Legislative Council

BOE 2021-22 Budget Review LC Education Committee - Q&A #1 3/22/2021 1. Pg 30. Where do the projected enrollment numbers come from? Per your projections in 2019, 2021 total enrollment was projected as 4,000 students now you project 4,086? The enrollment numbers come from one of two sources; consultants or internal projections. In 2019-20, the projection for that year came from the internal projection. Subsequently, the enrollment projections have come from Peter Prowda (well known enrollment specialist). Below are projections for the years in question, including the source and the actual enrollment numbers as of October 1st. These projections are for pre-k through twelfth grade. Fiscal 20-21 - 4,086 Peter Prowda projection (actual 3,999)* Fiscal 21-22 - 4,011 Peter Prowda projection *NOTE: this number does not include the 67 students that disenrolled for the year due to COVID. Had they not disenrolled, our October 1st number would have been 4,066. 2. What is the total count of employees in 3/20 vs 3/21? Please break this down by category (admin., teachers, para’s, etc.) The total current budget count for the entire district is 754.88 FTE. The total count for the proposed 21-22 budget = 758.04 FTE. The increase from current to proposed = 3.16. The details can be found in the tables below. Year-to-year staffing changes can be found in the following charts from the 2021-22 BOE budget book: Page 28 Page 137 P. 139 P. 140 Staffing - Pupil Services P. 141 P. 144 P. 146 P. 151 P. 153 P. 154 P. 156 P. 157 P. 160 P. 168 P. 175 3. Pg 48. Why do you project Hawley Kindergarten increasing by 19 students? The projected 67 kindergarten students at Hawley for 2021-22 is based on Peter Prowda’s predictions which are based on many factors, such as; births since 1980, grade to grade growth rates (cohort survival) estimated population growth, projected population ages 0-19, women of child-bearing age, recent changes in labor force, new housing units, sales of existing homes, repeaters of grade 9, HS dropout rates, non- public school enrollment, residents enrolled in other schools, non-resident enrollment, estimated migration & prior projections of enrolment. The one factor not included in Prowda’s projections was the disenrollment or delayed enrollment of students this year, presumably due to the pandemic. This is not unique to Newtown ("Thousands Haven't Shown Up for School"). The increase in enrollment lies within all of the factors listed above, and includes the presumed re-enrollment of students. As you know, this year has presented many unusual challenges. One of these includes enrollment predictions for 2021-22 budgeting purposes. A high degree of caution is warranted in trying to predict enrollment using this year’s numbers. The active real estate market and the effects of COVID on school attendance have made enrollment difficult to predict, and the risk of overcrowding will be more problematic during a time when social distancing protocols are likely to continue for schools into 2021-22. 4. Pg 55. Why do you project Sandy Hook Kindergarten increasing by 19 students? As in the answer in question #3, the projected enrollment for kindergarten at Sandy Hook School is based on Peter Prowda’s predictions. Births in Newtown in 2016 are a primary determinant for the 2021-22 kindergarten projections. 5. Pg 62. Why do you project Middle Gate 1st grade increasing by 10 students? For reasons mentioned previously, Prowda’s projections are being used to determine class/staffing needs. Rolling forward the students who are currently in grades K-4 at MGS show some slight differences to Prowda’s projected numbers. MGS Prowda Actual "Roll Prowda Difference Grade projected Oct '20 forward" Projected 20-21 21-22 21-22 K 86 74 76 ↘ 1 68 76 86 +10 72 ↘ 2 64 72 71 -1 65 ↘  3 74 65 66 +1 72 ↘ 4 80 86 72 75 +3 6. Pg 76. Why do you project Reed 6th grade increasing by 21 students? Prowda’s projections are being used to determine class/staffing needs. For discussion purposes, rolling forward the students who are currently in grades 4 and 5 show significant differences to Prowda’s projected numbers. However, knowing that many students disenrolled in 2020-21, the Prowda projections are considered the most accurate means of predicting next year’s enrollment. Reed Prowda Actual "Roll Prowda Difference Grade projected Oct '20 forward" Projected 20-21 21-22 21-22 5 303 263 285 +22 291 ↘ 6 284 291 291 312 +21 7. Pg 106. HS number of students roll forward from 20-21 to 21-22 does not look correct please explain. Rolling forward the students who are currently in grades 8-11 show some differences to Prowda’s projected numbers (specifically in grades 11 and 12). However, the total number of students projected by Prowda is very similar to the total number of students “rolled forward” from current enrollment. Grade Prowda Actual “Roll Prowda Projection projected Oct '20 forward” Projected Difference 20-21 21-22 21-22 9 340 338 341 +3 336 ↘  10 346 336 336 0 362 ↘ 11 360 362 349 -13 355 ↘ 12 397 388 355 370 +15 Total 1443 1441 1391 1396 +5 8. We are down by your projections of 45 students in 21-22 and we are projecting a further decrease in the next 2-3 years in the HS shouldn’t we be decreasing staff accordingly? We reduced staff at the high school last year, including a high school assistant principal. Further, we reduced for the 2021-22 budget as well (.8 Science, 1.0 Social Studies, and .5 Tech Ed). However, we cannot account for 2-3 years in advance at this point in time. We continue to reduce positions accordingly, but we also have needs in other areas (such as SPED programming). In addition, we typically do not conduct student scheduling until March, well after the budget is developed. At the high school, a drop in students does not necessarily mean we can reduce staff as this depends on a variety of factors - including staff credentials, certification in subject areas, course scheduling, including AP, and other programming needs. All of these are integral to our students’ program of studies and college pursuits. For example, we may have 12 students in one AP Italian class that cannot be reduced or we risk hurting students who actually need the class. With only one teacher who might teach the course, this becomes an issue as well. In addition, we have high school in full time at this point with appropriate social distancing, which we are anticipating will continue into the fall. This is not the time to increase class sizes to their maximum capacity, as we do not know what next year will bring with respect to the pandemic. The fall may well warrant some social distancing in place, and we would need to comply to maintain a full in-school learning model. 9. Pg 124. Please explain 20-21 Budgeted vs 20-21 Current budget. Did we actually spend for student travel & coaches stipends last year? If so how/why when most athletics were canceled. The difference between the two budgets (budget & current) can be found in transfers that occur prior to November 30th. By doing this, we re-align the budget making necessary adjustments for teacher reassignments and other expenditures that have changed since the original budget was assembled and approved. We did not spend on student travel but paid our bus drivers, per the Governor’s recommendation. We did save on fuel by All Star. Coaches stipends remained intact as they worked with their teams and groups of student-athletes via Google Meets, including providing a litany of conditioning and practice skills to work on from home. Again, this was a way of keeping our employees whole during the pandemic, which was encouraged by the State. Most districts followed suit. 10. Pg 171. What was / is the actual spend on transportation for 20-21? Shouldn’t that have gone down as we were remote part of the year? The actual spend on transportation for the 2019-20 fiscal year can be found in the budget book (p. 171). In 2019-20, we did have substantial savings in our local transportation costs as well as fuel. 11. Pg 178. Pupil Personnel Other social workers increase by $167,154? These are grant funded positions that have come off the grant for the 21-22 year. This is detailed on page 141 of the budget book. 12. Pg 179. Transportation increase of $112,148, with decrease of students shouldn’t this at least be flat? This is due to a transportation contract increase as described in question #10. We expect 12 more students next year, but transportation increases do not have anything to do with enrollment unless we can eliminate a bus. This has not happened, and we expect 12 more students overall next year over this year (projected). We only have two tiers now vs. three (when we moved to a later school start time that began in 2017-18). This change added students to the bus enrollment to increase capacity on each bus. Even if we were losing students next year, that does not necessarily equate to savings in transportation. 13. The job description for the new Central Office position of Diversity Compliance Coordinator (pages 19 and 153), and Currently, the PEAC subcommittee (Diversity & Equity) is working on final tweaking of the job description. Attached is the latest draft version. 1. An estimate of the total cost of this new position--salary begins at $70k (which is greater than that of the new elementary teachers), what about benefits, staff development, etc.? This is not a union contract so should not be compared to an elementary teacher. The employee, like all other employees, will receive benefits as they will be full time. The role will include working with students, staff, leaders, and families - and would actually work to support staff development as he or she should be expected to have the experience AND education to be able to develop what is needed to provide training and workshops for others. This is a competitive salary for a position of this nature, which will have a visible impact in the school community. 2. Why the need for a separate/new position that current staff can't handle? (E.g., the district's 74 counselors, psychologists and social workers at a cost of $6.3 million, and/or the principals, a.p.'s and lead teachers.) Just for clarification, the District does not support 74 FTE positions within our pupil personnel department. For the 21-22 budget request, our guidance department includes 19 specialists (see page 140 for detail), 5.4 FTE social workers with two of these positions coming off of grants and 11 FTE psychologists (see page 141 for detail) for a total of 35.4 FTE. The cost for these positions totals $2.9M, not $6.3M. Counselors and school psychologists are handling a greater load currently, which includes counseling sessions, meeting with families, 504 and PPTs, college applications, SEL activities, crisis team interventions, as well as supporting students dealing with the impact of COVID-related stress. School psychologists also have a heavy load with testing for SPED. These are all distinctly different roles than the one we are proposing, and we do need the adequate staffing you outline to support our more than 4000 students and families we have in the district, especially as the social/emotional and special education needs of our students increases. While the pandemic will end at some point, the need for support will continue well after. In addition, we have a need to support students in bullying, harassment, and discrimination. If we are to create a long-term inclusive environment (which impacts learning success), then we need to have a process for oversight. Our principals and lead teachers will certainly be involved, but their role is far more about management and discipline as they lead the operations of their schools. The depth of the Diversity Coordinator role will include building relationships with students and families, consulting with leaders and counselors, working to ensure appropriate responses to incidents based on policies and protocols, collaborating with BOE and leaders to revise protocols as necessary, and developing support and education for district employees, students, and parents. Creating a fully inclusive environment is not only a State objective but a goal for us in Newtown. 14. A description of the $42,000 Diversity & Equity contracted services, page 153, including who are the recipients of these services? Is this a one-time spend or a new annual spend? The increase of $42,000 includes required services necessary for day to day operations, such as fingerprints, weather alerts and other contracted services. $35,000 of the $42,000 is for Re-Center in Hartford who are working with our community PEAC group, developing the role with us for the new Diversity Coordinator position, and will be working with our leaders to re-examine and revise areas of our curriculum. This will include an equity audit managed by our Ass’t Superintendent and Director of Teaching and Learning. A student advisory council is also being proposed so that our students have a voice in any and all changes made in the future. The goal is simply to ensure we have reviewed our curriculum to address multicultural perspectives and diverse voices, as well as contemporizing texts and resources to align with 21st Century concepts. Re- Center has a strong reputation in working collaboratively with districts to help build a more inclusive culture - that embraces equity - and this is and has been one of our goals. 15. A description of how all this spending will impact student instruction and learning, if not included in the above. We have had multiple community conversations, including dialogue with former graduates and current students about diversity and equity across the system. Teaching and learning is impacted directly when students do not feel comfortable, included, engaged, or confident in their school - all of which is exacerbated by depression and anxiety. We continue to work with students with increasing behavioral, anxiety, and depression issues. Families have called upon us to intervene regarding bullying, harassment, and discrimination incidents in the school community - some that we are fully aware and others we are not. These issues have a direct and profound impact on student learning, as some students grow disengaged and become disenfranchised. Work completion and failures are often a result, and this is the product K-12. Recently, a bullying survey went out in conjunction with a research project by John Jay College (Criminal Justice), which provided data we will use moving forward. Our counselors, school psychologists, social workers, and school leaders have a good handle on the root causes for each student (and collectively), but need the infrastructure, support, and oversight from a district level. The goal is to work with staff, students, and families to re- engage students who have disengaged or have school anxiety as a result, which will increase their success academically (and emotionally). 16. Being that the Governor ordered towns to renegotiate school bus contracts so bus drivers get paid but the bus company didn't profit from the pandemic, did we save with the buses not running from March through June? Yes (as mentioned in question #10) While we continued to pay bus drivers, we were issued a credit by All Star for the period in which our buses were not in use. 17. Middle Gate - I’m seeing a confluence of factors that add up to a concern about MGS: it’s projected to see an increase of 75 kids in the next ~8 years, it’s an older building, it’s the smallest elementary school in terms of sq ft, and it’s projected to see about the same enrollment by 2030 as SHS, which is 50% larger in terms of sq ft. I see in the 5-year maintenance plan that there will be some investment in the next several years; however, are you overall worried about the school being able to handle the expected growth? Are there enough classrooms to handle this growth and still stay within our guidelines on class size? Are there any additional infrastructure improvements that should be considered? Middle Gate during the 2012 school year (October 1) was 451 actual students. Therefore, the classrooms have been utilized without any real issue regarding space over the years as enrollment has decreased. Repurposing space, however, as things have changed over the years would be something we would look at. After adding a SPED program and changing kindergarten class size guidelines to 15-18 students, that did warrant the use of two additional spaces (converting classes utilized for different purposes). That being said, we still would be below the enrollment that existed prior and adequate space. Changes might have to be made in future years as we alluded to since rooms have since been used for Social/Emotional Learning (SEL), computer labs, Reading Center, and a newer PAL program (SPED self contained autism). Square footage is also not necessarily a good indicator for how many students a school can accommodate because newer schools tend to have more square feet per classroom. Newer schools often have larger square footage per classroom (but not necessarily more classrooms). Sandy Hook School also houses the preschool program, it is the most likely to be the first school to see a need for change (about 2026-27 school year). In 2026-27, if the Prowda projections remain accurate, the preschool program may need to be moved. Otherwise, as long as the Prowda projections remain accurate, there is not likely to be a need for additional classroom space in the elementary schools before 2030. However, space needs for the elementary schools should be evaluated in 2025 to ensure that plans for space are made well in advance of crowding in the schools. Based on Prowda’s projections for each grade at each school and current class size guidelines, 2029-30 will require the following classrooms. As you can see, SHS, with the preschool program would not have enough classrooms: Classroom Utilization 2029/30 Hawley HOM MG SHS (new) Total PK 4 4 K 4 4 5 5 18 First 4 4 5 5 18 Second 4 4 5 5 18 Third 3 3 4 4 16 Fourth 3 3 4 4 16 Classrooms 18 18 23 27 86 needed Classrooms 21 21 26 26 94 available 18. Elimination of Family & Consumer Sciences (FACS) from the Middle School - what is the rationale, and does it also apply to the High School-level FACS offering? Is there a similar plan to phase out HS FACS? Family and Consumer Science at the middle school level is different than culinary arts at the high school level. FACS is a middle level curriculum similar to home economics, which includes more than food and cooking. At the high school level, culinary arts includes concepts that provide students with skills that may be used as a precursor to culinary arts schools and the pursuit of these similar majors in college. There is absolutely no intention on removing culinary arts at the HS as this is one of the most sought after courses, especially as we do have students who do want to go into that field after graduation. In addition, the MS has put out a survey to students for two new courses, and one includes a food science program that would prepare them for science and culinary arts concepts at the HS. However, our approach to include student voices provides learners with an opportunity to determine the kinds of courses they would not only enjoy but would prepare them for the future (including HS). 19. HS Athletics budget - does the current budget assume a “normal” year (i.e., all sports are run normally, nothing cancelled)? Are there any additional costs that should be factored in (e.g., additional cleaning, more buses to enable adequate social distancing, etc.)? What is the “transportation offset” of $56k? We are in school full time currently, and unless there is another wave of cases (as seen in some European models), we plan on continuing in full capacity. Sports are also running and should continue given the CIAC news in alignment with the CDC. Cleaning of buses continues and does not incur any additional costs through All Star. However, a higher number of parents drop off students so buses are not completely full to capacity. We predict this will continue into the fall. Even if we move back to a hybrid model, then we would not need more buses as there are less students riding (based on 50%) at one time. Therefore, there is not a need for more buses in any model. We have moved in between various learning models all year, so nothing would change. The transportation offset (as seen on page 127) is paid from the “pay to play” receipts and offsets the actual transportation costs.