After an over three-hour-long meeting with almost 200 parents, students, and educators (past and present) in attendance, the Old Rochester Regional School Committee voted to accept the less preferable fiscal year 2018 school budget – the one town administrators and officials forced upon the school district, saying the towns could not afford any more.

With only a $320,000 increase offered by the three towns collectively, the $18,093,215 school budget placed the junior high music program, as well as technology and technology upgrades at the high school, on the chopping block, drawing out in droves the students, parents, and teachers who opposed the budgetary measures.

ORR School Committee Chairman Tina Rood said the committee’s preferred FY18 budget called for an $834,000 increase in the budget to allow for an additional guidance counselor, psychologist, and art teacher, among other things.

“So you can imagine our dismay when we saw that number ($320,000) and realized how that was going to impact our school,” Rood said. This prompted the thought, she said, “This cannot happen. This devastates our school in a way that we’re not coming back from for a long time.”

Rood recalled the recent budget meeting with the three towns two weeks ago when that $320,000 became a FY18 reality.

“They were very angry that our school needed this type of increase,” said Rood. In her opinion, she said, the budget the committee put forward was about supporting staff and improving the school. The towns’ anger was irrelevant. “As a school committee member, I’m OK with that.”

According to Rood, as it stands, the three towns spend below the state average for a regionalized school district, with a negative 2 reduction in spending over the last three years while the state average has been a six percent increase in spending.

“I am not going to apologize to our towns,” said Rood. “The townspeople have always supported our school budget.”

Superintendent Doug White led a slide presentation introducing the proposed budget, and it was not long before the hands went up and people started asking questions.

Increasing School Choice was the option chosen to make up the shortfall between what the district needed for a level-service budget and what the towns were willing to contribute. The committee during its last meeting voted to cap School Choice at 125, after a steady attempt over the last few years to curtail any increase in School Choice slots.

“As we pull those students in … those dollars are going to be used to bring those positions (music, technology, and social science) back so we don’t lose them and we will be able to keep everything that we have and move forward with a level-service budget,” White said.

Of the 125 available slots, 90 have already been filled. “And we still have time going forward before we close those out,” said White.

One person asked why the music and technology departments were chosen for cuts. White said it was mainly due to resignations or retirements in those areas, which would make it easier to simply not fill. Also, there would be no unemployment costs that go along with them.

“And none of these decisions is one that the school committee supports,” Rood said. “We wanted to show the towns the kind of impact it would have on our schools.”

With the threat of cutting out the music program from the junior high, including band, seemingly solved through School Choice that brings in an additional $5,000 per School Choice student, people present still expressed outrage and opposition to the measure, taking turns reading pages of handwritten letters and submitting petitions – one with 200 student signatures, and one with 322 parent/resident signatures.

Over the course of the evening, school committee members defended their contract negotiations with teachers and administration – the reason, according to the towns, for the school district’s dire financial situation.

“We spend a lot of time in negotiating our contracts,” said committee member Jim Muse. “These people are treated fairly … and we do it because we want the best people to dedicate their time and be here … and we want them to want to come here and we want them to stay.”

Students stood, expressing outrage, as did parents. Some parents offered veiled warnings to the selectmen of the three towns, especially those up for re-election.

“This is our opportunity to show our elected officials that they can be ousted,” said one man in a sea of faces.

Mattapoisett Selectman Tyler Macallister stood and faced the music. He defended the towns’ position on the budget.

“We are only allowed to assess 2.5 percent annually,” he said, referring to Mattapoisett’s new revenue of $565,000 “of which we have to finance everything in town.”

With its own infrastructure, its own contracts, Macallister said, “It was very concerning when [the Town] put together budgets and issued forecasts for 2016 [to the school district] that there was negotiations going on that weren’t considering those budgets.” He continued, “I would like everyone here who is very concerned about budgets and funding … to come into meetings and understand how we (selectmen) have to make decisions every day. We can’t spend more than we get. So we try to do contracts that make sense and we can afford.”

“Before you go blaming the Board of Selectmen and the town administrators and the finance committees, I really think you need to take a look at how these numbers were derived, because I don’t want my daughter not to have band and you’re all looking at me … and I am up for reelection and I am jeopardizing that…. It’s a very difficult job. It’s a problem. We can work the problem; we don’t need to post blame.”

Some weren’t buying that argument, though.

“We are three wealthy communities,” said one woman. “It makes no sense that we’re here. This is crazy that we’re in this position … we’re here and this is our will and we want these programs to continue and to grow and were not going back in time…. The contract was in the best interest of our students because when you are supporting our schools, and you are supporting our teachers, you are supporting our students.”

One after the next, parents and teachers voiced the importance of music in academics, as well as in social-emotional development.

Technology was also supported by a number of residents, as well as high school Principal Mike Devoll.

“I think I speak for everybody when I say nobody wants to cut any of our positions,” said Devoll. “I don’t want to run my school without a technology department. If that goes away, I don’t want to work at that school.” Devoll encouraged all to continue to come back to future meetings. “Because it does not look better in the years to come…. There are a lot of other opportunities that I don’t want to see go by the wayside … and we’re going to need you moving forward beyond tonight. It’s gonna have to be a long-term sustaining effort.”

Committee member Heather Burke said she did not believe that area selectmen want to see ORR become a mediocre school. “But they need to know that it’s OK with the townspeople to pay a little bit more, because when it’s spread across all the townspeople, it’s only going to be a little bit more.”

Music teacher Hannah Moore begged the people who still remained after three hours, “Please everyone, stay involved. Stay passionate, engaged, never ever lose your diligence. Keep talking about it…. We have a very blessed community here and we need to work very hard to do what we can to keep that going.” She continued, “There’s a lot of unknowns and hang in there.”

The committee voted to accept the budget, but Rood voted to reject the budget as proposed. “I have to protest,” she said.

“We need to become an activist board moving forward,” said Burke. “It is swallowing some bad tasting medicine to do this, but I think it’s because this group has worked so well to find a way to meet the needs of the students. It’s a tough pill to swallow, but if it gets you what we need.”

The committee expects further discussion on the annual town meeting floor in May, and hopes for another good turnout of supporters on May 8.

The next meeting of the Old Rochester Regional School Committee is scheduled for May 10 at 6:30 pm in the junior high media room.

By Jean Perry

An exasperated Marion Finance Director Judy Mooney set the tone of the March 9 meeting of the ORR School Committee and Tri-Town town officials when she dug her heels in the sand, drew a line, and told the school committee it brought the school district’s financial problems on itself through poor contract negotiations with teachers and school administration.

Mooney said the proposed $320,000 increase (a 2.5% increase) to the ORR budget that the three towns agreed to was the bottom line, and the school district would have to accept that. The amount is about $380,000 less than what it would take to fund the school committee’s proposed budget and about $252,000 less than needed to fund a level-funded ORR budget.

ORR School Committee Chairman Tina Rood asked the town administrators, selectmen, and finance committee members of the three towns where that seemingly arbitrary $320,000 number came from, and Mooney took the chance to speak up first.

“There is only a Proposition 2½ growth … year after year of new available funds,” said Mooney. “You’re already over, even this $320,000. Let me put that right out there.”

This year, Marion is the town being hit with the higher increase in its ORR assessment, accounting for $229,000 of that $320,000 overall proposed increase. Mattapoisett faces an increase in its assessment by $191,000, and Rochester will see a drop in its assessment by $103,000 after getting the hardest assessment hit last fiscal year.

The Town of Marion will only see an increase in revenue this year of about $555,000, according to Mooney. Town health insurance is going up by 11%, and the towns are facing assessment increases from Old Colony and Bristol Aggie, as well. That $320,000 number the three towns came up with, Mooney said, is still higher than Marion can afford right now. As it stands with its own budget, Marion is still $144,000 in the red for fiscal year 2018.

“We do not have an open wallet,” Mooney said, her voice steadily increasing in volume expressing frustration. “I’d love to have an open wallet and give everybody what they want, but we told you last year, when you’re signing on contracts … it’s an issue you put on yourself with some contracts that you signed.”

Mooney said the district couldn’t afford a 3% increase to teacher contracts, especially given that the school committee agreed to a 70/30 health insurance split for new hires.

“It becomes a huge hit,” said Mooney. “I said it last year, if you keep going this route, you’re going to be in a structural deficit, and here we are, in a structural deficit.”

Mooney’s diatribe did not stop there.

“I have kids in this school system! I hate to see this happen, because you’re taking away things that my kids deserve, but you know what? I’m looking at huge raises here. Six, seven (percent), come on!”

Although the contracted salary increase is 3%, some teachers who increased their education or moved up in employment steps received higher than a 3% increase, as Business Administrator Patrick Spencer clarified in a follow-up interview.

You wanted to know where that $320,000 number came from, Mooney said to Rood, who tried defending the pay raises by saying teachers went three years without one.

“You’re putting us in a very bad situation,” said Mooney, adding that she has been monitoring the school committee’s contract negotiations over time.

“And we’re not going anywhere else besides that [$320,000],” Marion Finance Committee Chairman Alan Minard chimed in. “Face it!”

The heat from the three towns continued.

“Your level-service [budget] is four percent because you settled on contracts that are too high for anyone to support,” Mooney said.

Marion Selectman Steve Gonsalves called it “financial mismanagement,” criticizing the school committee for not running the school more like a business.

“Education can’t be an open pocketbook where we keep reaching in for money,” said Mattapoisett Selectman Jordan Collyer.

Phrases such as “That’s the reality!” and “We can’t afford it!” rang out from around the conference table all at once.

Mattapoisett Town Administrator Michael Gagne summed it up using the “piece of the pie” analogy.

“The municipalities can’t afford to give you more than the $320,000 and fairly treat the other agencies that they have to fairly budget,” Gagne said, mentioning health insurance cost increases of 12% the school district should have foreseen and which now account for $431,000 of the ORR budget. “You’ve got some issues … but you got some fiscal issues, you’ve got to grab them.”

Gagne also criticized the school district’s lack of any “meaningful” OPEB (other post-employment benefits) savings. “We are forced by the laws to collect x dollars, we don’t get x plus three [percent] without a Proposition 2½ override.” And if the district needs more money, he added, then an override would be necessary, but don’t count on Marion voters to approve that, he said.

That goes for Mattapoisett as well, said Collyer. “Mattapoisett will not approve an override. It’s not fiscally responsible,” he said.

“You have to stay within your budget and you haven’t,” said Rochester Selectman Richard Nunes, “and your contracts haven’t.”

Rood retorted, “Our number one resource is our staff for our kids.”

“Your teachers are your most valuable resources…. I hope they’re saying we’re their most valuable resource…. I’d love to have what they have, but we’re living in a Proposition 2½ world … we can’t live this way. And you’re throwing it on us but it’s really on you. We told you this last year!” Mooney said.

Some in attendance watching the meeting, such as Marion School Committee members Michelle Smith and Christine Marcolini, said it was the children now who were being “punished.”

Facing a very real possibility of that “right-column” conservative budget that would leave some items unfunded such as technology instruction, music instruction and band in the junior high, less art instruction, technology upgrades, and positions the district needs like an additional guidance counselor and a special education coordinator, Rood asked the others, “How can we work together, because that number that you have suggested is so devastating to the school.”

“We don’t have any more money,” said Minard.

Conceding, Rood said, “I will look at the numbers you have given me, and we will talk about them at the budget sub-committee meeting.”

This is a united front across the three towns, Rochester Finance Committee Chairman Kris Stoltenberg said. “We are now really united … and I will join Mattapoisett and Marion and join their cause … just as I hope they’ll fight for us.”

The ORR School Committee will seek to make up some of the budget gap by adding additional School Choice slots to fund the $18,345,489 level-service budget it proposed.

After another lengthy discussion and a long pause of silence, Collyer said, “I hate that we have to sit here and have this conversation.”

“You have to realize,” Mooney said to the school committee members. “You’re just one piece of our pie.”

Mooney warned the committee that the district would likely be looking at the same $320,000 number next year as well.

Superintendent Doug White said, “I think the committee heard you, and we’ll go back and address what has been heard tonight.”

White suggested a future meeting where representatives from the school district could sit with selectmen from all three towns and just have a conversation about the future of education and what a 21^st century education will mean for the students, the district, and the three towns.

“Education is changing dramatically,” White said. “What we have to offer and what we’ll need to do for our students is not the same as it was even five years ago.”

The three towns agreed to the idea.

In closing, Rood said, “As school committee members, we’re here to advocate for those students’ needs. They don’t get to vote, and they are the future,” she continued. “We are asking for what is needed to support our kids.”

By Jean Perry