What happened at the first February Worcester School Committee meeting

 You can find the agenda here. You can find the video online here.

Note that we opened the meeting with an executive session involving a worker's comp case, litigation, and updates on seven collective bargaining negotiations.

We had the Rice Square Elementary chorus sing (pre-recorded) the National Anthem for us!

The report of the Superintendent--and really the main part of the meeting--was a report on special education. Do note that this report is the first of two parts. 

The presentation starts on page 21 of our agenda; the report starts about 5 minutes in on the video.
Something I have had to learn over my time on the Committee is how the various things we do in Worcester fit together; I think this visual is very helpful:

There's lots that was and could be said about special education--if this is of interest, do watch the video!--but I wanted to highlight the demographic data we received.
First, by gender:

yellow is boys

And then by disability by race and ethnicity; note the dotted lines across represent the overall district enrollment:

The above of course gets into the question we've seen raised of if children of color, especially boys, are over-identified for special education services, when it may well be that their needs are not that of special education. Definitely something the district is looking into.

We also did touch on the issue of supplemental services due to the pandemic, towards the end.

Because I try to cite my sources, the piece I was referencing from Vanderbilt about sub-separate classrooms is here. Don't blow that one out of proportion as "Novick is endorsing going back to entirely sub-separate education" or anything of the kind. This is a "what's up with that?" question.

The reporting out on Finance and Operations was the monthly transportation update. The minutes of that are on page 54; the video of that meeting is here. Two takeaways for everyone:

we are still training and hiring bus drivers! 

Families: please be sure that your student and parent apps (WooEdu) actually have your bus information. We will be continue to 'undouble' routes, and that will mean changes for not only doubled but undoubled routes in some cases.

In voting acceptance on grants, there were a few questions that came up. The grants we accepted with some information as it came up are:

• FC215 Genocide Education Grant from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education in the amount of $57,120. As often with our grants, this is about professional development. Member Kamara asked about this; I'll share this FAQ from DESE which covers the legal requirement we have on genocide education.
  
  
• FC104 Financial Literacy Planning and Implementation Grant from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education in the amount of $15,000. This is for after school clubs, and there were questions about the degree to which this is being incorporated into the regular school day, which is...ongoing, I think I would say?
  
  
• Teacher Diversification Pilot Program Grant (FC253) in the amount of $45,756.00. This one we've received a few years in a row now. It's supporting paraprofessionals to who are pursuing licensure as a teacher, including covering MTEL fees.
  
  
• To accept the ParentChild+ Pipeline Program Launch Grant funded by the Wellington Foundation in the amount of $20,000.00. This is work on expanding the network of family care providers. We're the receiving agency on this one as it's through the Worcester Family Partnership.

Member McCullough proposed an item--sent to budget--to consider the hiring of athletic trainers, citing this piece from USA Today. (Gosh, I love a solid backup!)

Member Clancey requested that we send the voluntary transfer policy to Governance for consideration and updates if needed. (It's confusing, for sure.)

Member Kamara submitted an item to ask about "ongoing learning options during inclement weather." Dr. Monárrez responded that administration had checked; that alternative online options when we cancel school due to weather cannot be counted as days of learning. However, the administration will ensure there are online resources (a page of links) for families who may wish them on those days. The item was filed. 

I also gave an update on the municipal broadband work (I'm the School Committee rep on the committee, which meets monthly; I've been working on this with the Committee for several years.). Verizon offering fiber to the city now means Spectrum has competition; that doesn't mean the problem is solved. The city has also been ongoingly speaking to other cities that are similarly pursuing options like SiFi that provide fiber networks at no cost to the municipality. The city is currently working on an RFP for just such an option. 

The School Committee next meets on February 16th. 

A couple of notes on the WPS budget

It's been awhile since I posted anything on the WPS budget--we've been sailing along through quarter two here--but there are a few things that I haven't yet had a chance to note, so I thought I'd pull them together here.

"The School Committee has budgetary authority at the cost center level."

Of the many things I say about school finance frequently, this is one of the most frequent, in part because what "school committee authority" on budget actually means can be unclear if you haven't been around school budgeting.
If you have...please know that this level of authority has explicitly been the case since the early 90's.

What does this look like? The best illustration is the quarterly budget updates that the Worcester School Committee gets, at which we also exercise our transfer authority. 
Thus, in September, the Finance and Operations subcommittee received the first quarter budget report for FY23, which started in July. The fourth page gives the 30 cost centers the Worcester School Committee voted allocations to back in June and how much we adopted them for; how much of that has been spent; and what the projected balance for the end of the year is, based on what is known at this time. 
Based on that last, which is described in the prior pages (good budget reports don't just have numbers!), the subcommittee, and then the full School Committee, may make transfers as recommended by the administration between those cost centers. Administration can spend within and up to the allocated amount in every one of the thirty centers, and the School Committee does not have the authority to, for example, designate a salary (save for the small number of contracts which we negotiate directly). If a cost center is projected to be more than what is allocated, the money has to be transferred, by School Committee vote, from somewhere else. 
If you wonder over the course of the year where we're at on spending: this is the place to check. 
And if you wonder if folks know what they're talking about school spending, remember: cost center level. 

Back in September, the Worcester Regional Research Bureau published a look at the overall city budget, which I highly recommend to anyone trying to follow or figure out how it is that the city spends its money. It's also--from my corner of the universe--very useful in terms of showing what the cityside can and cannot do for schools, and does and does not do for schools.

Let me show you what I mean. 

This chart is page 7 of the report, and while it's a chart we see every year in the WPS budget (this year, it's page 30), there are some things that it is useful to have someone else call attention to, like exactly how little of the overall WPS budget is local contribution: it's less than a quarter. As a reminder, this is intentional: it's a function of the foundation budget and municipal wealth calculations working precisely the way that they should be.

I'd put this in concert with the note on the full rundown on allocations on page 6:

...something which you wouldn't often know in watching Council deliberate the WPS overall allocation.

Note that this voluntary contribution over required this year was originally projected to be just over $300,000; you can find that on page 432 of this year's WPS budget. Due to the changes in the state budget described in our September budget update, the district has a commitment from soon-to-be-no-longer-Acting City Manager Batista for the $1M that our budget otherwise would have dropped, which will push this contribution up. 
That's much appreciated, because otherwise we would have either had to cut the budget by $1M, or, sigh, use ESSER funds to fill the gap.

Going more deeply into the Worcester Public Schools budget, the Research Bureau not only issued a report, but gave us all a new toy to play with on the WPS budget. They've spent what's clearly a ton of time breaking down both revenue sources and spending in the Worcester Public Schools' budget from FY19 to the present. There not only are numbers: there are charts! And you can change them! You'll be able to see, for example, that the vast majority of our budget is spent on salaries, and most of that on teachers, just like every other district out there. Education is a people-centered system.
Give it a whirl, as it does a nice job of breaking down some of the internals of what exactly we're doing with our now over $500M a year.

And you don't get higher praise from WPS finance than a link straight from the budget page.

Now, all of the above is about the operating budget: that's the "running the system" part of the funding. For the major purchases--things like buildings?--you have to look at the capital budget, which the Research Bureau includes in the first report, on page 8. 
First, check out where the money is coming from: 

MSBA far and away is the most, and that's because, yes, we're building new schools. Much like chapter 70 state aid can't be spent on anything other than education, MSBA funding is coming to us to go straight into new buildings. The rest of the $90M is coming in through various local means.

Keep in mind, of course, that the MSBA is going JUST to those projects: it's building the new Doherty; it was building the new South; it's putting a new roof on Worcester Arts Magnet. It is project funding only, and it does not go to any other buildings.

Check out, though, what we spend our capital budget on:

The $60M at the top is the same $60M we saw coming in for those specific projects: it's a wash. 
Skim down, though, and look at where all of the other capital needs for 48 schools in buildings ranging in age from last year to before the Civil War. 

$4M. For everything. 

Now, I've been reading the city's capital budget for years, but I don't think that I've ever seen in presented in quite so stark of terms before. Something to consider as we head into the planning of another fiscal year. 

Please note that I am always, always happy to field questions on our budget, and if I don't know the answer, I'll find out!

Top ten reasons to go to Wednesday's Finance and Operations meeting

 The agenda is here. This is the Zoom link and the password is 462049.

Here are ten reasons why you want to join us:

On the FY22 quarterly transfers

 You didn't think I'd forgotten, did you?

At the last meeting of the Worcester School Committee, I gave the report from the Finance and Operations subcommittee meeting of February 9, which included the second quarter report, included $7.1M in transfers and an update on about $4M in ESSER funding for the current (FY22) budget year.

What does that mean? 

About every three months, administration gives an update to the F&O subcommittee on where the district is with the budget that was passed in June. That's not only how much has been spent from which account and how much then is left of what was budgeted; it's also a calculation done by the budget office of how much the district is projected to spend. In other words, given what we know--how many positions aren't filled, what services are running ahead or behind what was thought, and so forth--how much is the district probably going to actually spend in each account by the end of the fiscal year in June? 

This time--this was the second quarter report--there were some big shifts. More than anything else, that's due to two things, both of which we'd rather weren't true:

• We have--or had at the time of the report--263 positions that are open. Those are positions for which we budgeted, that we have the salary and health insurance funding for, that haven't been filled this year.
• Durham isn't running 27 of the routes that the district contractually requires of them. Routes that aren't run aren't paid for. 
  

All of us would rather have the staff positions filled and the school bus routes running. We don't, though, and so the transfers:

• took all of the funding so far for the positions--salary and health insurance--and moved them elsewhere. Thus (and Member Kamara asked this question at the meeting) no positions are cut through these transfers. 
• took all the funding through the end of the year for the bus routes and moved them elsewhere, as the expectation is that those routes will not be done this year by Durham.

That not only means that the district had the $7.1M to move (and you can see more on where and why in the quarterly report linked above), but it also means that the district has enough funding in the operational budget to cover just over $4M of what was supposed to be funded through ESSER funding as hold harmless this year.

What does that mean? Here's an analogy I used earlier this week; see if it helps.
Say you're running a regular household budget--salary coming in, expenses on things like rent and electricity going out--and something happens with your job. You expect that you aren't going to be earning as much for a time; maybe your hours get cut, but only for a few months. You have reason to expect that the money coming in will go back up.
At the same time, you have a tax refund come in, or someone sends you a gift of money; it's a set amount of one time funding. You decide that you can use this one time money to fill the hole of that expected loss of income.
After you make this plan, something happens that cuts your expenses through loss of service. Say you can't get cable any more. That also means, though, that you don't have to pay for that service anymore, and as a result, you use that savings to cover the loss of your income.
What that means is now you have that extra money still around. 
That's what has happened here: the district has lost service (positions that are unfilled and bus routes that aren't run); we're using that savings to cover expenses that we were going to use ESSER for. Now that ESSER goes back to the unused and to-be-committed category. 

And that is where we are on the budget in the third quarter.

Worcester School Committee meetings next week

Two subcommittees and a full committee meeting!
It's not actually clear from the online postings what is going to be discussed at the subcommittee meetings; it's just everything that has been sent to that subcommittee. That's not best practice on agenda postings; here's my guess from what has backups.

Monday, there's a Finance and Operations subcommittee meeting (5pm). It looks like a lot of the items are facilities repair related (most without a backup); you can see the list of big projects done in cooperation with MSBA (costing more than $60M total since 2012)  here. In other words, the answer to "why haven't we used bonds?" is "we have."
Because cell phones are always with us, there is a report on that.
The one to watch, of course, is the quarterly budget update. It's in much better shape for second quarter (free cash transfer) with a projected ending balance of -$177, 761...still negative, but better. The report is here.
Note that legal was cut by $30,000 and now is over that amount. Workers compensation continues to be over the budgeted amount (remember when there are proposed cuts during deliberations). Special education tuition is eight new students since June (and I don't understand the last sentence in that paragraph...meaning it was more like $700K?). Translation--in two accounts--has been flagged as underfunded in the past, as well.
The good news on utilities is that the solar panels are working; the bad news is that Nelson Place is getting fewer solar panels than planned? Also, crossing guards are not an account in which one wants to see a balance! There are some account transfers on this one.


Tuesday, Teaching, Learning, and Student Supports meets at 5. There's a response to an (old; my name is on it) item on reviewing what instruction there is on coding, for which the response is this:

There's an item on wrestling teams and one on the reading curriculum. 

The amendment to the Worcester East Middle innovation school plan has no academic or instructional backup, no support from teams at the school or anything else; it just reports enrollment. As I think of all of the work that went into the innovation plan, this is pretty appalling. 

The one item that may be of most interest is the upcoming school calendars. 

On Thursday's full meeting, the report of the superintendent is her goals for the year. They are: 

• completing the new superintendents' induction program
• providing high quality learning opportunities and resources to all students: the benchmarks are around AP, linking to Khan Academy (!), and then by subject area
• developing a district technology plan...perhaps they could start with the one from five years ago. This includes "scaling computer science," redoing the website by 2018, and providing "equitable access to mobile technology."
• providing effective professional development with a list of professional development plans
• continuing to analyze district data: with measurements having to do with dual enrollment, tiered support, gifted instruction, 
• developing a positive school climate: with references to some initiatives

...

As a response to the frequent "advertise, advertise" item, the district apparently is being rebranded; beware of reports having no dollar figure attached.

There's a list of the schools that have students from Puerto Rico.

Relatedly, the $5000 came through, and Worcester is using it on a "homeless liaison."

There is a request that the School Committee accept: 

• $450 to the Art Department at Doherty Memorial High School in memory of Jeffrey Gustafson.
• $300 to the Special Education Department at Grafton Street School in memory of Elisha Inferrera.

There are requests for the following:

• Request that the Superintendent create an updated Health and Wellness Curriculum for middle and high school students. (Petty, joined by all of the committee; held from the last meeting)
• Request that the Administration provide a report on the accountability changes made by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. (Monfredo)
• Request that the Administration provide a progress report on the Hanover Academy at Burncoat Middle School. (McCullough)
• To consider joining forces with the Brockton Public Schools as a plaintiff in its School Funding Lawsuit. (Comparetto)
• Request that the Administration provide a report on changes in principal leadership and its plans to hire new principals.(Comparetto)
• Request that the Administration provide a report on its efforts to attract a diverse pool of teachers and administrators in the Worcester Public Schools. (Comparetto)
•  To consider a review of a publication entitled Teaching Hard History: American Slavery from the Southern Poverty Law Center.(Comparetto)
• To support Senate Bill No. S249-An Act to involve youth in civic engagement, a new bill filed on Beacon Hill by State Senator Harriette Chandler. (Monfredo)
• Request that the Administration provide an update on the ways in which education is provided to staff and students, in light of the opioid crisis, as a result of the passage of the recently enacted Marijuana Law. (Biancheria)

There is a 6 pm executive session for three workers' comp cases and a grievance.

teacher transfers

O'Connell: lots of transfers, many reasons to transfer
whether there are particular issues that need further attention

BACK TO SCHOOL

A press release has gone out to the media; here are the details:

SCHOOL FOR ALL STUDENTS save kindergarten and preschool BEGINS AUGUST 28.
School for preschool and kindergarten students begins September 3.
Kindergarten students are being screened by appointment at their schools on August 28, 29, and 30.If your child does not have an appointment, please contact the school for one after August 19.

Breakfast and lunch will be served on the first day of school.

All new students can register at:
Dr. James L. Garvey Center for Parent Information
768 Main Street
Tel: 508-799-3450
Monday – Friday: 8:30 A.M. – 4:00 P.M

Alternatively, middle and high school students may register at their new school.
Transfer students need a transfer slip from their original school, which they can bring to their new school.

And no, the bus routes aren't up yet, but I'll let you know just as soon as they are!

Item on transfers: Accountability and Student Achievement

...also including protocol for notifying system if a student is arrested and detained. While we no longer have truancy officers, we do have people in the system who are "attendance officers." They can stop students on the street or go to the door; there is a protocol for students who are absent more than five days...moving to fifteen days, for those students to be tracked down, essentially.
We've also got a list of the number of students who have transferred (for 2011-12):
once 549
twice 82
thrice 13
four times 1

(this is only high school students)
Ms. Biancheria is asking for this information for the whole system, K-12.
Biancheria is also asking if the wraparound services staff have any responsibilities on the question of attendance.

Accountability and Student Achievement meets Monday

The Standing Committee on Accountability and Student Achievement meets Monday evening at 5:30 (at the Durkin Administration Building, 4th floor). You can find the agenda here.
We're taking up three items on Monday. The first is the ACLU's Arrested Futures report. We're also being asked to give input on the student (4-8, 9-12), parent, and teacher surveys for this spring.Please get in touch with us with your suggestions! Finally, we are looking at quarterly high school transfers.
As always, all are welcome to attend, and it will be broadcast live on Channel 13 as well.

Transfers by school and reasons in accountability

You can find the report here. Pretty interesting numbers, incidentally.
O'Connell pulls out Doherty: any reason for high rate of transfers at Doherty? Anything schools should look at for retaining students?
Perda: struck by large numbers of transfers to another Worcester Public Schools
rate of mobility of Worcester families moving within the city
onus on the district to ensure there are relatively seamless transfers from one district school to another
strain on the classroom teachers
O'Connell: proof that it does happen; much for moving, strain of economy
does administration have recommendations for seamless transfers?
Novick: numbers on kids going to jail; we should know
would like to be notified on students being long-term suspended for disciplinary infractions
Biancheria: "confirmed dropout plans unknown"
review of numbers on dropouts: going back to chapter 74 programs
"we need to begin a process and an action plan...this is a decision that they are making that is going to affect the rest of their lives"
"mobility and dropping out are two issues" that we need to focus on
Perda references the different levels; there may be different practices at different schools
Perda reviews efforts going on: credit buyback, Challenge and Reach Academies, tracking kids earlier who indicators of possibly dropping out.
Biancheria asking for grade level of dropping out and grade level of transfers
Notes high rate of transfers: asks for tracking single students (could one have gone from Doherty to Burncoat to South? Yes. Looking at that.)
Item is held at the subcommittee level

Worcester Public Schools meetings this week

Coming up this week:

• there is a meeting of the Finance and Operations standing committee at 5:45 pm tomorrow at the Durkin Administration Building, 4th floor. You will find the agenda here. In addition to the quarterly account transfers, the other items might be of interest if a) you've ever wondered which kids get bused within the two mile zone around their schools, or b) you buy your kids school lunch, as the administration is, per the new federal law, recommending an increase of five cents for next fall (bringing lunch to $1.55).
• there is a meeting of the Citywide Parent Planning and Advisory Council (CPPAC) meeting tomorrow night at 7 pm in the Worcester Public Library. As usual, all are welcome to attend.
• Also tomorrow night at 7, the City Manager presents his budget to the City Council. As this will fund schools at the legally mandated level, there isn't perhaps a tension around this presentation on the education front, but good to keep an eye on.
• Thursday night at 7 pm is the regularly-scheduled meeting of the Worcester School Committee. You will find the agenda here. In addition to, yes, the recess policy, the school committee will be voting on the five innovation school plans. You might also be interested in just how WPS plans to spend that $6.7 million in Race to the Top money over the next four years.
•  It isn't a meeting, but the Worcester Public Schools Arts Festival opens at the Worcester Public Library on Friday. There are performances and demonstrations starting at 10:30; the opening ceremony is at noon. Meet the Artists Night is next Tuesday, May 10th, from 5:30-7:30 pm. Art displays will be up at the library for the weeks following.

Worcester School Committee this Thursday

The Worcester School Committee has its regularly scheduled meeting this Thursday (St. Patrick's Day) at 7pm at City Hall. You can find the agenda here. Topics include:

• Update on the Level 4 schools, particularly in light of the reception of School Turnaround Grant funds, but not at the amount originally budgeted. This is the report of the superintendent.
• a report back on science and tech initiatives at Worcester Public Schools
• a report back on the demographics of Seven Hills Charter School
• motions including the PTO Guide to Success, disaggregating MCAS scores by birthdate, admission policies at the Tech school, report on homeless students, various congratulations and recognitions, consideration of the policy handbook for next year, and a suggestion for a "Young Man of Consequence" award. All of these are either going to administration or to subcommittee.
• motion for an immediate update on MCAS training.
• motions to consider several policies now required by the state: on admission of transfer students, on animals in schools, and on head injuries.

As always, if any of these are of interest or of concern, please get in touch with a school committee member.

Report on transfers

Biancheria: 150 students that have been mobile...would like some information on the mobility of our students
"I'm not sure if we have all the information about why they're moving so much..."
..what we can do to help some of the students who have moved three times in one year
"Do I have an answer for this? No. Am I concerned with it? Yes."
Boone: "mobility is a risk factor for school failure"
Biancheria asks for a similar report for quarter, "for a full picture"
Boone suggests that we send it to accountability

University Park Campus isn't here...Novick asks why not...and...no one knows.

O'Connell asks about the Tech student who moved for curriculuar reasons. We're guessing Horticulture (which was dropped this past year).