Integrity of Study Questioned

An Educated Patriot has learned that The Aquidneck Island School/Municipal Advisory Committee study, highlighted "above the fold" in Friday's Newport Daily News, is being questioned. The report prepared by the New England School Development Council and paid for by School Committees and Town Councils on the Island is overly simplistic and uses incorrect data. Therefore, its recommendations have to be questioned. It would appear to An Educated Patriot that the data is being worked to derive a set result, none of which will benefit Portsmouth residents and students.

In Friday's NDN the article stated the study recommended a single school district with one administration. The report counted 133 people in central offices serving approximately 7,000 students. The report then goes on the compare a combined district with Bristol, CT, Stratford, CT and Attleboro, MA serving a common population of students. The study stated that we had 30-40 additional staff, which could be saved. The report also bunched bus monitors in the number of Administrators (clearly it would be too difficult to subtract bus monitors from total administrators!)

An Educated Patriot has learned this 133 number comes from a 2006 datapoint, and may have been taken from a previous RIPEC report. Yet, in 2008 the total administrative staff of the three communities was 41, which is under all the comparable communities. And while An Educated Patriot does not have the specific number of administrators today, we would guess it to be below the 2008 number. It is believed that the study authors actually knew their data was wrong, yet they used it anyhow.

We have been leery of this group from its formation, and do not believe the perceived benefits of rationalization are real. One blogs opinion...

On Monday, the Committee will have an open meeting at 8:00 am at 20 Oliphant Lane in Middletown (The Middletown Administration Bld.). The public ought to pay attention before its just too late!

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School Committee Mtg. Thursday Night!

Anyone interested in the Superintendent's Search Committee should be at the School Committee Meeting which has been scheduled for approx. 7:30 PM Thursday night. I ran across the announcement in NDN, so we need to get the word out!

Meeting is in the PHS Library.

Sustainability of Education

An Educated Patriot: The Schools account for approximately 75% of the Town Budget, how can this School Committee continue the excellence of education we have seen (#1 in Science & #3 in Math in the State) under increasing fiscal restraint?

David Croston: The short answer is we can't, simply can't. America, its States, its Towns, are in a transitional phase from a growth economy to flat economy. Our State and Nation are coming to grips with decades of growth driven by unsustainable debt, and that "false growth" now blankets our Town and State. Our debt and pension liabilities as a State equal to 13.9% of the state’s gross domestic product, or $6,261 per resident. Fortunately, Portsmouth has one of the lower unfunded pension liabilities. Our health costs soared 14% last year, as our self-insured pool bit the hand that feeds it. Salaries and benefits are growing at an unsustainable rate of growth. Teacher's opting for a family health plan cost the Town $16,000 a year.

Over the last few days I have followed the comments on Portsmouth Patch. We are a town divided on ideology but seldom base our actions on real facts. If the facts were presented and trusted, we would have to be on the same page - the same as a family who takes home $4,000 a month but has $4,300 in expenses. The cold facts must be dealt with.

I have heard emotional responses from teachers and townsfolk, but when faced with the facts they all agree. The core problem that rips us apart is trust. This School Committee inherited the present situation from the last Committee. The teachers had failed to reach agreement with the past Committee and they now blame the present committee; what both Committees clearly understand is that there is no extra money.

The fact that there was a Referendum and the Referendum was defeated lies at the heart of this debate. We approach budget season with a structural deficit. We as a Committee must stabilize our expenditures, and salary and benefits are our largest outlay. Without trust it is hard to have this difficult conversation with our unions or townsfolk. Something has to change for us to hope to sustain our educational excellence.

I will speak to this in a later post describing how education must change its business model and our progress at the Science and Math Academy.

A Sea of Red

An Educated Patriot: Last Tuesday there was a sea of red confronting the School Committee, why is there so much distrust between teachers and the School Committee?

Dave Croston: I honor each and every teacher in our system. While I can't discuss our contract negotiations, I believe the Union and the School Committee are struggling with a new era of public education. There simply isn't any more money: state, town, or cash reserves. Let's look at some facts:

State

The State has predicted a $400 million deficit next year. Governor Chafee's proposed sales tax may bring in an additional $80 million for education. Tax receipts are up $50 million in the first six months and may bring in a total $100 million in unexpected revenue.

At the end of the day we are still looking at a $200+ million deficit. Adding to our budget difficulties is the State Retirement System which did not yield enough investment revenue to cover expenditures. This will mean the School District will be asked to pay a higher percentage next year.

The State reformed the Education Aid formula last year, committing to adding 2.5% in total State Aid. Unfortunately, Portsmouth was on the negative side of the aid formula and will be cut approximately $2 million in funding. While this will be spread over ten years, it is still a serious reduction. Since the State is in financial difficulties, it cannot afford the 2.5% increase and it is predicted that the new formula may be moved to a 2013 start date.

Portsmouth, as well as the State, has benefited from a higher reimbursement for Medicaid reimbursement under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). That increased reimbursement will end and we will see a reduction in Medicaid reimbursement of up to 25%.

The State is in rough shape and we cannot look upstate for help. Even changes to S3050 will do little but pass the financial burden to the town.

Town

The Union and the School Committee must be student's of history - recent history. This summer I took my vacation time to walk the streets of Portsmouth getting signatures for the School Referendum. We did what many said was impossible, gaining enough signatures in two weeks to get a petition on the ballot. Our excitement was short-lived as we handily lost the Referendum. The $765,000 we were requesting was critical, in my mind, to maintaining growth within our system or even parity of programs.

The Portsmouth School Committee faces a structural deficit of roughly $700,000 going into next year. We may have some limited cash reserve from last fiscal year, but these are one time funds. We have a structural problem that the past school committee solved by wiping-out all cash reserves; those funds would have been best used to address a financial transition over the next three years.

School Reserves

As I mentioned above, the past school committee when faced with canceling Winter and Spring Sports turned to the cash reserves. It wasn't just sports as art was re-funded for the full year. We simply do not have enough money in the budget to keep our system status quo - that is a very unpleasant fact.

What now

The School Committee must control costs in order to save as many programs as possible. It is truly a desperate situation. We must work together to address long term stability in our system. If we fail, I'm afraid the Portsmouth School District will cease to be independent - it is that serious.

I would hope that the facts drive the Union and the School Committee together. This is a very different time and it will require a different level of thinking and sacrifice. Any teacher I have talked to agrees with me, so I am hopeful we can get to contract quickly.

Your question premised the sea of red being the teachers, but the true sea of red is our budget. Years of cuts and the unwillingness of Portsmouth resident's to support the Referendum leaves us with very few options.

Open for Questions & Concerns

An Educated Patriot has arranged for David Croston, School Committee Member to answer any emails sent to me (editor@aneducatedpatriot.com) regarding your questions or concerns regarding the Portsmouth Schools. To get things started, he has also agreed to answer a questionnaire over the next few nights, this will begin tomorrow evening.

Tonight's School Committee Venue Change

Obviously, the School Committee is expecting a crowd tonight! The venue of tonight's School Committee meeting has been changed to the Little Theater at the Middle School.

Teachers will be there in force to argue against adoption of Policy #4111, a revised policy on employment practices. An Educated Patriot hopes to post language later this afternoon. What we understand is the Policy will conceivably end teacher seniority rights except as stipulated in Rhode Island Law. The School Committee is being told by RIDE to abolish seniority language in all contracts, and specifically the NEA Portsmouth is claiming an unfair job action.

Pack for a long meeting, I hear tell Jerry Palmer wants to set up in the lobby!

On tap for Tuesday...

Posting of School Committee:
Portsmouth School Committee Meeting, Portsmouth Town Hall
January 25, 2011

Executive Session 6:30 PM, Public Session 7:00 PM

PUBLIC SESSION
1. Chairman’s Report
2. Superintendent’s Report
a) Teaching and Learning Report
b) Finance and Administration Report
c) High School Liaison
3. Approval of Minutes
4. Consent Agenda
• Resignations/Retirements/Rescissions
• Appointments/Contracts
• LOA Requests
• Home School Requests
5. Public Comment
6. Business Agenda
a) PHS Presentation – Statistics, Program Information, Course of Study
b) Approval of Policy #4111 – Selection/Appt. of School Personnel, 2nd Reading/Adoption
c) Approval of Policy #8050 – Minutes of Meetings of School Committee, 2nd Reading
d) Approval of Educator Code of Conduct Policy
e) Agenda Item Request – Rights of Chair to Appoint Non-School Committee Members to Subcommittees
f) Agenda Item Request – Use of Personal Emails for Formal School Committee Business
g) Discussion/Action – Superintendent Selection Subcommittee
h) Discussion/Approval – Legislative Agenda
i) Discussion/Approval – November Financial Reports
j) Report on December Financials
8. Subcommittee Agenda
a) Alternative Revenue
b) Aquidneck Island Study Group
b) Facilities
c) Finance
d) Health and Wellness
e) Healthcare Commission
f) Negotiations
g) Policy