Superintendent Cross's Remarks Revisited

Please note that the remarks below are based on my talking points and notes from the June 1, 2011 presentation to the Clinton Board of Finance and may not be the exact words actually spoken.  I have done my best to address the key points and accurately represent the sentiment and tone of my comments.

Jack Cross, Superintendent - Clinton Public Schools    

I find myself in the unenviable position of having to defend a budget that is fiscally sound and educationally responsible, and represents the smallest overall increase in over ten years.

As Mrs. Grass has already addressed, the Board of Education Budget is comprised of three elements: operating, capital, and debt service. The total increase for the combined Education budget of $553,030 represented a 1.78% increase over last year; $111,787 of that increase is due to the increase in the debt service calculations for which we have no control.  

To date, including the current proposed cuts, the Board of Education’s budgets have sustained $1.5 million dollars in cuts from the originally proposed budgets over the last three years.

These cuts have caused us to eliminate ten (10) teaching positions, affecting class size and course offerings at all levels. The reductions have also forced us to eliminate after-school programming and while not absolutely essential these programs afford important opportunities for students to extend their learning and to explore interests.

Additional cuts were made to the athletics program – in particular, putting uniform replacement on hold, as well as cuts in professional development for staff, instructional materials, curriculum implementation and capital improvement projects.

As I stand here and consider the impact of these reductions, I can only conclude that we made it look too easy and that ultimately we accomplished our ongoing commitment to minimize the impact to students. But that said, the reductions over the past two years and the current recommended reductions have had impacts and are creating a structural hole that will be difficult to dig out of in the next couple of years.  

At this point the 2011-12 Education budget has been reduced by $344,772 and the Board of Finance made an initial recommendation to reduce the education budget $100,000 more.

When I spoke at the last Board of Finance meeting I indicated that we planned to apply the remaining Federal Jobs Fund monies to the reduction. This money is a one-time revenue that can only be used for personnel.

In our original budget presentation to the joint Boards of Finance and Selectmen, we proposed using a portion of these funds for personnel and holding a portion until we had more certainty about the state budget – a concept that was readily approved.  

In addition to the Federal Jobs Fund money, we have planned to reduce professional development funding, apply savings from replacing teachers who are retiring, and once again reduce district-wide capital funds.    

Unfortunately, these reductions don’t raise the level of urgency for most folks in the audience yet these reductions continue to add to the structural hole that will manifest itself in next year’s budget. If the Board of Finance moves forward with an additional $100,000 cut in the education budget, we will be forced to spread the reductions more widely, impacting our ability to restore the afterschool programs that have been cut the last two years. It will impact our ability to get back on an athletic uniform replacement cycle.

More critical, is that the additional reduction will impact instructional materials and elements of the roll out and implementation of curriculum. It will also force consideration of reduction of non-curriculum based programming like middle school athletics and DARE. Consolidation of bus stops, increasing fees for community use of facilities and another look at personnel all have to be on the table for consideration.  

Here is the real travesty; my comments this evening are not reaching the more than 6,000 registered voters who have not voted in the last two budget votes. Ultimately, those in attendance tonight have really already made up their mind, those who have come to the conclusion that only 2% of the education budget directly impacts students. They are convinced that instructional supplies, textbooks and library books are the only monies we spend directly on students. I would argue that this represents a significant lack of understanding of teaching and learning.

In addition to those voters who have already decided to vote NO regardless of the impact, there are those here tonight that will vote YES. Again, anything I say will not change their minds. So, in the end, much of what I have had to say about the impact of the proposed reductions is really for the Board of Finance and those who might read what is reported in the press.  

Let me leave you with a couple of final thoughts. First, each of us, as members of a democratic society, is charged with stewarding our resources to meet the needs of the entire community. A little over 2,000 children attend our public schools. We have an obligation to afford these students with quality learning opportunities and to do so in a fiscally responsible manner. The administrative team in conjunction with the Board of Education crafted a fiscally responsible and educationally sound budget from the outset. We are now being asked – forced to deconstruct a budget that was extremely lean and to do so without impacting student learning.

I remind you that at this point, with the recommended reductions, our total working budget, operations and capital will in fact be less than the 2010 – 2011 budget. 

I would also like to share a passage from a John Dewey, an educator and philosopher far ahead of his time. I think it speaks directly to our charge.   “What the best and wisest parent wants for his own child, that must the community want for all of its children. Any other ideal for our schools is narrow and unlovely; acted upon it destroys our democracy.”  

Finally, for those who are interested and who have not been able to participate in the process along the way, I would direct you to the district website:   https://sites.google.com/a/clintonpublic.net/district/home  You will find a variety of information often requested.

Specific information includes the following:   2011-2012 Budget Information

The complete 2011 – 2012 Budget Book with key information and explanations.    

• Section 1 - Goals, Mission Statement and Foundation Skills, and Budget Assumptions that are factors that were used or influenced the formation of the budget 

• Section 2 - Enrollment, Staffing levels at each school, Class Sizes projected for 11-12 year

• Section 3 - Objects or General Categories that provide summary info for the whole budget are explained and then summaries are provided 

• Section 4 - Budget line item details for each school and cost center

• Section 5 - Special Education information and District Accomplishments   Superintendent’s Update- This section provides updates on district initiatives, philosophy and accomplishments, and helps to put into context the work that we are doing.  

•  March 2011  - Winter 2010 -  Final 2009-10 Report of the Board Chair and Superintendent. Includes minutes to Board of Education meetings and subcommittee meetings for those who are not able to attend the meetings.   Clinton Celebrates Highlights many of the truly exceptional accomplishments of our students and staff during the year.    

These three links alone provide a wealth of information and insight into the work that is being done by the Board of Education and the Clinton Public Schools leadership teams.  Many people are turning to electronic means to get information and we have been providing this on our website.  We continue to examine ways to communicate the work we are doing and we hope that you will utilize the information on the website to help you to answer and clarify questions you have.

---Jack Cross