The Jaffrey-Rindge Cooperative School Board on Monday reviewed potential cuts — including teaching positions, preschool and some athletics — after voters rejected the proposed budget on March 11.
Superintendent Reuben Duncan said the district must reduce spending by about $1.8 million after the $33.5 million proposal failed by 68 votes, sending the district into a $31.99 million default budget.
Duncan outlined possible reductions across staffing and programs, including teacher layoffs, scaled-back sports and activities, administrative cuts, elimination of the district’s universal 4-year-old preschool and closure of the Little Orioles daycare center.
Last year, after the district voters approved a $3 million cut to the proposed budget, the School Board elected to use the end-of-year unexpended funds to continue some programs that otherwise would have been cut, including activities and sports, French, music, a librarian position, and universal pre-school. Duncan said because of a variety of factors, mainly an unexpected adjustment from health insurance carrier SchoolCare, which resulted in an unbudgeted-for bill of $585,000, the district doesn’t expect to have those funds to work with for a second year.
“Do we have other funds to offset anything? That’s very unlikely at this time,” he said.
About 72% of the district’s current budget is staff salaries and benefits, Duncan said.
“So, you’re going to see when you’re looking at reductions, certainly we’re looking at programs and we’re looking at staff cuts, over 20 individuals at different levels of the organization,” Duncan said.
Some of the proposed reductions involve positions that are currently unfilled or not yet implemented, including a planned assistant superintendent position budgeted at $196,000, as well as an elementary case manager and a districtwide behavior interventionist, each estimated at $95,000.
Other cuts would affect current staff. The district is considering eliminating three full-time Conant Middle High School teaching positions — in English language arts, math and art — totaling about $285,000, along with a part-time English teacher and a part-time special education position, each about $65,000.
At the elementary level, four teaching positions — two at each school — could be cut for a savings of about $380,000. The district is also considering eliminating one assistant principal position and having a single administrator serve both schools, saving about $155,000.
Duncan also proposed eliminating the universal 4-year-old preschool program, limiting services to students with special needs as required by law. That change would remove four classrooms and 7.2 staff positions, including four teachers, for a savings of about $470,000.
School Board member Karen Wiley said the preschool program has been successful in reducing the need for additional support services in early grades. Scaling it back would likely require reinstating a waitlist for general education students, she said — something the district has avoided in recent years.
The Little Orioles Center, a paid on-site daycare for staff members, is offset by incoming revenue, but is also on the potential chopping block, for a reduction of $170,000. Even when offset by revenue, the cost of the program must be part of the bottom line budget, Duncan explained. While he said that the program has been a big part of helping to retain teachers for the district in recent years, keeping the program means reductions have to come from somewhere else, and likely from staffing.
“It’s hard when you have a very innovative and state-wide recognized program, shown to be effective to retain staff, and in order to keep that, you have to cut staff. That’s a very difficult place to be,” Duncan said.
Another potential cut, which Duncan said is an overall savings for the district, is a “restorative classroom” that helps provide special education services within the district, rather than requiring students to travel outside for those services. Sending students out of district is expensive, Duncan said, and providing services in-house helps keep those students connected and involved in their home district and community. The cost of the classroom is about $135,000.
Other proposed cuts include library media associates for $89,000, supplies for Jaffrey Grade School for $21,000, supplies for Rindge Memorial of $15,000, and supplies for Conant Middle High School for $5,500.
Duncan proposed an approach to activities and athletics that retained some extracurricular activities, mainly those that could be held on-site. Among proposed cuts were an athletic trainer for $83,000, transportation and referees for $109,000, and junior varsity coaches and referees for $41,000.
Duncan said that students need to thrive in their communities, and “need to be involved, they need to be part of a community, need to have a sense of belonging.”
He said there were some items not included in the default budget that he proposed keeping in the coming year’s curriculum, including $150,000 for athletics and activities. He said it would preserve some of the in-school activities and at least allow for home games for sports.
Other things not in the default budget that Duncan pointed to as potential priorities were $82,500 in Chromebook replacements, a librarian for $85,000, the French teacher for $115,000, raises for non-union staff for $138,000, and an additional 6th-grade English teacher for $95,000.
Students speak out
Several Conant students attended the meeting and spoke in favor of their clubs and activities.
Donte Ek, the student representative to the board, said a majority of students in the district are concerned about the state of the budget and the future of clubs and extracurricular activities.
Scarlett Castiglioni, the president of the Conant Drama Club, called for the adults around her to get active. She said that her time in drama has taught her self-confidence, teamwork, and empathy, and is an outlet for her, as many activities are outlets for other students. She said the idea of losing activities was “devastating.”
“I am tired of seeing what I love being taken away due to ignorance,” Castiglioni said.
Olivia Swift, a Conant student who referenced her involvement in several clubs, including Baking with Baker, drama and animation, said that those kinds of after-school activities are the reason many students look forward to school. She said removing them would demolish the “very heart of our student life.”
Multi-sport student athlete Ella Desrosier spoke about the motivation activities give students, saying that for her, the requirements to attend school and perform well are why she gives an effort in class.
“This school will lose many student athletes if these sports are cut, including myself,” Desrosier said.
Parents and teachers also spoke, with universal 4-year-old preschool and the Little Orioles Center being highlights for what they wanted to see continued.
Speaking remotely online, Jimmy Gallager, a special education teacher in the district, spoke of the difference having access to the Little Orioles Center, a paid on-site daycare for staff employees, has made in his life as a parent. He said the center has been a way to retain staff in the district. He also spoke in favor of keeping the pre-school program, saying that it would reduce student achievement and success in the early grades.
Jenny Meskauskas, another district employee, said that when she had her twin children, the Little Orioles Center allowed her to continue to pursue her career without having to choose between her family and work, calling it “not just convenient, but essential.”
No decisions made on Monday
Wiley reiterated for the audience that the board would not be making any decisions on the cuts during Monday’s meeting.
“I think we’re all in agreement that this is going to take some time to process,” Wiley said. But, she warned, “Practically, impact is happening … There’s no pot of gold coming to say we can save any program.”
Wiley asked the board to give its input on priorities for both board members and administration to consider.
Board member Christine Pressman said that her priority was the pre-kindergarten program, saying that the developmental benefits and the lack of other options in the area make it a priority for her.
Board member Chris Ratcliffe said the board was grappling with big cuts for a second year in a row, and that, unfortunately, he was not surprised. He said that the proposed cuts appeared to be measured and spread across multiple areas. He said he was glad to see at least some sports and activities could be preserved, but warned the audience that is the case “for now.”
“Understand that may not be the case next year,” Ratcliffe said, adding that the district may have to consider ideas such as pay-to-play sports or activities, or some other model.
Wiley said her priorities were the Little Orioles and pre-kindergarten program, saying that helping retain staff and strengthen early childhood development were good for the district and community.
The board signed the default budget, making it official, but did not take any further votes on where the cuts to reach that number would come from on Monday. The board is scheduled to meet again on April 6.