He also challenged the School Committee to make some "tough financial decisions" about shedding staff, consolidating facilities and redistricting.This brings up the contentious issue of possibly closing one of Peabody's eight Elementary Schools.
Let me be frank here. Nobody ever WANTS to close a school. I am very much a supporter of our public education system and believe we should fully support our schools. But I also understand that budgetary realities might mean that consolidation of the City Schools may bring both cost savings AND better educational opportunities.
A reader (OG) asked if I had any hard data about cost savings associated with the closing of one of the elementary schools. I do not. However, it doesn't take a degree in finance to figure out that by consolidating the Cities elementary school services into one or two fewer buildings, we would save all the costs of maintenance (heating, lighting, cooling, repair, cleaning, security, etc.) as well as reducing the need for redundant positions while still maintaining educationally appropriate class sizes.
Now those things would seem to be helpful in reducing the budget for education. But I can also see some additional costs in such a plan. Bussing students would, in all likelyhood become more expensive. We would be moving students from farther away than we do now (many students would need to travel farther to school) and fewer students in each school would fall within the 'walker' distances. Of course this might also reduce the costs of bussing as there would be fewer 'destinations' needed, simply longer bus routes.
I can also imagine that there will be structural changes/additions needed to accomidate additional students in the schools that will remain open. These might be a simple as the need for more lockers or as costly as the need to creater additional bathrooms or classroom spaces. Again, these are not simple claculations and would require some very serious and speciallized study to achieve the best possible results.
But all those factors simply are looking at the reductions that could be made in the budget. I also see some opportunities to better the overall educational experience for Peabody students. If you can begin to stop thinking about individual schools, and start thinking about system-wide resources... maybe we can have some of the art, music, sports, etc. teachers, who are now dedicated to one school, become a 'team' that travels to a different school each day or week.
For example: Suppose we have 8 music teachers in the 8 schools. what if we make 2 teams of 3 music teachers and have them spend Mondays in one school, Tuesdays in the next, etc. (or they spend a full week in each, rotating around.) This way students would get the benefits of these very important programs while at the same time getting a savings from 1) fewer teachers and 2) fewer unused spaces (all the programs could share the same spaces if possible).
I do not for a second think that I have all the answers here. I simply have some ideas and a feeling that with 400 fewer students in our system than in years past... we could easily meet the educational needs of our students even if we need tp close some of the facilities due to this budgetary crisis.
What do you think?
22 comments:
OG says...
if the current student enrollment and future enrollment forecast supports it then not only can we do it but we MUST do it!!! sure, the whole prospect of redistricting is alarming but we have to do it....it's as simple as that...and as you point out PI when the dust settles our kids may be better off because we will have one less building to pay for....if I can get rid of HBO and my Salem News subscription then the City of Peabody can close a school.
most music art and phys ed teachers work at least at 2 or more elementary schools allready
Thanks Anon.
I was not aware of how these folks are already allocated.
Perhaps this could be done with some of the other positions as well? I am NOT saying this in order to fire teachers, but instead am thinking of this as an opportunity to offer more specialized (think an advanced math class for gifted students) instruction than can be offered under the current scheme.
If the 50 employee number is correct then cut them first. I do not see what the issues is. Plus if all of those 50 collect benefits well that could be a savings of $800,000.00 just for bene's.
Before making a move to redistrict anything cut places where it does not hurt the entire city. Sorry to the 50 but you see the time we are in. We need someone to lead not hide in a corner with us. Mike needs to start coming up with plans and forcing them on the CC. If the CC does not want to jump on board veto everthing they send you until they begin to work with you. I know what bad times we are in I do not need Mike to telling me about them. I need him to tell me how the city is going move forward.
OG says...
let's talk about SAVING MONEY...if you close a school then the city SHOULD save money both in terms of facility costs and labor costs...in your specialization scenario are you envisioning having the same number of teachers around but just one less building???? OG doesn't see that happening in Mayor Mike's view of things....if the building goes then MOST of the teacher go too so that you get the biggest financial savings bang for the buck....we are talking about pure dollars and cents here and not about educational impacts...OG sees class sizes getting bigger - but they must remain within teacher contract guidelines...but in the end some teachers and paras will go and the closed school building would need to be sold...the days of keeping a 'spare' school building like we did with the McCarthy School for many years may not be realistic in these times.
Sell off the Higgins and use the money to revamp the elemntary schools into K-8. Several problems solved with one move.
OG, you save on facilities costs (heat is the biggie) and to a lesser extent on labor. Remember, there aren't fewer teachers (same number of students) but fewer admin staff since you don't need a principal, vice principal, secretaries, custodians, etc. So the teachers get reallocated to a different school. Historically (last decade or so) the Burke and Kiley have been under-pupiled, so to speak. This reflects the aging of West Peabody neighborhoods - not as many families with young kids. Whereas the downtown schools have stable or growing student populations. The demographic study that the SC has contracted for will doubtless provide some useful data - but it must be analyzed in an unbiased way, so everyone, pay attention to the assumptions when the study is released.
Anonymous: what is best practice on combining K-8? That's a big age range - can you share examples where it works well?
OG:
I didn't make myself clear.
My thought was if we have 8 schools and 16 teachers... and say we lose one school, we might get rid of 2 teachers...
BUT, we could also just get rid of ONE teacher and provide better educational opportunities for the entire system.
Of course, the more brutal method would be to simply redistribute the kids and see if we can eliminate one school (or more) entirely... but THAT would not be in the best interests of everyone, in my opinion.
I grew up in a city that had 2 Jr. highschools that housed grades 7-8 with the elementary schools going to 6th. By the time I got to that age range they closed the 2 Jr. Highs and made the k-6 schools k-8. I didn't have to change schools twice going from elementary to middle then to highschool, which can cause a lot of stress on a kid, the city was able to close two schools and consolidate the grades.
Look at how some private schools run things, one school in Marblehead has the older kids mentor the younger ones coming in and it leads to more of a communiy within the school itself.
Anonymous, do you think we could build this kind of mentoring, supportive community in a K-8 model in Peabody schools? We seem too urban (read, troubled) and too big for the M'head model. Am I being too negative and scared?
The school system I went through was Somerville which I believe was and or is bigger than the Peabody system. I only mention the m'head school because I am looking into it for my daughter. I just hope that something can be done because I don't want to have to move to a different city once my kids are middle school age.
I received an e-mail on this subject from a viewer. Check out THE PEABODY PATRIOT to hear her suggestion!
ELEMENTARY= K-8
HIGH SCHOOL= 9-12
DONE DEAL!
CLOSE THAT MONSTROSITY OF A MONEY PIT, CLOSE THE HIGGINS!
OG says...
hold on now...with the proposed K-8 design---you are talking about adding 3 grades to each existing elementary school and do you honestly think that our current elementary schools have the room to do that?? so you will then have to enlarge each elementary school to fit them all?? HELLO!! you don't do it that way...you have to build the new K-8 school from the ground up!!! are you all smoking medically prescribed marijuana?? I've seen it done in Marblehead and down in Malden...and the educators would have to weigh in on the plus/minus of having such a wide age range under one roof as well...not sure what the feelings are relative to that issue....
I don't like the mix of ages either. It seems like the K kids would not have too much in common with the 8th graders... too different in terms of maturity, interests, needs, etc.
I think a new Higgins is in our future whether we are happy about it or not. I mean the Higgins is the largest middle school in Massachusetts with more than 1500 students in grades 6, 7 & 8. splitting these kids up into the 8 schools would mean almost 200 extra students per elementary school...
Add to that the need to service these students in a dispersed (rather than a consolidated) manner. This means 8 teachers for each class instead of 1 (in general) and it all but guarantees fewer 'specialized' classes being offered to our students,
This is an interesting idea... but it simply does not work here.
I moved to this city 6 years ago because I thought it would be a good place to raise my kids, boy was I wrong. Since I have been here 4 families with children have moved out of the city from my street alone. Their main reason was not wanting their kids in the Higgins, does anyone else not see this as a problem? The issue does not lay with the teachers or staff. Having such a large school (the largest middle in the state) and they way the kids need to be broken into pods or sections, half of the student body doesn't even know other kids in their own grade. Not to mention that the school has failed to keep up to standards of teaching that the state will be stepping in to take over. THAT is an embarrassment to the entire city not just one school. Something needs to be done, if its not a k-8 maybe turn the Kiley back into a school and make that a second middle school.
Either way if our enrollment population is down maybe the people in charge need to start looking outside the box and come up with some better alternatives. Think about it, if numbers are down in elementary what do you think the numbers will be in the middle school especially with people already leaving the ciy or choosing private schools.
Something must be done to change our current path!
OG says...
when you moved here 6 years ago the Higgins was as big and as ugly as it is today...nothing has really changed...if "Higgins fear' is enough to make your neighbors move and cause you to question your decision then perhaps you all should have done a bit more 'research' before moving into this community? While the HIggins is not perfect it is not the monster some make it out to be...OG applauds the staff down there for running a pretty tight ship with limited resources and a downright depressing facility...if anyone needs a raise it is the Higgins staff!!! Most kids are pretty resilient...your boys will survive as long as they are well grounded and, as importantly, you stay involved.
Yes shame on me for not researching middle schools when I moved here, I had heard and was told that the peabody school system was a good one and before you have kids you really don't know how to judge that other than by what you here.
I don't know why you assume I have boys though but yes my kids are very well grounded and I am involved as much as I can be without being a heliocopter parent controlling every aspect of my childs existence and doinig everything for them.
OG says...
just stay involved without hovering constantly...it is easy for parents to get lost when their kids go to the Higgins....they go from a school where they know everyone to a big new place filled with many strangers...it's an adjustment for kids AND parents.
K-8 is not the answer!
Once students are ready for the 6th or 7th grade, they are too grown up for an elementry school. They are at a point where they should be in a more advanced learning environment like a junior high or middle school.
Some parents never want their children to leave the nest.
The Higgins provides children the educational opportunities to advance.
Anon 8:02
The Higgins students are separated in "clusters". Each grade has around 6 clusters. The make-up (students) of each cluster changes each year. So a student will be in 3 clusters in 3 years (6,7,8) and meet different students each year. Also extra activities are not cluster specific and open to all, including all grades.
Your reference to people moving out of the city confuses me a little. In general the people I have spoken with in recent years are actually more concerned about the high school. They tend to feel the Higgins does a great job with what they have. I do know many people are sending thier children to high schools out of town in the "school choice" programs.
My children are 8th graders at the Higgins and it has been a positive experience so far. I think the key is to stress how important the extra activities are. If a student, any student wants to be a "wallflower", then the middle school, any miidle school may be a big adjustment.
The Higgins isn't perfect, in fact there are a few teachers up there that must have "mail ordered" thier degrees. But this is definitely the exception to the rule.
I do support closing an elementary school if the special committee finds it practical. The Higgins has too much to offer young teens.
The mayor was suppose to appoint a "Higgins School Building Commitee" any time now. The Higgins was approved for state funds for improvments. This is news from back in early November. I'm not sure where this stands now.
It's going to be interesting.
alpha, beta, gamma, epsilon, geta what am i missing? I went to school there. I can not believe that it is still standing.
Our daily schedules rotated around the greek what ever their called...
Shut it down...PLEASE!
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