Superintendent and B.O.E.

October 25, 2011 

Dear Parents,

We are at a crossroads with the two budgets under which the school district operates this year. Each day that passes leaves less time to make up the shortfall of $1,358,149. The town allocated $18,600,000, while the state mandates that the schools be funded at a level of $19,958,149. This second figure is also known as the minimum budget requirement, MBR. There are a few foreseeable outcomes to this ongoing issue

1. The majority of the Board of Selectmen changes, the new members vote to fund the school district at the MBR level, and the entire issue disappears;
2. The State Department of Education or a judge forces funding at the MBR level;
3. The issue drags on throughout most of the school year and we no longer have funds to operate the district causing the district to close before the end of the school year.

As we are not sure which of the foreseeable outcomes will occur, this letter delineates the cuts that will keep our school open for the remainder of the school year.

We had the extremely difficult task of compiling a list of cuts to equal the shortfall in legally required funding. As the district has been underfunded for years, there are no other escape hatches to avoid cuts to classrooms. The list of cuts is laden with staff, teachers and paraprofessionals mostly, and cuts into the heart and soul of what ought to be happening in a school district, teaching and learning. The cuts include reductions to the pre-kindergarten program, reduction in kindergarten program to a half-day program from a full day program, complete reductions in music and art education, and reduction in social worker staffing. These cuts are drastic. To students the cuts mean no special periods in art and music, class sizes of 32 to 34 students, cramped classroom spaces, and numerous mid-year classroom teacher changes. The losses are an abomination and defy the overall purpose and mission of our school district.  

The list of cuts includes the following:

8.0       Classroom Teachers

2.0       Music Teachers

1.6       Art Teachers   

2.0       Social Workers

12.0     Paraprofessionals 

The timeline for the notification to employees of their impending reduction in force will be as follows

1. By November 15      Notify employees of their eliminated position
2. By November 15      Notify employees of new assignments caused by contractual bumping
3. By November 22      Send letters  to affected employees with effective date of December 31
4. By December 1         Notify parents of changes to teaching assignments
5. By December 15       Notify parents and students of classroom teacher reassignments

Beyond staff cuts there may be some budget impact of the mold issue at Hinsdale School. We intend to review every option including building remediation, maintenance projects, and Hinsdale’s closing, with student and teacher relocations. We will continue the efforts of cleaning Hinsdale and move on to study the roof leakage issues as well as the replacement of the gymnasium floor, two more costly, long-term projects. We are concerned that the Town will not undertake these two capital repair items and with the budget at $18.6, it is unlikely we can find the funds within the operating budget to undertake significant construction.  Although we have insurance coverage and FEMA appeared willing to cover most of the deductible, we are concerned that these funds- like our grant funds- are paid directly to the Town and might be diverted to fund balance or other Town needs. As more information becomes available on how insurance proceeds would be deposited and as FEMA grants come forward, we will share such information with you.

I know that these reductions are heart-breaking and I wish there were another resolution of this issue so that our students in Winchester enjoy their constitutional rights. I will keep you informed on this issue and please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

Thomas M. Danehy, Ed.D.

Superintendent of Schools