
Uh, Mr. Sullivan, I think is, to be honest, it's gonna come and bite us later. The curriculum cut is gonna come and bite us later. Um, as I named earlier, the special education feels shortsighted to me. Um, but I'm also really worried about the sustainability of our, of our programming and our academic offerings. Um, there was a great, uh, curriculum and instruction subcommittee meeting a little bit ago where we heard about the results of the, um, of the interventionists, the work of the interventionists that were doubling the results of kids reading. Um, and they also heard about the 90 kids on waiting list
to be able to be served by interventionists just at wis. Um, and so I, I share the sustainability concerns on the finance side, but I'm also very worried about the sustainability concerns from a programmatic standpoint. Um, and, and so to me, this is a revenue problem. Um, I appreciate you, I appreciate the mayor, um, the efforts you're taking to bridge the gap to the levy limit, but a a couple of other, a lot of numbers been thrown out. A couple of other ones that I'm really grounding in, in this moment. Um, if you look at districts of our size in the state and adjust for, uh, student size
and demographics, we are 45th out of 55 districts in terms of how much we fund our schools. Um, we have, if you were to fund on the city side at the same level, controlling for inflation and changes in class sizes as we were before esser in FY 19, the department budget would be $9 million larger. And so this is, in my mind, esser is a big problem, but Esser is the trash fee situation for the school department where we did not increase the funding to our schools during Esser. We let Esser fund that fill that gap, and now we're behind.
And that is the sustainability issue for us as a school department. The, just to echo the state side, the other, in addition to circuit breaker, if chapter 70 had kept up with inflation instead of being capped, we would have another $5 million from the state this year. Mm-hmm. And so in addition to circuit breaker and transportation support, chapter 70, keeping up with inflation is a key priority. I just, I hear all the sustainability concerns and it's gotta be dealt with on the revenue side. And so, Dr. Gunther, that's, you know, we talked about the interventions and we know the impact they have
and which is why we kept the math interventionists at that time because it was affecting, uh, student achievement positively. Okay. I think we've reached that time. Um, Everybody satisfied with the Questions they've asked, had a chance to speak. Um, don't worry, I'm checking the time I got this, uh, before I make the same mistake that I made over the weekend. Is there another city counselor out there that I haven't recognized that I can't see? I don't wanna do that again. Everybody out? Okay. Any other electeds I missed? 'cause we really do appreciate when you show
up and support your schools. Okay. So moving on to public participation. I hope you don't throw things, but you're more than welcome to make your, uh, way up to the microphone. Um, public participation will last for 30 minutes On a topic of your choosing, you'll have three each speaker, we'll have three minutes. So whenever you are ready, I guess we can get going. Sign. Sorry, you have to sign in. I don't know. Oh, the other thing is, um, this is the public participation piece, but it's not a question, question and answer form. Right? All right. First 10, hold on.
You're good. You're good. Good to go. A little Better. Gaba. I don't know if you're gonna make it so there's gonna be 10 of you. So my math three times 10 is 30. Right? Go ahead. Alright, I'm gonna hold this. I think it's quick enough. Get my voice. You're good. There we go. Uh, hello. Uh, evening. Uh, my name is David Beal. I am the, uh, library paraprofessional at, uh, paper Mill Elementary School. And as you're probably aware, our positions are scheduled to be eliminated in the coming budget.
Um, not here to save my job, that's why I'm here. But, um, there are plenty of openings. I've been in education for almost 30 years, so I'll land on my feet. And I'm not worried about myself, but I do have a concern I'm really addressing here is what will be lost if media pairs are cut from the schools. Um, you know, some, some people would say, the kids say, don't read. And, you know, some would say, uh, they would say that with, with, uh, a little bit of naivety. Um, they would say, uh, the kids would prefer
to just sit at home and play video games and watch television. Um, what I've learned in my 27 years in education is, uh, that if you give kids access to books that they'll enjoy reading, they will read. Um, many of our students come from homes with very little in the way of reading material, uh, for any number of reasons. A lot of students tell me that they've never been to a public library ever, uh, outside of school, the closest some of them ever come to a large selection of books is at Barnes and Noble or, you know, the book aisle at Walmart. Uh, they just, you know, where they'd have to buy their books. Um, you know, when students come into our school libraries,
um, for many of them, it's the only place they can go to be surrounded by a world of literacy and, and the guidance that they need to find the books that will lead them into the world of, of the written word. Um, you know, if you could see the looks on their faces when they come in the library, uh, they wait at my desk in line sometimes, you know, with book lists in their hands of things they wanna read, ready to ask about a, a book they've heard about from their friend or a bestseller they wanna find out. We have, um, they're excited to read, they're excited to find something they want to read. And, um, and they'll say things like, you have a book about
how to take care of, of dogs. Mr. Ell, I just got a new dog. I wonder how to take care of him. You have any books about that? You know, um, they'll be excited about some kind of animal they heard about on, on, maybe on television, but they wanna read about it now. Um, we find them books they want to read, um, and they read them, and I know this because they'll gimme impromptu book reports in the hallway as I go by them. You know, they'll tell me about something they heard about, something they learned about, and, um, and they're passionate about what they're reading because it's something they wanna read. It's not something they were assigned to read.
Um, You know, last school year, our library alone, uh, just in our, our one school paper mill circulated 8,500 books, um, to our students and our staff. This school year we're on, we've, uh, circulated about 7,500. We're on track to circulate about 10,000. To put that in perspective, we have 16,000 books in the library. So that's well over half of the books that are borrowed and read by our kids. Hold On a second, Mr. B. Sure. Motion stand. Sorry. All in favor.
Aye. Another Minute. Alright, thank you. I'll be quick as I can here. Um, our library is well used, our, our kids love coming to it. They love finding something that interests them. If we lost that, we would lose something beautiful. Um, you could put somebody in the library who's gonna monitor it, but having somebody who's trained to be there to find them what they want to be an advocate for what they want to read, we're knowledgeable, we're trained some of us for decades in what we do. And that would be lost. And kids would notice. I mean, they're more observant than we think they're,
and they would realize the priority. We're not giving the literacy. Thank you. Good evening. I'm Debbie au Claire. I'm retired teacher from Westfield High School. I ran the Children's Corner preschool for 17 years and I just wanted to respond to the chapter 74, uh, questions. And, um, while I was at, um, the high school, I also was on the board of the Lower Pine Valley Collaborative, and I actually worked with them closely on the curriculum. I shared the information so that they could also, um,
work on articulation agreements and they had earned three credits for it and we had six. So I showed them the case studies that the high school students had put together after two years of child development courses and then working in the preschool. And they had one child that they observed the entire year and they had to address, uh, all the skill levels and the growth that they made. And they put this together, I would say the average was like a 25 page paper with evidence, um, of their observations.
And it was impressive. And I do believe that if you did go after Chapter 74, which I thought was a great idea, um, that I bet you we were very close to, uh, being able to meet any requirements and standards because when I compared the chapter 74 to what we were doing, uh, we were meeting all those requirements. And so I hope you would give that a chance. Thank you. Thank you. Ms. Hi, I am Ann Farnam, um, one of the virtual teachers, teachers at the high school. One of the line items is for two virtual teachers,
um, budget cuts. Um, my concern is what's gonna happen with these 80 kids in the virtual school? They don't require transportation. They don't have overhead. They do need Chromebooks. Um, hybrid, we've heard that's what's gonna happen. Um, it'll go to our peers. I don't know if they realize this, but hybrid, we tried that during COVID. It doesn't work well. We are monitoring the kids via securely.
We watch their screens, we watch their the academic eBooks to see that they're doing their work. Um, we watch the meet. We have the Google Google Meet going. So we're on the meet. We are, um, constantly trying to get interaction through a few things. The meet, um, several ways. Um, we have headphones because you can hear and speak. Um, they can hear you better. We can hear them better. So now if you have a hybrid, how are you going to
deal with the people in front of you? The kids in class, they're gonna take a preference. Um, so although it won't be me, um, I am concerned about my students and what's gonna happen. And I am not a fan of hybrid. I don't think that's a way to keep the virtual kids at the utmost school, keeping that very positive. Um, keeping the connections, um, keeping the level of the curriculum. Um, the other thing is the special
education that's not changing. Um, but how is this special education? Are you now gonna have to have two special education teachers in one classroom? Um, so I have a high concern for those students. Um, and if that is what the plan is to go hybrid, I would highly be against that. Thank you. Thank you. Hello, good evening. My name is Tori Honick. Um, I strongly believe that the laboratory preschool program is an invaluable asset to our school community. And I respectfully urge you to reconsider any decision to close it.
First, the laboratory preschool provides real world hands-on experience for high school students. Many years ago, I was one of those students who walked into the preschool at Westfield High School and found my calling after high school. I attended H-C-C-W-S-U-U in later Springfield College where I earned my master's degree in education. I can confidently say that this program gave me an advantage as I advanced through my education. The opportunity to work directly with preschool children helped me understand lesson planning, state standards, assessment tools, and positive behavioral guidance long before my peers were introduced
to these concepts in their college courses. Closing this program would deny future students the opportunity to gain this critical experience. Second, the preschool program is crucial for our youngest learners. My daughter attended the program two years ago and I witnessed firsthand the value it provided. The lessons and activities were specifically designed to engage children in meaningful ways, fostering their learning in all areas of development. Through play-based learning, my daughter not only had fun, but developed foundational skills that continued to serve her as she progresses through school. The environment was designed to meet the needs
of every child and it allowed her to thrive. I'm devastated to hear that my younger son may not have the same opportunity and I know many other families would feel the same loss. In addition, this program creates a strong sense of community. Parents, teachers, and students work together in a variety of ways. For example, this year, preschool children participated in activities such as baking cookies with culinary students, planting marigolds with the horticulture class, engaging in transportation lessons with high school history students, and listening to the marching band rehearse for the St. Patrick's Day parade. Additionally, parents volunteered their time to speak about community,
their careers during Community Helpers week, allowing children to learn about professions and firefighting healthcare, landscaping, and the ISO New England Power Grid. These collaborations build stronger connections and enrich the overall educational experience for everyone involved. I understand that resources and budgetary constraints are important considerations, but I believe that the value of this program far outweighs any short term cost savings. The educational and social benefits it provides to both high school students and preschool children are immeasurable. I ask that you carefully consider these reasons and keep the program open, ensuring that future generations
of students have access to the valuable learning experiences that our laboratory preschool provides. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Hello, my name is, oh, that was loud. My name is Gavin Jagi. I've, uh, emailed probably most of you here, so put in a face to that we read 'em. Um, I am a proud graduate of Westfield Manufacturing Program, um, class of 2015. Uh, I'm not just someone who came through the program, but I'm someone who built a successful career in manufacturing because of it. Uh, and someone who knows firsthand the impact this program has on its students, family, and our community in Westfield.
And all around. When I first stepped into the shop at Westfield, uh, vocational, I didn't know where my future was headed, but through that program I found purpose, skills, and a career path. And today I'm the director of manufacturing at Pilot Precision and Vice President of Western Mass National Tooling and Machining Association. And none of that would've been possible without the instruction and mentorship and hands-on training I received there. I also hire Westfield Oak students. I have a couple that work for me right now. Um, but what concerns me most about cutting this instructor position isn't just fewer students in the program,
it's the ripple effect that it'll follow. Um, big one is safety. Uh, manufacturing is a hands-on high risk environment. We know that these machines don't forgive mistakes, uh, without the adequate, um, supervision and instruction. The risk of injury increases with the assistant. I don't believe it. It'll be the same level of safety, um, acknowledgement I would call it. Um, but student must be trained the right way and not just to do the work, but to do it safely. Losing an instructor means fewer eyes on the students, and that puts everyone at risk. Secondly, the program received major investments
and new machines and advanced equipment. Um, the kind that reflects the real technology used in machine shops like myself. But what good is that investment? If there are enough instructors to train the students how to use it without guidance, those machines will sit idle. That's money wasted training, wasted opportunity wasted. This program is more than just a class. It's a pipeline into high paying, high demand careers. And it gave me everything I needed to succeed. Uh, it continues to do the same for students year after year, but only if it's supported. Cutting the instructor position undermines the entire foundation of the program. It puts safety at risk, it limits student opportunity,
and it wastes valuable resources and it damages a talent pipeline that employers across our region are counting on. Thank you. Thank you Kevin. Good evening everyone. Uh, superintendent, Mr. Mayor, uh, school committee. I am also one of those many emails you probably received and thank you to everyone who found the time to get back to me. Um, my name is Kristen Carlson. I am president and CEO of Peerless Precision. We are next year going to be a 50-year-old advanced manufacturing company that is born, bred and raised in Westfield, Massachusetts. Um, we have, um, built our foun, the foundation
of our company from Westfield technical and vocational school graduates. A lot of what I had written down just echoed what Gavin said, so I'm not going to beat a dead horse. Um, and I understand the situation that the city is, the schools are in. Um, one of running a company. The worst thing I wanted, the worst thing for me is looking at budgets and who do I have to cut? Um, you know, it's, Gavin touched on the safety factor, not getting enough instruction at all these new machines and everything that the, we were able to invest, uh, invest in with the skills capital grant. I want to focus a little bit on diversity in this industry
because manufacturing is stereotypical men and we are now looking reducing the amount of educators in a department that has finally having a little diversity in it. There is a, a young woman in there, I don't know if she's on this or not, but when you have younger people with the students, especially in trying to bring them into a male dominated industry, that's what young ladies look for. To see someone that looks like them, to share with them the experiences that they've been through, being that I know from personal experience growing up in this,
it's not an easy world to be in. And for people that do not fit the demographic, um, they need to see and talk to people who look like them, who sound like them, who have been through what they've been to wanna get into it. And we are seeing more and more young women, uh, more and more minorities coming into manufacturing. And it's because they're starting to see people that are like them. They're, they're talking to younger people, whether it be male or female, and they can actually see a path. So, um, I just really, for safety issues, for everything that Gavin mentioned, for what Ben behind me is about to mention and for the diversity factor, I am
imploring you if, you know, if there's any way we can keep the fourth teacher. And there is desperately needed because we took a long time replay filling that, um, department to have a full educating staff again. So thank you so much, Kristen. Thank you. Good to see you. Um, aye, can I ask a favor? We're go, we are gonna run into a little time. So, um, my guess is several people may be thinking about the same thing in terms of manufacturing. I'm not picking on you at all. My guess is that's where we're going. I'll take 15 seconds.
If, if you're, if you wanna consider bumping yourself out 'cause you might have heard something before, maybe give somebody else a shot. Go ahead. Go ahead sir. Alright, I'll be real quick. My name is Ben Grandy. I'm president of the Western Massachusetts chapter of the National Tooling Machining Association. Um, I represent over 60 manufacturers in Western Mass. Most of them, or a fair amount of them are in Westfield. And I just wanted to mention that, um, a lot of those companies take students from CTE programs. Westfield Tech is the premier program. It's known across the industry
and across the region as the premier program. Um, their students are the most job ready and they work in an industry where they can go out and start paying taxes immediately. Um, that's all I have to say. Please don't cut that position. Hopefully I save some time for somebody else. Thank you Ben. I appreciate it. And you did. Thank You. Hi again. Uh, I'm Mona Rastagar. Um, I did wanna start by just thanking Mr. Zaki, Mr. Mayor and the whole school committee. I really truly appreciate you taking almost an hour at the beginning of this meeting to go through the details
and explain them to us. I know probably a lot of committees wouldn't do that, and as a parent, I really appreciate doing that and I I do know that you care and I just wanted to share that sentiment that I'm sure a lot of us are feeling. Um, thank you with that. Um, due to the lack of time, I'll just speak to a few of the cuts. Um, first, eliminating two full-time positions at Munger Hill at a time when our classrooms are already stretched thin, will potentially increase class sizes and reduce the support students need to thrive. This doesn't just affect test scores, it impacts mental health engagement
and our ability to retain passionate, effective educators. This decision feels like it goes beyond unwise and to into the area of being reckless. Let us not forget that our school is going to be welcoming 90 preschoolers next year. Yet we face this huge transition in a time when we have an interim principal, fewer staff and fewer resources. It's like all the warning lights in the car are flashing red, yet we drive on unwilling to acknowledge the dangerous risks of doing so. Secondly, I am deeply concerned about the proposal to eliminate our laboratory preschool at Westfield High.
This program is more than just early childhood education and my daughter goes there. So I could talk about how great it is for preschoolers, but I'm really thinking about the high schoolers. It's a hands-on real world training for our high school students who aspire to become teachers. If we lose this program, we are not only impacting today's children, but we are cutting off the pipeline of tomorrow's educators in a time when schools across the nation are facing teacher shortages. Why would we dismantle a program that inspires and prepares future teachers right here in our own district?
And lastly, a school librarian is not simply someone who manages books. A librarian is a cornerstone of literacy research skills and fostering a love of reading. For many students, the library is a place they feel seen, heard, and safe. Removing this role is not a budget cut, it is a direct cut to our students' access to equity, creativity, and lifelong learning. And I know Mr. Gunther had mentioned these reading intervention programs and the library being able to read in small groups.
That's what all the data, that's what all the research is showing has helped people come back from this covid slip. And places like Alabama and places in the South that have been able to come back from Covid and even do better from covid are places where students are being placed in small reading groups. If we take away librarians, if we take away resources, if we cut more teachers, we're gonna slide even further back as a district. Thank you. Thank you very Much. Mona. Hi, I'm Stephanie Paul and I have twin boys in kindergarten at Munger, one of which is in special education.
In the world of special education, it's the legal right of every student to receive a free and appropriate public education. Fe as we call it, isn't just for special ed, but it's what every student in the district is entitled to. Members of the committee, I urge you to visit Munger and shadow the educators you are claiming it is appropriate to cut. Spend a day in any classroom and ask yourself is increasing class sizes appropriate for students accessing their education? Come outside at arrival and dismissal
and experience the need for additional supports to help ensure student safety. I'd like you to take a moment to reflect on your own personal experience in school. What made the largest, most meaningful, impactful impressions on your life? Most will probably say it was their experience in the classroom. The teachers, the frontline workers, so to speak, that were with us every day. 90 preschoolers are coming to Munger. Many with additional support needs. Tough decisions need to be made. Let's choose to prioritize our vital educators,
invest in our children, and ultimately be able to confidently say yes. Each and every student at Munger is gaining access to the free and appropriate public education that they truly deserve. And just 'cause I have a little more time, um, With way to go, Stephanie, with special education, um, and out of district budget, being brought up and having a son who's in district but has extremely high support needs, like those of children that have the out of district placements.
I, I don't know if it can seem counterintuitive to some, but to me it's completely black and white. The more that we invest in special education, the more that we invest in those educators and in those support positions that those children absolutely need to thrive. That's what's ultimately going to save the district. Clearly hundreds of thousands of dollars. Thank you. Uh, good evening. My name is Gabriela Serrano and I am a student in the Westfield Virtual School Program. I want to share my concerns about the new proposal
to have teachers teach both virtual and in-person students at the same time. Uh, teachers already work hard helping virtual students, making sure we are connected, solving tech problems, and helping us when we need it. Adding a second class at the same time will make it much harder for them to give students the help we need. Every student learns differently. Some students need extra time, others need one-on-one help. And combining two groups at once will make it harder for everyone to learn. Both in person and virtual students will be affected. I know that everyone is trying to find the best solution, but sometimes what looks good on paper is not the reality of
what students actually need in a classroom. I hope you'll reconsider this proposal because students like me depend on our teachers to be able to focus and help us succeed. Thank you for your time. Please remember behind every PO proposal are real students like me. Okay, hold on just one second. Don't, don't don't panic. Just hold on a second. Um, we're gonna run outta time. How many people have that are still in line? Have a topic that has not been spoken on, Kind of Hold on. Guy in the, in the plaid. Hold on just a second. How how many? Two. Alright, let's take those two first and see how it goes.
Okay. Is that fair? I'll keep this short. Hello, I'm Jacqueline Osky and I'm one of the instructional coaches at Westfield Middle School. And today I will be speaking about the impact of cutting instructional coaches on the Westfield Public School's teaching staff. Due to increased workloads in multiple demands, a teacher scarcest resource is time with the proposed professional development cuts and the changes to Desi's teacher evaluation rubric, which mandates for ongoing cycles of professional learning. The role of instructional coaches is even more essential. Instructional coaches provide personal research based
professional development by cultivating learning experiences, creating opportunities to see instructional strategies in action. And most importantly, allotting time to process, reflect and plan for a teacher's day-to-day instruction. Researcher Matthew a craft's 2018 meta-analysis of the effect of teachers teacher coaching on instruction and achievement found that instructional coaching models had a greater impact than almost all based school-based interventions, including general professional development, data-driven instruction and extended learning time, providing time
with instructional coaches and colleagues, provides teachers with support in the process of exploring high impact instructional strategies, deepening the level of questioning and identifying and planning for increased student discourse. Additionally, research has found that pairing individual coaching with group training and curricular and instructional resources was associated with larger effects on instruction and achievement. Lastly, as a parent of a Westfield public school student and two more future students, I want my children to be members of a school community where teachers work closely with instructional coaches at
all levels because I know the benefit it will have on their learning experiences and overall academic achievement. Thank you. Thank you Very much. Jackie? Hi, I'm Beth O'Connor. I am also an instructional coach and I'm here to speak about our impact on student learning. So a lot of people here have spoken about interventionists, the importa about reducing importance of reducing class size, the importance of maintaining a level of achievement with our students. And one of the things about instructional coaching is that students who have teachers who work with instructional coaching demonstrate greater.
And this is really interesting. So the same research that Jackie just cited demonstrate greater overall achievement equivalent to roughly half a year to a full year of learning at a less, uh, lower cost to districts than student level interventions. Um, I'm happy to email and share with you that research I don't wanna take a lot of people's other time. I just wanna say that in maintaining an instructional coaching model is essential, it feeds our teachers professionalism, it creates active and engaging classroom environments that result in students who feel more connected and less marginalized.
In our current society where so many students report feeling isolated, it's critical that we maintain this sense for them. And instructional coaching is crucial to us being able to make them feel connected. Thank you. Thank You Mrs. O'Connor. Good evening. I will be as brief as possible and try not to read this whole thing out to you. Who are you? My name is Grace Taylor. I am a foster parent in your district. I am proud to have fostered many teenage boys in my household, which is not an easy job, nor is yours. We see a lot of gaps in education when it comes
to our foster care youth. If you look at outcomes for foster care youth, you will hear that 50% of foster care youth graduate with a high school diploma. Of those 50% who graduate, only 20% go to college. It is because of the excellence of the Westfield Public Schools that I currently have a senior who is graduating and is going to attend college STCC because we have had support and we need to continue that support within our Westfield Public schools. My children are vulnerable. You won't hear about them, you probably won't see them
and you might not even know that they're my kids 'cause they don't look anything like me. But what I hear a lot is the talk of special needs in this. And it is something that is close to my heart. As a parent who has had teenagers with special needs in and out of my home for the last five years, it has been very difficult. Equally as difficult is looking at that special ed budget and knowing that any cuts that we make to the regular classroom are going to up the costs in the out of district placements. As a parent seeing that and as a former special educator, I look at that
and I think, wow, I don't want my kid in a district where they're not going to get what they need in district. So I urge you to look at this as investing in our children because it will affect their lives ongoing upon graduation and for the rest of their adult lives. Thank you. Thank you. Grace. Hold on just one second. Just hold on one second. Motion to extend public participation for six minutes. So moved Second. All those in favor? Aye. Hi, my name is Deirdre Matthews and I live at 81 Court Street in Westfield. Last year I was an eighth grader at Westfield Middle School.
I'm here to ask you to reconsider the cut to the librarian position at Westfield Middle School, which makes it a part-time job for both Westfield Intermediate and Westfield Middle School. Imagine you're an eighth grade student at Westfield Middle School, about to start your year. Middle school is already a hard enough time, but having a kind considerable and available librarian can make it a lot easier. Offering a well kept quiet space for students to go into an easy way for students to gain access to books when they don't live close to the Westfield Athena fixing computers and leading to technological support as well as helping other ELA teachers to lead their classes.
Librarians are very important to the school community. However, you will not be afforded this discomfort as an upcoming Westfield middle or intermediate school student. The middle school no longer has the support of a full-time librarian to lean on only a part-time worker who doesn't have the capability with juggling two schools to help. I'm asking you on behalf of not only the current students, but also the alumni and the future students. The difference between having a part-time and full-time librarian at your school may be negligible to those who do not go there. But it is deeply felt by both students and staff alike. Now I would like to remind you that all of the
above applies not only to middle school students, but to intermediate schoolers as well. While I stand here, my teammates are running at a track meet without me and without my support. Because I want to support the students of Westfield as a whole, especially those who have not yet had the opportunity to enjoy a full-time librarian services. I want to advocate for the younger students who are challenged to advocate directly for themselves, despite this being a decision that will directly impact them. We as a city make cuts that impact children, but those children struggle to have a voice in the discussion. I hope you'll take this into consideration and thank you for your time. Thank you dear.
Hello, board members. My name is Leisha Novak. I'm a freshman at Westfield High and I'm here to support keeping the library position at Westfield Middle School. Now that the high school has only a part-time librarian, I am unable to access all the resources a library can provide. I can no longer check out books as I please for informational or researching purposes and broadening my intellectual capabilities. I feel as though I took the position for granted and can confidently say there are other students who feel the same. If this position is taken away, I guarantee this would be a great loss for all current and future middle school and intermediate schoolers.
Thank you for your time and consideration. Thank you. Hello, I am Kyle Richardson. I am a 11th grader in the WT A manufacturing program. I just want to offer student per perspective on the things going on. When I hear that we're getting a teacher removed, I immediately compare it to if we have a sub in for today, when we have a sub in for today. I feel our education is impacted in a negative way and I just don't think removing the teacher is the right call in this case.
I also just finished my second interview at a company and I feel I would not have been able to have the confidence nor the ability and the trade I want to do if all four teachers weren't there to help the students. That's, that's really all. Thank you very much guys. So that concludes public participation. Um, we will take what you guys have said. We're certainly continuing to read all your emails, but please forgive me if I don't get back to everybody. I try to, but some things are, you know, get away from me a little bit.
Um, but we do read them all. Um, and so the next steps for us is we're going to have a school committee meeting on the fir Fifth fifth Cinco de Mayo. Perfect. Um, on the 5th of May, at which time we will open with public participation. So if you didn't get a chance to speak to us, uh, today, and I think we got everybody, believe it or not, you set a record, it went 32 minutes. Life is good. So we got everybody in. Um, you'll have a chance to address this again prior to our consideration and vote on the fifth. Um, just so they understand why the vote is coming on the
fifth, it's because City Council meets on the first, the, um, so my full budget won't be prepared and ready to go hopefully with some help from City Council. That's a pitch you guys, just in case you're wondering, um, hopefully with some help from City Council and, um, no more drastic changes and maybe a little help from the state. The picture might get a little better. I'm not optimistic. I'm not, I don't wanna put any thoughts in anybody's head that this is gonna be a terrific, um, ride through, but it is what it is. Um, so City council, the first,
the fifth is the school committee meeting and vote on this budget. And then the 15th, I will do a full budget presentation once again to the city council. And once it goes into the city council's hands, they have 45 days to deliberate on anything that goes before them. Now remember, just so that everybody knows how the process goes, the city council cannot add, they can't add Oh, I don't mean they, they don't have the ability to add 'cause they went to Westville Public Schools so they can all add. So they have the ability, but they, they can only cut.
So know that when the, when the budget goes to the city council on the 15th, whatever's in that city, whatever is contained in that budget is what's going before them. So, um, you'll have a much better understanding on the first. Is there anything else? I don't think so. Um, is there a motion? Motion to adjourn. Second. Motion to adjourn has been made. And second. And all those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. We adjourned. Thank you very much for coming.