Hey, let's talk about Burncoat

 I am intentionally posting a stub here, as I am working on this on the train outbound, and my posts go out at 3 PM. Come back for more, between today and tomorrow.

On tomorrow night's Worcester City Council agenda, we have the following: 

First a process note: This is coming from the Department of Public Facilities, not from the Worcester Public Schools. That's because school buildings, in a municipal school district, are built not by the school department (which does have its own section on the City Council agenda) but by the city itself. The school department does not run its own building projects, and the School Committee has very, very little to do with building projects.*

Now I want to remind you of where we are with Worcester's school building projects: since 2011, Worcester has rebuilt North High, South High, and Doherty, three of the four comprehensive high schools in the city. Add in Worcester Tech, which opened in 2006, that's all of the largest high schools in Worcester, in the past twenty years. 

Let's give credit where due: considering that Worcester also opened a new elementary school in there (Nelson Place, which was literally falling down, opened 2017), that is a stunning pace of building new schools. Genuinely, and I say this as someone who watches this, this is a tremendous pace.

Hey a new Burncoat is happening

 ...and while it sorta felt like things were dormant there for awhile--why can't we announce building committees?--there are updates, and, more importantly, places to weigh in. 
Burncoat High School page has an offshoot on the building project which notes that the building committee met for the first time last week* and there was a visioning session last night. 
But there are more: 

• On Tuesday, May 19, from 3:00-6:00 PM, the Burncoat School Building Project will host Educational Visioning Workshop #1 at Burncoat High School, 179 Burncoat Street, Worcester, in the cafeteria.
  
  
• On Tuesday, May 26, from 4:00-7:30 PM (dinner will be provided), the Burncoat School Building Project will host Educational Visioning Workshop #2 at Burncoat High School, 179 Burncoat Street, Worcester, in the cafeteria.
  
  
• On Wednesday, June 10, from 3:00-6:00 PM, the Burncoat School Building Project will host Educational Visioning Workshop #3 at Burncoat High School, 179 Burncoat Street, Worcester, in the cafeteria.

Good luck if you can only make something after 5, I guess, because only last night's did. 

I really, really urge you to attend this, because Worcester, while it is speedy at getting schools through, in part does that by having one of the least public building processes around. They'll have only the building committee meetings that they are required by MSBA to have. The School Committee in Worcester has very, very limited involvement, so you also won't see updates there.

This is it. Weigh in now. 

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*which also does not say who is on it. Sigh.

MSBA 2025 statewide school building survey

 for your reading and activism

Do note: 

Site visits at recently completed schools established a baseline for comparison in future assessments. Site visits were not conducted at schools in the MSBA’s Core Program pipeline unless construction had been completed

You can download the full survey results here. 

And while I knew this--it's true here in Worcester, after all!--I'm a little mesmerized by where this timeline starts: 

 

Report on school construction from Mass Inc and WRRB

 This was released yesterday

How great is the clever title?
A building foundation...the foundation budget?

The upshot is that if Shrewsbury has nine schools, and Worcester has fifty schools, and each can build one new school at a time, when we get to the end of any set of time, Shrewsbury can rebuild all of its schools before Worcester has rebuilt a fifth of theirs.

new report on MA school building funding equity coming

 ...and while I cannot go to the release, some of you may wish to!

Worcester Regional Research Bureau and MassInc are coming out with a joint report entitled "Fixing the Foundation: Uneven Access to Modern Schools and a Blueprint for a More Equitable Future." It's being released in an event October 7 from 10 AM to 12 at the State House.

You can find all the information and a way to RSVP here. 

I'll be sure and share the report once it is out! 

Burncoat High moves into feasibility!

I have yet to see this reported as yet: at yesterday's Mass School Building Authority board meeting, Burncoat High moved into the Feasibility State of the school building pipeline.

Photo from the Wednesday, April 29, 2025 MSBA agenda

The rest of Feasibility you see above (Boston for the Shaw Elementary; Everett for the high school; Haverhill for Whittier Middle; New Bedford for Ashley Elementary).

Dedham was removed from the capital pipeline for Oakdale Elementary. 

Millis was moved into Preferred Schematic Design for the middle/high school; the project is estimated at $127M.

Leominster, for Fall Brook Elementary; Reading for Killam Elementary; and Southborough for Neary Elementary were all moved into Project Scope and Budget for projects totaling an estimated $142M. 

UPDATE: I was asked if this included Burncoat Middle. The Feasibility process will determine if the school built is a 9-12 or 7-12 school; the district doesn't need to submit and have an additional SOI accepted in order to make that part of the discussion and determination.

There's a certain Worcester symmetry

 

...to the first of the city of Worcester needing to cover Polar Park payments coming at the same meeting as the first round of borrowing for a new Burncoat. While the memo regarding the stadium is full of assurances that all will be fine, the one from the Manager on Burncoat closes:

Borrowing for this project will potentially increase the municipality’s current debt by 25%. The municipality must carefully consider ways to reduce borrowing and increase both revenues and reserves to mitigate the potential impact on the City’s taxpayers. 

Framing is an interesting thing, isn't it.

 There's also an interesting note in the free cash allocation:

$7,585,935.00 to the Worcester Public Schools:  For FY25, I am proposing that the Worcester Public Schools and municipality divide the remaining funds to support operating and capital expenses.  As you know, FY25 was a difficult budget year for Worcester Public Schools due to increased students and rising City of Worcester obligations. While the municipality provided more than $1.8 million at the close of FY24 to address Net School Spending shortfalls, the Superintendent and I have been in communication about additional Worcester Public Schools costs that we believe will not meet Net School Spending requirements and therefore will exacerbate the existing shortfall. This appropriation should bring the City above the required Net School Spending amount of $127.7 million, as long as the funds are used to support Net School Spending eligible activities. I am working with the Superintendent to determine the highest and best use of these funds that will ensure the City meets its financial obligations to public education. 

The flag that goes up in my mind from the first quarter report is out of district transportation, as transportation doesn't count towards NSS, but it would be interesting to know. In any case, Worcester appears to once again be walking the line on meeting minimum obligation, though at least now it is being attended to. 

We could, of course, not minimally fund schools and then we wouldn't have this issue.

A round-up on WPS things

 So much to post, so little time. Some WPS notes in the meantime:

• At tonight's Worcester School Committee meeting, the School Committee conducts Dr. Monárrez's annual evaluation. The presentation is here. As I noted last month, there is a SINGLE evaluation of a superintendent, not, in Worcester's case, nine. The evaluation as presented overall evaluates her work as proficient, which, as the DESE standards remind us, is a "rigorous expected level of performance." This is an official action of the School Committee and will be voted. 
  
  
• The agenda tonight also has a proposed meeting schedule (which I suspect will need to be amended) and a proposed calendar of agenda reports.
  
  
• Oddly, still no update on the bottom line of the budget. 
  
  
• With the first day of school for students grades 1-12 on August 26 (preK and K on the 29), there's a back to school letter shared on the district website. This includes a list of new principal and coordinator assignments, which I'll include below. I assume these went through a community committee screening, 'though it's odd that it never had any public side (aka: not the internal school community) outreach for those. 
  
  
• Note that the WPS Transportation system not only had routes available for families LAST WEEK--it's never in my memory been that early!--they're also starting the year FULLY STAFFED with drivers. There's going to be 101 bus routes this year in Worcester. And don't miss WPS mechanic Jim Hicks on WBUR this morning! 
  
  
• You've probably caught some of the Doherty coverage; yes, the new building is done and will open with the rest of the district. The T&G also had a piece on late WPS superintendent Leo T. Doherty, after whom the building is named. We can't say "on budget" on this due to the pandemic, but remember that the inflationary increase was covered by the state. 
  
  
• And yes, Burncoat is still going next; yes, that's actually official; and if you want to bug someone about it, ask when the building committee is going to be announced. There are districts that were accepted at the same time that are WAY ahead of us on timeline (we can actually go quicker than the deadlines!). 

__________________________________________

New assignments: 

Challenge and Reach Academy: Scott Moriarty

Chandler Elementary: Margaret Murphy

Claremont Academy: Christopher LaBreck

Clark Street Elementary: Christopher Dodge

Gerald Creamer Center: Angela Plant

Jacob Hiatt Magnet Elementary: Amanda Martinez (acting)

Lincoln Street Elementary: Karen Allen

New Citizens Center Secondary: Dr. Erin Goldstein

Rice Square Elementary: Fjodor Dukaj

Thorndyke Road Elementary: Susan Donahue

Transition Program: Dr. Brenda Diggs

Vernon Hill Elementary: Tammy Boyle

Let's talk about these Senate budget amendments

They were due Friday, but I only got through them yesterday. Debate doesn't begin until Monday, though, so you still have time to contact your Senator's office to enlist their endorsement. As the Senate sorts their amendments by topic, you can find all the education-related ones here.

As per usual, if you're looking for earmarks, you're on your own: these are ones that impact more than one district and in K-12. Opining, as per usual, is entirely mine. 
Also there are several "let's have a foundation budget review!" amendments, which I am going to give their own blog post. 

On inflation:
Amendment 743 just straightforwardly adds the $217M (Thank you, Senator Moore!) which is the amount the jointly endorsed MASC/MASS/MTA/AFT-MA solution would cost.

Amendment 758 puts in $100M for "inflation relief," though it specifies that it would not go into base aid in future years, which rather misses the point.

The rest of these don't fix anything for this year:
Amendment 735 would establish an escrow bank, where any year where inflation was over 4.5%, the difference would be "banked" to be distributed in years when it was less.
Amendment 644 uses the calculation requested, but starts it in 2026. 
Amendment 798 uses the calculation requested, and, while it doesn't specify 2026, since it conflicts with the language the budget outlines, per Section 3, it wouldn't go into effect this year. 

Other Chapter 70 and core aid related things:
Showing his usual zest for amendment, Senator Tarr has submitted Amendments 615 for $125, 618 for $120, and 619 for $110 per pupil minimum aid. And this is your ongoing reminder that every increase makes it more likely that fewer districts will escape hold harmless during the implementation of SOA remaining, and that this funding has no relation to student or municipal need.

Amendment 666 is chapter 70 "extraordinary relief" of $18.5M, targeted only at places where the required local contribution is more than 30% of local revenue

Amendment 799 is $5M in relief "municipalities who rank in the lowest 10% of municipalities in both of the following categories: (i) total per-pupil dollar expenditure; and (ii) actual net school spending." This means it won't be the highest need districts, as those have required per pupil expenditures that are higher.

School choice:
Amendment 720 would raise the per pupil amount of a school choice student from $5000 to $7500.

Rural aid:
Amendment 631 would raise it from $15M to $17.5M

METCO:
Amendment 635 would raise it from $29.4M to $33M and would also allow funds to be carried to the following December

Charter school facilities:
Amendment 709 would raise the charter school facilities per pupil amount (which comes from a sending district's Chapter 70 aid) to $1288 from $1188

Regional transportation:
Amendments 623 would raise it to $106.5; 661 and 734 and 748 to $121.1M

Special education and circuit breaker:
Amendment 705 would phase in circuit breaker being 100% reimbursement of the "extraordinary" costs, with 75% for FY25 moving to 80% in FY26, 90% in FY27, 95% in FY28, and 100% in FY29, but would immediately put 100% into place for any children whose parents or guardians do not reside in Massachusetts or who are placed outside their hometown.

Amendment 639 would study the delivery of special education services

Vocational:
Amendment 611 would move the CTE line from $2.5M to $3.5M; 711 to $4.5M

Amendment 663 would move transportation reimbursement for out of district vocational from $1M to $2M

Amendment 751 would require a vocational admissions lottery

Amendment 752 would create vocational annexes to comprehensive high schools in cities

Amendment 755 would create a commission on such annexes

Advanced Placement:
Amendment 622 would increase the AP math and science line from $2M to $3.3M

Amendment 654 would require state colleges and universities to take an AP score of 3, 4, or 5 for credit

Early college:
Amendment 708 would take the early college line from $3M to $3.5M

Amendment 731 would create a five year strategic plan on early college in the state

Sex ed
Amendment 756 would require biannual collection of sex education in districts in the Commonwealth

Early literacy:
Amendments 687 and 780 would raise the "Literacy Launch" amount from $10M to the $30M that would match the Governor and House

Amendment 787 is the terrible literacy bill that would mandate curriculum be taken from a state list

SEL:
Amendment 640 would increase the SEL line from $6M to $8M

School to career:
Amendment 714 would increase the school to career line from $7.3M to $8.5M

After and out of school:
Amendment 665 would increase the budgeted $8.6M to $10.6M

Diversity in education:
Amendment 689 would student the impact of layoffs of this year and last on teachers of color

MSBA:
Amendment 760 adds "collaboratives" to the study of the MSBA that the Senate included in the outside section (starts on page 67)

Trusts:
Amendment 621 would increase the civics trust from $1.5M to $2.5M

Amendment 750 would increase the genocide trust from $2.25M to $3M

On city finances and planning

 At the April 9 meeting of the City Council: 

Toomey makes request under suspension for a five point plan on school building finances needs and renovations.

— Marco Cartolano (@marco_cartolano) April 10, 2024

While it appears to be deleted, Councilor Toomey later clarified on Twitter that she was speaking of amending the city's five point financial plan. 

a few facts on MSBA and Burncoat Middle

I'll save how angry and concerned I am that the Worcester City Council last week put a hold their vote on Burncoat Middle's Statement of Interest for a second week running, and keep this to some statements of fact:

• Communities are allowed to submit a single core project (for a major renovation or rebuild) as their priority project to the Massachusetts School Building Authority each year. They may not "send in them all and have MSBA pick" (that's a paraphrase, to be clear).
  
  
• The MSBA has a very strong tradition of allowing districts only a SINGLE core project at a time. For a very long time, and in most communities still, if a district is still in the process of building a new building, they will not move a district forward with another core project.
  
  
• Worcester is an exception to the above statement, because we have a history of moving our core building projects forward in a systematic way, and the administration has a history of completing and paying for projects as needed. Once a new building has been close to completion, the MSBA has forwarded a second project. This is how we started South when Nelson Place was still going up and Doherty when South was still going up; it is how Burncoat High was admitted to the pipeline though Doherty is not yet done.
  
  
• They will not admit a third when we are any further along than that.
  
  
• The city doesn't have the capacity to fund two new buildings at the same time in that fashion, in any case.
  
  
• When the state organization that will be picking up more than half of the cost of a multimillion dollar project does the organizational equivalent of nudging a community in the ribs and tell the community to send in the school that is contiguous to and shares systems with a building that they have already admitted to the pipeline, they are telling you something important.
  
  
• MSBA is always watching communities with projects to see if they are committed to the projects and acting in ways that ensure that they will be completed.
  
  
  

If you are concerned about this, please share that with the Worcester City Council. 

Worcester School Committee this week plus a report to check out

 Note that: 

• the Standing Committee on Finance, Operations, and Governance meets tomorrow (Monday) at 4:45; the agenda is here. It's a three item agenda--students as custodians; three proposed years of calendars; and the proposed Haas donation (remember that?)* with a recommendation the item be filed.
  The calendars adopt the city's "Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples' Day" phrasing. They also continue Good Friday as a "non-school day."
  
  
• The full Committee meets Thursday at 5 (for executive session); the agenda is here. The report of the superintendent is on alternative programs. 
  Also on the agenda: the reports related to the above; the approval of new courses (which one would expect to go to subcommittee); a request for a utility easement at North High; a proposal that something at Doherty High be named after deceased Worcester Fire Department Lt. Jason Menard; and a request for the costs of the climate and culture specialists.
  Interestingly, among the items is a request that the Committee approve a Statement of Interest for renovation/rebuild for Burncoat Middle School. To quote from the accompanying memo from the Deputy Superintendent:
  

As part of the MSBA’s onsite review of the school, it was recommended that the district would need to submit a Statement of Interest for Burncoat Middle School to be included in consideration to be included in the new school project during the feasibility phase of the project. 

The High School and Middle Schools share some mechanical infrastructure and significant instructional programs (dual language program, 7-12 advanced scholars' academy, and the district’s performing arts programs).

The approval of this Statement of Interest is intended to have the middle school considered as part of the feasibility phase of the high school project. The determination by the city whether to combine the high school and middle school into a shared facility (but remain as two separate schools) would be determined during the feasibility study of the project. That project timeline is expected to take place between 2025-2028.

The deadline for the major renovation/replacement projects is Friday, April 12, 2024.

Do note that the School Committee last term requested that the middle school be included in the consideration; this is the (state required) next step in that. This also must be approved by the    Worcester City Council. 

• While we're thinking about Worcester Public Schools facilities, give a review to the latest release by the Research Bureau, "Building the Future: Investing in Worcester Public Schools facilities."
  
  
• And speaking of the Research Bureau, nominations for the annual Thomas S. Green Public Service Award are open, so nominate your favorite teacher, custodian, bus driver, paraprofessional, nurse, school nutrition worker, crossing guard, school secretary...and so on!

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*Short version from me: Should the Worcester Public Schools name a facility after a man who committed felony conspiracy, witness intimidation and federal tax evasion to the tune of $30M in retaliation for the federal government fining him for patent infringement, in return for a donation of $350,000 to upgrade a shop at Worcester Tech? You can read all the documentation here.
The motion to file here means "end it all."

February Board of Ed: awards and recognitions

 Colin Moge of West Springfield High School is being recognized as School Counselor of the Year
introduced by noting need for counselors in schools: mental health, bullying, college admission and financial aid

BURNCOAT IS IN!

 Burncoat High School was accepted into the Mass School Building Authority pipeline today, entering the Eligibility Period.

Burncoat's the oldest of our comprehensive high schools, being built in 1964. It serves 1174 students, and is home of both the arts magnet program and the dual language program. 

YAY!!

Burncoat's on the MSBA agenda to be invited into Eligibility!

 The Mass School Building Authority has their final Board meeting on Wednesday, and their agenda (which I've shared here) includes an proposed (subject to Board vote) invitation to Eligibility which will be of local interest (last in alphabetical order): 

The meeting starts at 10 am. 
While I never count out a public body, let me also share that I have never known the Board to vote against such a recommendation. 
I'll have my Burncoat green on Wednesday, and I'll update as we have news! 

LET'S BE SUPER CLEAR HERE, incidentally, that the work that we and others did on raising the MSBA cap, both in SOA and in the last budget, and on setting accelerated repair outside the cap was what enabled that list you've seen above! GOOD WORK, all! 

MSBA Board for October: big news!

as reported on the MASC page

The Mass School Building Authority met this morning, and made some significant changes to the programs they oversee, funded by the Fair Share amendment and changes made in the FY24 budget.

The first set of changes was to the cost funding limit per square foot that the MSBA will cover in a core project. Going forward, the Board voted to raise this amount from $393 per square foot to $550 per square foot. Additionally, going forward, the Board voted to include up to $55 per square foot for sitework. Overall, then, starting with the projects moved into Project Scope and Funding today, the total construction cost funding limit will be $605 per square foot.  

Additionally, the Board approved adjustments to the total facilities grant available for projects approved prior to October 1, 2022, moving to $393 per square foot and $39 per square foot for sitework; this includes 30 projects. For projects approved after October 1, 2022 and before October 1, 2023, an increase to $516 per square foot and $52 per square foot in site work was approved; this includes nine projects. 

Finally, the Board approved plans for an accelerated repair program, with applications opening in January 2024. This program will run biannually, with $150M allocated each year. It will be open only to window and roof projects; roof projects will include a study of feasibility of roof repair in the requirements. The MSBA will seek a contractor to study funding heat pumps moving forward, as the program will no longer include boilers. The MSBA will also be reviewing accessibility requirements and eligibility determinations for expanded  HVAC items. 

The above was made possible by action within the FY24 state budget, including an the increase to the annual MSBA cap, the removal of the accelerated repair program from the cap, a $100M supplemental grant, and the increase to the allowable rate of growth. 

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Inquiring minds want to know: What does this mean for Worcester? Excellent question!

First, let's note that EVERY aspect of this is related to work that the Worcester School Committee specifically asked for: back in January, we had three asks for the budget:

1. That the cap on the MSBA be lifted. It was in the state FY24 budget, and that allowed for much of the above.
2. That the accelerated repair program be restored. Via Senator Michael Moore's budget amendment (filed SPECIFICALLY because we asked), accelerated repair was placed outside the MSBA cap, and thus restored.
3. That the inflationary increases due to the pandemic of the current building projects be state covered (at least partly). Of the FY24 budget Fair Share allocation, $100M is for these inflationary increases. 

So GO WORCESTER!

What will it do for us?

• On inflation: the Doherty building project experienced $24M in inflationary costs. The city will need to submit documentation, so we don't know yet how much it will be, but at least some of that cost is now going to be covered.
  Maybe this means we get the solar panels back?
  
  
• On accelerated repair: remember the budget always has a facilities plan, and that includes projected accelerated repair submissions: 
  
  
  
  

  This will need to be tweaked, of course, now that the MSBA is no longer taking boilers, but yes, we have a plan ready to go.
  
  
• On upcoming projects: it makes a Burncoat project a lot more do-able if we have this increased square foot rate. 
  

Good news across the board! If you worked for any of the above, YOU DID THIS! 

Hey, we have an F&O meeting tomorrow!

The Worcester School Committee Standing Committee on Finance and Operations has a meeting tomorrow at 5:30 (IN PERSON, though it will stream online), and the agenda includes not only our (last?) monthly transportation update, but a corker of a facilities update! 

Quoting just a few of the updates on projects I know to be of interest: 

• on water and heat and cooling: Belmont has a new boiler; Burncoat High and Middle have new domestic hot water heaters; Chandler Magnet has a new boiler; City View has a new boiler, Goddard Elementary has a new boiler; Vernon Hill has a new boiler; Forest Grove is getting two new chillers over the summer; and North High is getting a new chiller this summer.
  
  
• on bottle fillers: The SWIG (School Water Improvement Grant) project has started with initial demo of existing fixtures. A 3-month grant extension has been approved through the end of September. Installation of new water bottle filling stations fixtures to take place over the summer, followed by required sampling.
  
  
• on ADA accessibility: Deborah Ryan Associates studies nearly complete for the following schools: Thorndyke, Gerald Creamer Center, Harlow Challenge & Reach, Columbus Park, and Lincoln Street. Draft reports have been provided for comment, with final reports anticipated Summer 2023. Construction has started on the accessibility updates at Worcester Arts Magnet (triggered by the roof replacement).
  
  
• on Burncoat High and NEASC:  Four firms have been engaged to prepare baseline reports and potential courses of action based on the findings of the NEASC report. These studies include building envelope, accessibility, mechanical systems, and traffic analysis improvements. These studies are now complete.
  
  
• on traffic management: Mount Vernon Group Architects have done traffic and pedestrian design studies at both Burncoat Middle and High and at Roosevelt. There is insufficient funding (as we've discussed) in both cases, though Facilities is looking into options to manage some of the issues of concern. 
  
  
• on Burncoat bleachers: project now awarded to a contractor; it is anticipated this will be done for the fall opening of school. The gym floor is also being refinished as part of the same project. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
• on Elm Park's gym: New wooden flooring is installed, and one coat of varnish has been applied. Roof repairs were undertaken to ensure new flooring system would not be damaged. New doors were installed at South entrance to minimize water infiltration at that location. Vendor is expected to be applying final polyurethane and markings over the next month. The gymnasium walls have also been painted, and new bleacher system installed. Anticipated completion by August 2023, ahead of the start of new school year.
  
  
  
  
  
• on the Honeywell districtwide ESSER funded HVAC updates: $22 million investment, across majority of schools in the district. Scope includes automated controls upgrades, exhaust fan replacements, rooftop units, heating systems. Project will be completed in phases, with on-going work though the Fall of 2024.
  
  
• on the new Doherty: is now weather-tight. It's on schedule for opening Fall of 2024.
  
  
• on school moves: there are moving contracts for both the Alternative school and for La Familia; both moves starting on June 21 and will be done by June 30.
  
  

There's LOTS MORE over on the agenda, so go check it out, and maybe plan to at least watch our meeting tomorrow! 

The Worcester Public Schools before Council for FY24

 with a reminder of all of this

While we listen to the Fire Department, here are the images that I posted this afternoon on Instagram! 

And the presentation that the superintendent will be presenting is here. 

I'm not taking any notes on this, but here's a note you'll need:

"how can we work together as a city...to go to the state and say 'we want to find a solution that can work' and we need to do this together to find something that can work."

Colorio: asks what enrollment is
"it looks like we haven't been at 24,318 in over a decade"
argues that the numbers don't bear out an enrollment increase; which Allen notes our forecasting does
Colorio: how many new teachers? 75
How many new administrators? "the net increase is five"
Colorio: can you run down recent investments we've made in the schools in various areas?
McGourthy: don't necessarily have a comprehensive list
with that, the city carries debt; $15M capital debt service
(as a reminder, that is three cents of every dollar)
Colorio asks where the teachers are going

Russell: task hanging over the whole city's head
as well as the day to day operations, "from what I can see she's doing a great job"
"but that being said, it's not secret that I've been advocating for things for district 3 for a long time"
"I want to be perfectly clear that I'm not trying to micromanage anything" in city government 
"relaying concerns" from neighborhood
"but the question is where do we go...the question is could we doing something on a temporary basis"
"how many times do we look at a Parks Department construction...and get on a path to where we can correct these items"
going to request a detail report about traffic concerns 
has asked the principal, Mr. Allen, Mr. Hacker...for what it's going to take to rectify the traffic and parking around Roosevelt and Burncoat
Details around where the $3.5M would go
"and if that's the case, that's the case..."
"is there anything we can do on temporary basis"
asks if there is anything in the budget addressing these issues
Allen: looking at different options that wouldn't be those in the full ideal solution for the school
Russell: is there anything temporary thing, leasing spaces
Allen: can certainly look at that: believe the issue is the traffic loop and not the parking per se
Russell: elevate issues, look at options
"if we're going to put a number in multi-millions in the parking issue, it's probably not going to see the top of the pile"
Worcester East Middle School: how are we going with that?
Allen: cost of window replacement is for any window deemed to be inoperable
"where we will have funding struggles is where the project cost will trigger ADA upgrades"
Russell: how much is it?
Allen: will know when it fills that Gap
Russell: have you considered applying for a waver?
Allen: has been discussed
Russell: is the district going to spend the money on something else
Allen: the district is committed to doing the windows at Worcester East Middle
Russell: have there been specific asks?
Monárrez: have to come together and look at all of our needs
Look at enrollment changes 
"need to work closer with each other on all of the work"
"We need to have a strategy to ask our state to have other ways of funding districts as large as Worcester"
"a building will get to a point where the MSBA won't consider an accelerate repair" for a building because it is too run down 
Allen: "MSBA has told us that Worcester East Middle is a core replacement"
Monárrez: funds one core project at a time
Russell: "I agree with the superintendent, it's clearly something we need to work together on"
"what generation are we going to be talking about when we're building a new East Middle School"
and apply that to several others
Petty: seven millions sitting there...asks what one million in bonding gets us
I have no idea what he's talking about here
McGourthy: one million gets us ten million
Petty: I think working together we can get through this

Toomey: thanks superintendent
had a thought to use Stop and Shop parking lots which would mean even more students would walk across the street
safety audit: wondering when the Council will see them
Monárrez: once received, it will be shared with the School Committee, which will then make it public
"perhaps available at our July meeting or August"
Toomey: asking about fire alarm replacement and cameras (she's reading the capital budget)
Allen: those have been ongoing projects that we've been dealing with as they come up
expect these and others to be addressed in the findings
training, policies, practices, protocols
Toomey: repairs to Claremont front entrance
paving...could you let us know what that entails
Allen: Claremont walkway and driveway has been unusable for some years; has taken this long to get into the capital budget
Toomey: notice that fuel oil is going down due to 
Allen: still working through RFP process
Toomey: there's an increase in rent and quizzes both
understand that there is a dedicated gas station and how does funding work
Allen: Pullman Street, gas comes through the city
Toomey: are you using municipal aggregation?
Allen: have net metering credits; will defer to the ctiy
Toomey: can I get a detailed list of administrators and salaries?
Petty doesn't vote the request

Rivera: excited to see an increase of wraparound coordinators
overdue to look at a building maintenance plan
"what might have needed a bandaid needs surgery...it's really an equity issue"
concerned to see UPCS roof as late a date as that
Allen: most of the projects before this were windows, and now are roofs
"have to do bandaids until they get accepted into MSBA" (assuming they bring the program back)
Rivera: are we looking at growth for schools?
new housing by Canterbury, by Chandler
are we prepared, are we looking for the growth of children coming into these schools?
Monárrez: exactly what City Manager and I have spoken about a few times
housing development we know about, what is coming, so we're not waiting til our schools are bursting
Rivera: UPCS not equipped for any type of physical limitations
also concerned about our playgrounds: getting outdoors
hard if in the schools we don't even have that capability
Woodland has to take turns going out; "definitely a huge equity issue"
Allen: working with some community organizations to look at Woodland
the challenge there is the lack of space beyond what is on the footprint
the parking lot but creates traffic and parking issues
don't have a solution at this time
Rivera: these things weren't looked at when these spaces were created
vocational education: hope to shift it
shortage in the workforce
questions equity in AP access at Claremont and UPCS
have there been conversations with other colleges like Clark does
Monárrez: continuum of college and career a position now
formalizing some of these agreements that have been happening, now from district level
Rivera: work on diversity, equity, and inclusion
refugee population, including unaccompanied minors
speaks of a family that had a disheartening experience with a school
have seen labels put on our kids
"under the right administration, these kids just fly"
Monárrez: thank for sharing story
as part of the restructuring this school year, based on what the families said and best practice
hired directors of family and community engagement
very early on in conversation: what is WPS going to do for the needs for social justice
"will continue to train up people"
Chief Diversity Officer was to diversify workforce; moving forward, position has been reworked but will as Chief Equity Officer will be "guardian of equity" ensuring leading though an equity lens
training up leaders including on unconscious biases
equity doesn't sit with one person

King: last comments are music to my ears
talk a little bit about any cost savings that were realized
has cost savings on transporation been quantified?
Allen: about 3 and a half million a year
some put back into transportation for service improvements
King: families having piece of mind
looking forward to you guys being able to experience that
daughter at Chandler Magnet
wondering if there is any cost savings due to La Familia merging into Chandler Mag
Allen: saving the lease cost and the cost of a principal (if looked at in isolation)
King: ADA upgrades 
issue of equity: support Fair Share amendment 
"is there any sort of calculus going on or strategy currently in play for the cityside and schoolside to work on access to that funding?"
Batista: currently no strategy, but that would be a conversation 
King: have heard a little about capital funding, increases of SOA, ESSER, city contribution increase
"incumbent upon us...there are times we have to intersect to advocate for our kids"
what sort of staffing and costs will there be for the Chief Diversity Officer?
Monárrez: there right now are budgeted for four additional coaches, $350K
King: want to talk about administrative positions
outside of schools, we know waitlists for clinical resources
good to see nurses, psychologists
those infrastructure, coping positions, impact the public health outside
"that comes from this administration and the School Committee"
Worcester Tech "had become a prep school": concern about equity of access
Rec Worcester: school side took on some of that, as I recall
what that amount is
McGourthy: WPS provided support for Rec Worcester programs going on in their buildings
believe that is the number that is carried within the WPS budget itself
during the pandemic, that changed
Allen: on school side, it was $100, 000; now not allocating funds
King: not sure what happened with earmarks
Batista: trying to sustain and support what we were currently doing
expanded too fast without the structure in place to support it
King: expect some sort of intersection next school year
Batista: currently focusing on summer; next year would be part of conversation with superintendent and youth office
King: safety audit
asks what happened with prior safety audit a couple of years ago
Allen: the recommendations were not adopted
one of the reasons that we needed to reengage at this point
King: push for clinical support
Monárrez: four different providers in schools
ESSER funding; then SOA will come into play
King: resources for mental health for youth in community
Batista: ARPA dollars
million dollars for crisis response team
Shannon dollars for preventative measures and intervention work
think Rec Worcester itself is such a program
King: how many dollars are we providing over required, if you take into account the loan, OPEB contribution...(this isn't a thing)
is there a round number you can give me 
McGourthy: FY24: $124M; city is contributing $138M; debt service of $15M; doesn't include OPEB contribution
"there's not one clean number...when you look at it
"upwards of $30M above the required contribution...but because of the required contribution, that is expected to be $1.5M above required"
King: former city manager would decide a certain number of dollars over net school spending "and he would hang his hat on that"
Batista: am familiar, $1M, depending on resources
King: free cash, have in past given funding "for books" (when? what?)
When was the last time?
Batista: just done in October
King: once that goes over, the School Committee figures out what to do with that?
Batista: that's correct
King: kudos on middle school coaches
city has a lot of competing issues
appreciate joint committee last Monday; looking forward how we can all do better together
"I think Roosevelt is unique"

Petty: long night, where the issues are
"especially for the city to put more money into schools"
commend superintendent for the infrastructure you've put into place

account passes

Equity in funding school buildings

 taking off a bit here from a morning Twitter thread

The Boston Globe's piece this weekend on the Massachusetts School Building Authority features this grabber quote:

Districts with a majority white student population got about $10,000 per student for school projects, the Globe found, while districts made up mostly of students of color got about $6,400 per student.

That's terrible, right? The Globe, though, only quickly glances at why ("students of color, who tend to be clustered in urban districts with deteriorating buildings") in the previous sentence, and it's really a major part of the story.

A district can only put forward one major renovation/rebuild project to the Massachusetts School Building Authority at at time. This is in the spirit of fairness, but it also is out of a concern for any municipality or district's ability to both fund and manage more than one such thing at a time. There have been exceptions made: most notably perhaps, Worcester has had buildings under construction when a new project entered, as the MSBA was assured that the city could fund and manage more than one. 

Most students of color in Massachusetts are concentrated in 20 or so of the largest urban districts in the state. As those are large districts, they have more school buildings. They still can only apply for one project at a time on it. 

There are also many, many more school districts that are not the cities: there are about 314 school districts in Massachusetts.

As the practice is every district can have one at a time, the "one at a time" necessarily is going to hit many more white kids than kids of color, by virtue of where each tend to go to school.

Noting that, though, would mean we'd have to talk about how most kids of color are concentrated in a limited number of districts--districts that also have been historically underfunded--which also have more buildings.

The demographics on this are stark, with wild swings in demography when crossing city lines. I always recommend people pull open DESE's district profile page and compare any city to the surrounding suburbs.

That segregation--and that's exactly what it is!--doesn't happen accidentally. It also doesn't change unless and until we choose to do something about it. 

Senate FY24 Ways and Means budget

 The Senate FY 24 Ways and Means budget was submitted this afternoon. 

It can all be found here. I have been tracking the K-12 education accounts here. I tweeted a thread out on this yesterday. 

The Senate budget does NOT include universal provision of school lunch. Expect that to go to conference committee. 

Remember that House MSBA cap lift to $1.1B? The Senate Ways and Means Committee is proposing a lift to the cap to $1.2B, and making it retroactive to the beginning of the current fiscal year. The budget also creates a commission to look at the MSBA funding ('though the charge of that Commission doesn't look at the proportional backlog at districts that have been underfunded). And it also includes $100M for increased costs of already ongoing building projects; that's the recognition of pandemic-related inflation. I had heard that the statewide need was for $300M, but this is certainly a step in the right direction.

The Senate funds Chapter 70 the same way as the House; it just includes the additional $30/pupil minimum (making for $60/pupil) within the Chapter 70 account. That means the $60/pupil minimum increase will go forward. I'll see if I can get some time to take a look at how many districts that will pull back under hold harmless next year; I won't have exact numbers, but maybe I can get us some idea of the hole we're re-digging.

The circuit breaker is here at $503M, which is $3M less than the House passed; I suspect this might be hedging on costs being covered.

The charter mitigation account is here at $230M, which is is $13M less than the House passed, BUT the Senate W&M budget also includes language carrying forward $10M unexpended from FY23, which would seem to then fund this at $240M.

Regional transportation here is back at $97.7M; the House had amended their identical W&M number to $107M (estimated to be 100% of reimbursement). There is no municipal reimbursement. There is, however, $28.6M for homeless transportation (as does the House). 

There is the same $32M for MCAS.

METCO is down a bit here to $28.9M (the House passed it at $31M).

On early college, the Senate W&M budget keeps about the same the line at $15M (the House had an additional $150K), as well as funding a $10M expansion grant.

Rural school aid here is up another $5M to $15M. 

After & out of school grants is here at $10.5M which is below even FY23.

MCIEA is back in (the Governor's budget had it; it was out in House) at $550K.

On the trust funds:

• Hate crime/bias prevention $400K (same)
• 21st c. trust fund $5M (same)
• civics project trust fund $1.5M (same)
• genocide education trust fund $2M (up from House $500K)
• STEM trust fund $1.5M (back in from being out)