Superintendent's message re: Reoganization Plan

School Committee
Reorganization Plan
3/16/10

Let me begin by acknowledging the work of the Reorganization Team, for the past 7 months they have worked countless hours in addition to their regular jobs because they care about the education of all children in Framingham.

Next, I want to compliment the School Committee for their hard work in this process. All of you have attended many meetings to listen and be thoughtful in your approach to such a large decision.

Finally, while uncomfortable at times, the Community engagement demonstrates how important education is in Framingham.

We attempted to move this process on a pace that would address the Kindergarten students entering the system this coming September. However, as we continue to work on the details it is apparent that the unknowns have made that difficult as many cannot be predicted at this time.

The biggest uncertainty is budget though with a recent issue at JM and the potential ripple effect on other buildings, facilities have also become a significant concern. As the School Committee is well aware there is a $10 million gap between the Town’s Target Budget number and our Level Services Budget. We have discussed reducing that to an $8 Million Gap which already includes the reduction of positions and taking some risks in other areas. As we all might expect it is difficult to project savings on this plan without knowing the FY11 Budget. That will not be clear until after Town Meeting in May.

The FY11 Budget must now take precedence over all other things on our plate. Additionally, the hiring of four new principals to join the educational team in Framingham has begun. The filling of these positions will take time and impact the future of education in Framingham.

Despite all of the efforts of the people working on this plan, I do not believe we have been able to present a plan that gives the information and detail to make a good decision. Simply put, due to budget and other factors, I cannot guarantee that a plan we have, related to reorganization, will not have to be readjusted or undone due to budget.

Therefore, I am recommending the following plan of action:

The School Committee should take action next week to signal whether the SC wishes to have the School Department continue the planning process based on the concepts presented for a final vote next fall.

Secondly, the in-coming K students will continue our present choice process according to our present policy. Where parents are interested, PIC will let them know the best estimate of what their neighborhood school might be in future years should the final plan be approved. This allows incoming K parents to make the decision for this fall that is best for each individual situation.

This plan enables us to move all of our efforts over to our most pressing problems, the FY11 Budget and the hiring of the new principals.

While this is not an easy recommendation to make, considering the time invested in this plan, it is the prudent course of action.

This will allow us to:

• Finalize the FY11 Budget allowing us to factor in any changes caused by this Budget
• Know what the future of transportation in Framingham will be as we wrestle with the distances and start times
• Know any facility changes that may occur due budget decisions (closing a building) or opportunities we may want to utilize our facilities in a different way - we presently have to move all of our operations out of the Maynard Building
• Finish the SPED and ELL evaluations, working any recommendations into the plan
• Know the path and potential opportunities that may result form the transition from NCLB to RTTT that relate directly to parts of the proposed plan.
• Expand the team so that all aspects of the plan will have the detail necessary for the School Committee to make a decision

Slowing the process down is the correct path.


Steven A. Hiersche
Superintendent of Schools