The budget the Marion School Committee approved for fiscal year 2020 might only reflect a 1.48-percent increase, but a steady rise in the need for special education services for the students at Sippican School has resulted in some tough cuts in the regular education budget.
The overall $196,134 or 10.22-percent increase in the special education budget is driven in large part by an increase in the learning support center line item, which Superintendent Doug White called “the big one” on March 28 during the meeting of the Marion School Committee, bumped up by $172,069 – a nearly 27 percent increase over last year’s budget.
“That’s really one of the areas that we’ve found the needs within this budget, and the need for that offset was a significant hit to this budget,” White said, “but also one that is needed to meet the needs of all of the students across our pre-k to 6 school.”
There was also a 19.29-percent increase in the special education administration budget.
As a result, this year the central administration and school committee had to reassess how to spread out the available funding across all areas of the budget and found only one solution – a small increase in class size for next year’s grade 4.
Currently, four sections service the third grade, a student population that was not only larger in size but also higher in needs in the areas of academic and social/emotional support. Next year as those students advance to grade 4, those four sections will be reduced to three, making it a class size average of about 19, a move that some educators present that evening vocally opposed.
One educator pointed out that the needs of the students at Sippican School “have changed drastically”, and as school committee member Ronald Gerhart tried to assuage the educators’ concerns about 19-student class sizes still being a beneficial number for students – under 20 – another teacher commented, “You’re just looking at numbers, not personalities and needs. We’re looking at the children, we’re not looking at the number – we’re looking at the children that we’re working with. They’re more than a number.”
“And we know that, and we respect that,” said committee Chairman Christine Marcolini.
This budget, White said, is not one that will satisfy everybody, “But [it is] the best of what we have at this time.”
“This particular budget is probably, I think, the hardest that we’ve ever done in a long time,” Marcolini said. This year, special education was a priority, she said. “The only way that we were able to make that happen was to increase the class size, unfortunately, at the grade 3 [level] going into grade 4. … We were just unable to find a solution to sustain four sections at that particular grade level, and we really tried – we really did.”
Still, Marcolini said she feels good about the plan the administration came up with, referring to the reduction in grade 4 sections to account for the special education increase “to make sure that we’re still supporting that group of children as well as the professionals.” She added that, last year, the town was able to provide the funding to add a behavior specialist, and also two physical education positions.
“It’s not perfect, as we keep saying,” said Marcolini. “The town doesn’t have more [money] to give us this year; they really, really don’t.
“None of us feels wonderful about it, but I do feel like it’s the best that we can do and it’s a pretty good plan to meet the needs of everybody,” said Marcolini.
“We truly are fighting for this budget,” said school committee member Michelle Smith. “We’re fighting for more, but they (the town) don’t have it to give to us, so we’re kind of stuck. … We see the needs … [but] I don’t think they (the town) truly get what’s happening.”
Turning to the supplies budget that only accounts for 2 percent of the entire school budget, Marcolini said, “We’re barely buying pencils.”
“This stinks,” school committee member April Rios conceded. “It stinks – there’s no other way to put it, but we are faced with what we’re faced with.”
Sippican School population continues to hover between the 420 to 430 mark, with an additional 20 students in the Project Grow program, which will increase its tuition rate next year from $25 a day to $35 a day – a cost that is roughly in comparison with similar programs in the region.
Business Administrator Paul Kitchen pointed out that the budget was offset in part by grants and awards totaling $104,360, $224,000 in Circuit Breaker money, and $20,000 from school revolving accounts. Director of Student Services Michael Nelson pointed out, however, that some grants that support additional paraprofessionals continue to shrink.
The Sippican School total budget for FY20 is $6,148,701, which is an increase of $89,709 or 1.48 percent from FY19.
The next meeting of the Marion School Committee is scheduled for May 8 at 6:30 pm at Sippican School.
Marion School Committee
By Jean Perry