SAD 4/RSU 80 budget must be voted down

To the Editor;

As expected, a small group of registered voters (101) turned out last week to the district budget meeting. As expected, the majority were employees and family of the district. Most votes passed with votes in the 50’s in favor of the budget and in the 30’s opposed. Since no vote ever added up to the full 101, one can only guess that there were eight to 10 voters who came to view the proceedings, but didn’t vote.

There were good questions and thoughts offered, but there was real voiced opposition to a third budget proposal that was higher than the second budget proposal that was already turned down this year. The percentages of increase to each of the town’s assessments were elevated with Parkman coming in with a high of 12.2 percent.

The proposal calls for the creation of two new half-time administrative positions that will most likely be given to two previous phys. ed teachers who had been cut to half-time. Publicly-funded entities such as a school district cannot defend nor afford the creation of more positions for people simply because they didn’t see the handwriting on the wall and happily accepted that they were paid full salary last year on a less than full schedule.

When questioned about what would happen if this third budget didn’t pass at the polls, one earnest board member said the next cut would have to be athletics. That happily is not the case. Since the meeting last week, the position of Director of Evaluation and Curriculum has become entirely open. That money now sits in the current budget available for cutting. There was sufficient opposition to the two new administrative positions at both the board level and at the budget meeting to remove them from consideration. These two actions would drop your assessment increase by somewhere over $100,000.

Do it now by voting this third budget attempt down. The board will then have the opportunity to consider the most recent changes and to give the taxpayers the benefit of the break. It will also provide a few days when the school committee may reflect on what it might do in a timely way to re-design the district personnel structure, especially in clarifying the expectations for the superintendent, in a way that looks to the future.

This will only get worse next year. The number of students is declining significantly as school starts. Usually the October headcount is the higher of the two taken each year for state funding. Ours is going to be startling.

The district, as we watch, is imploding. Both students and staff have been leaving at a high rate. Each departure of staff should be assessed for value of replacement. The board needs to undertake a full review of the administrative structure and the responsibilities of each member to be sure they are appropriately redistributed. It needs to have an executive session immediately with the superintendent to address the strong need to review both her skills and her responsibilities. Her official evaluation doesn’t happen until December.

A plan for improvement needs to be built now. Get it on paper. She works for the board; the board needs to provide specific direction. And in December the committee needs to resist any good-natured extension of her contract.

No one in administration should have rolling contracts of four years in length and the maximum should be set for two years firmly. She should undertake the same kind of process with her administrators. The school committee should create a personnel committee and review many aspects of personnel management in the district.

Both the citizens and the school committee need to look to the future. Next year will be worse. Fewer students, less state money. Even if the November referendum requires the state to pick up 55 percent of the educational funding, it is likely this district will not see a significant increase, because we have fewer students. And, face it; every entity is out of money. The spending must stop.

Go to the polls on Sept. 8 and vote “No.” Make the school committee pull the finances of the district into shape this year and start taking action for next year to face what is most certainly ahead.

Ann B. Bridge
Parkman