Dear fellow Hanoverians:<\/p>\n
Superintendant of Schools Dr. Kristine Nash recently spoke with a
\ngroup of parents at Center\/Sylvester School regarding the budget
\nsituation for the Hanover Schools District, and I am writing with the
\nfollowing highlights of the discussion:<\/p>\n
First and foremost, since Dr. Nash arrived in 2006 in Hanover, the
\ndistrict has not been able to add programs, services or personnel.
\nDespite her wish (and that of the School Committee) otherwise, the
\nbudgets she has built have not been, as she terms them,
\n\u201ceducationally sound\u201d budgets. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s no secret that the bottom fell out of the economy in early
\n2008, and that the mortgage lending crisis that began in late 2008 has
\nonly made things worse. For three straight years, the Hanover Schools
\nand the entire Town of Hanover has lived on a \u201clevel funded\u201d
\nbudget. With contractual step raises and cost of living agreements in
\nplace over that time, the net effect has been that the schools have
\ncut over $3,000,000 from the bottom line of their budget. From FY\u201910
\nto FY\u201912, the schools cut the following amounts \u2013 FY\u201910
\n$585,000, FY\u201911* $838,652, FY\u201912* $1,577,500. In the two
\nasterisked years, the cuts would have been greater had we not received
\nfederal grant offsets. Last year began cuts that encroached on the
\nclassroom, meaning that teachers were laid off, and that caused third
\ngrade classes at Center\/Sylvester to balloon to 27 children per class,
\nand some classes at Hanover High School to cross the \u201c30
\nthreshold\u201d. Dr. Nash also spent some time discussing some pending
\nlegislation and other possible smaller sources of revenue from the
\ntown that will potentially impact this year\u2019s and next year\u2019s
\nbudget.<\/p>\n
Earlier last week, the FY\u201913 budget process began with meetings
\nbetween the building principals and the executive administrators of
\nthe schools. In order to avoid layoffs and a cut in services, the
\nSchool Department now anticipates they will need to raise
\napproximately $600,000 – $1,000,000 for FY\u201913. This is based on
\nrevised salary figures from the Hanover School\u2019s Business Manager
\nthat were estimated as of October 27, 2011, and which are less than
\nthe $1.3 million dollars estimated earlier this fall. In order to
\npresent a balanced budget to the town by the end of December, the
\nbuilding principals have been asked to expect level funding from the
\ntown, and to proportionally cut a percentage of the anticipated
\nshortfall of $600,000 – $1,000,000 based on their building\u2019s student
\npopulations. Given the volatility in the salary line item (which
\naccounts for 80% of the school\u2019s budget), this number is still a
\nmoving target at this stage of the budget season.<\/p>\n
The following projected cuts therefore remain estimations. For
\nCenter\/Sylvester, with a September 1, 2011 student population of 603
\nstudents, the projected cut for FY\u201913 now stands to be $132,600 to
\n$287,000. At Cedar, with 443 students, a $97,460 to $210,000 cut is
\nanticipated. For the building with the largest student population, the
\nHanover Middle School, 938 students will have to bear the effects of a
\n$206,300 to $446,000 cut. And at the new Hanover High School, with 745
\nstudents enrolled this year, $163,900 to $354,000 is projected to be
\ncut as of this writing. If an average new teacher is hired at $50,000
\nper year, you can do the math and might conclude that we would lose 12
\n– 26 teachers district-wide under this scenario for next year.<\/p>\n
It is also worth noting that the teachers are re-negotiating their
\ncontracts with the School Committee this year also. The net effects of
\nall eligible teachers receiving their negotiated step raises next year
\nwould be another $356,000 in costs. The net effect of a 1% cost of
\nliving increase for all teachers would be approximately $150,000. The
\nimpact of future negotiated increases would add to the gap between
\navailable funds and the bottom line dollars needed.<\/p>\n
The possibility of an override was discussed briefly. An override
\nwould essentially meet the gap between estimated costs and expected
\nrevenues. At this point in the budget season, it is far too early to
\ndiscuss what that would mean in dollars or the impact on the taxpayer.<\/p>\n
Stay tuned to \u201cAround Town on the Web\u201d for details on this process
\nas they continue to unfold.<\/p>\n
For “Around Town on the Web”,
\nCathy H-B<\/p>\n
—
\n“Around Town on the Web” (“ATOTW”) is a community service that has been
\nprovided to self-selected residents of the Town of Hanover since the spring
\nof 2004.
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Dear fellow Hanoverians: Superintendant of Schools Dr. Kristine Nash recently spoke with a group of parents at Center\/Sylvester School regarding the budget situation for the Hanover Schools District, and I am writing with the following highlights of the discussion: First … Continue reading