Big news from DESE this evening: Commissioner Riley is resigning

Commissioner Riley is ending his tenure with the Department, submitting his resigning effective March 15 of this year:

I am writing to let you know that after six years of service, I am stepping down from my position as Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education, effective March 15, 2024.

The full letter, as shared by MASS, is here. He says it is due to needing to care for elderly parents, as well as the Department needing someone who can devote the next five years to service.
I will reserve comment. 

So what happens now? 
For this, we look to MGL Ch. 15, sec. 1F:

Whenever a vacancy occurs in the position of commissioner, the board shall by a two-thirds vote of all its members submit to the secretary, for the secretary's approval, a recommended candidate to fill that vacancy. The secretary may appoint the recommended candidate as commissioner. If the secretary declines to appoint the candidate, the board shall submit a new candidate for consideration. The secretary may appoint the commissioner only from candidates submitted to the secretary by the board.

Riley is recommending Russell Johnston as the interim (like a superintendent, we have to have a Commissioner); that very much does not preclude further action. I would suspect, as last time, that they would do a full national search, with a confidential round of interviews with a search committee. But that is only my hunch. 

The rest of that section, incidentally, reads as follows:

The board may in its discretion by majority vote of all its members remove the commissioner. The commissioner shall be the secretary to the board, its chief executive officer and the chief state school officer for elementary and secondary education. The commissioner shall receive a salary to be determined by the board.

The board may delegate its authority or any portion thereof to the commissioner whenever in its judgment such delegation may be necessary or desirable. The commissioner shall exercise such delegated powers and duties with the full authority of the board.

As Riley noted at his last meeting was then approaching his six year anniversary; he was appointed in January of 2018 after Commissioner Chester died the prior June, with Jeff Wulfson serving as interim (after being appointed at genuinely the weirdest and saddest Board meeting ever).

Also, I had some thoughts about how I'd do if if I were in charge (which I very much am not) the last time we did this. I may give some more thought to that now, in, as always, my personal capacity.

Images of full letter:

More as there is anything! 

The first Worcester School Committee meeting of the new term

The Worcester School Committee had their first business meeting of the new term (and new makeup) on January 18.
While I noted the change in the budget bottom line settled at the meeting (also noted by the T&G), it seems clear that this Committee where keeping the record straight is going to be necessary, and, while I do want to recommend you take a look at Bill Shaner's piece on last week, I think keeping track of what's going on will be helpful (and the tracking was kinda shaky in this meeting, to be honest, with roll calls consistently out of order and reported incorrectly more than once).
As always, I'm not going to pretend here to be anything other than what and who I am, writing as a citizen of the city, so you can read with that in mind. The commentary is largely in italics. 

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

About process

'Can't argue with the truth, sir.' 
'In my experience, Vimes, you can argue with anything.
Terry Pratchett, Jingo  

One of the first challenges when you move to a new place is learning how things work: who has what authority; who gets to decide what to do what; and how are those decisions made.

In my own life, it was the state's proposal to plow an airport access road through my own neighborhood at the time that sent me into learning, rapidly, how things work. Issues since then--most notably the proposal to put a slots parlor into Green Island--have been further opportunities for learning.

The same thing is true when one joins a public body: how does one get things done? What is the process? Where are the levels? And what are the things over which your public body has control and does not.
And so one learns about filing items, having subcommittee meetings with public discussions with extensive reports from administration, making decisions in public meetings within the purview of that public body.

And then we have a week like the past one...

Informational on net school spending: here's the discussion

Here's the discussion on the recommended allocation of the $500,000 transfer
O'Brien: leadership working with the manager and the school department, to address the capital needs of our schools
Thanks the Manager "to leverage out a few more dollars"
Councilors, textbooks and instructional materials,
"making progress towards that gap...a little behind but we're catching up"
"continue to work towards...an operational plan that we all can get behind"
Economou: echo same sentiments, Say thank you
"step in the right direction"
Eddy: "indeed a step in the right direction"
Manager "has worked tirelessly with the superintendent"
parking lot lease in Webster Square (murmurs from Lukes)
Long been aware of the issue on Holland Road, Monticello, Wentworth, "held hostage in their homes"
"at some point...thank Tom Zidelis...far too many man hours working with Brian Allen in the school department for a solution on this...expensive bandaid...speaks to...public schools have to take... responsibilities of the public schools fall beyond the walls of the schools...being a good neighbor...cannot build schools that do not have parking"
(I should perhaps point out that the City, not the schools, build schools)
Urges Mayor to bring back to schools...going on far too long
look at field behind school (which is a park)
held it waiting for a permanent solution
motion to no parking on Holland Road during school days: need to have a public hearing, says mayor
O'Brien thinks there has been a hearing
Eddy pulls motion, sends to committee
Toomey: look back at orders not completed on this, all addressed at same time
Russell: question to administration
annual salary or half the year?
The answer is half the year, but no one knows. 

sorry, no idea what Palmieri said
CM O'Brien: amazing learning environment
buffered against our fiscal condition
that's why the move was conservative to put those dollars into contingency
Mayor has a style that I respect greatly
how we can structure these dollars
wasn't a week that went by when it wasn't an agenda item

Lukes: going back to parking lot lease
and then to initial reference to the item
"if parking lots qualify for net school spending, I'd be shocked"
how many schools are going to want the same?
footprint larger for same number of students, losing parking as a result
"this issue is one that's going to plague us with any new school"
people in that neighborhood want the school built in the same location
"for that half hour at each end of the day, it's like the end of the world"
"I would suggest that we find other solutions to this problem"

O'Brien: sure that this does not set a precedent, as there are others

Economou: in light of tonight's discussion: February 25 at 5 pm, Holland Road before Traffic and Parking

Petty: no real short term solution to parking problem
thanks Allen and Zidelis for working to fix the problem

Councilors on the budget

Councilor O'Brien: "I'm just trying to follow this math here..."
Boone: "part of what we needed to do was address those PCBs..that's what's now being capitalized"
Worcester East Middle science labs? Moving forward this summer
 Economou: "Tremendous first step"