May 11, 2015 Budget Sub Meeting

Agenda

Quincy School Committee
Budget and Finance Subcommittee
Mrs. Kathryn Hubley, Chair
Coddington Building
Monday, May 11, 2015, 5:00 p.m.

  1. Preliminary Discussion of the FY2016 Quincy Public Schools Budget - Vice-Chair Hubley, Dr. DeCristofaro, Mr. Mullaney

  2. Other Business/Adjournment

Minutes

Quincy School Committee
Budget & Finance Subcommittee Meeting
Monday, May 11, 2015

A meeting of the Budget and Finance Subcommittee was held on Monday, May 11, 2015 at 5:00 pm in the Coddington Building. Present were Mayor Thomas Koch, Mr. Paul Bregoli, Mr. Noel DiBona, Mrs. Anne Mahoney, Mr. Dave McCarthy, and Mrs. Kathryn Hubley, Chair. Also attending were Superintendent DeCristofaro, Deputy Superintendent Kevin Mulvey, Mrs. Rita Bailey, Mr. Michael Draicchio, Mrs. Mary Fredrickson, Mrs. Joanne Morrissey, Mr. James Mullaney, Mrs. Maura Papile, Mrs. Erin Perkins, Ms. Madeline Roy, Mr. Keith Segalla, Ms. Judy Todd; Ms. Allison Cox, President, Quincy Education Association; Mr. Scott Alessandro, Citywide Parent Council Co-President; and Ms. Laura Owens, Clerk.

Mrs. Hubley called the meeting to order at 5:00 pm. Dr. DeCristofaro thanked Mayor Koch for the FY2016 appropriation, the increase will allow Quincy Public Schools to maintain the current level of services will incrementally increasing and restoring programs cut in earlier budget years. Dr. DeCristofaro then reviewed Budget meeting calendar: on May 18, School Committee will review the Revolving Accounts; on May 28, School Committee will discuss options and priorities to finalize the budget for public review. A Public Hearing will be held on Monday, June 1, and the FY2016 budget will be presented to City Council on Monday, June 3. A vote to approve the FY2016 budget will be taken at the June 10 School Committee meeting.

Dr. DeCristofaro reviewed the budget process: meetings were held with principals, Superintendent’s Leadership Team, and School Committee to identify areas of consideration. With students in the center of all decisions, School Committee’s priority is class size. Over 20 positions have been added in the last three years to address class size across grade levels. For Academic Program, restoration and growth has touched many programs: English Language Learners, Literacy, Foreign Language, Music/Instrumental, Library, Alternative programs, Special Education. The work that School Committee does within each Subcommittee informs the budget process. Positions have been created in previous budgets for Academic Support, including aides for Full-Day Kindergarten and one-on-one Special Education aides, faciliators for teams & professional development, and extracurricular programs for middle and high school. For non-academic support, increases have been made for athletics, custodial, library software, technology, and vehicles.

Mr. Mullaney introduced the FY2016 Budget of $99,259,723, a 2% increase over the FY2015 funding. The budget is made up of the Mayor’s appropriation of $95,587,723 and projected Circuit Breaker Funding of $3,672,000. This level-service funded budget allows for QPS to meet all contractual obligations including percentage raises and step/level increases, cover the gap from the elimination of the Full-Day Kindergarten grant at the state level. The funding also allows anticipated increases in Special Education tuitions and transportation. With 16 professional staff members retiring, there is anticipated breakage of $584,000. The bottom line after meeting all current staffing and program requirements is $1,376,300 available for budget building.

For the Academic Classroom Teachers, enrollment projections for 2015-2016 were shared. Kindergarten registrations are being monitored and class sizes for middle and high school will be analyzed further as the scheduling cycle is completed. At the elementary level, there are no needs for additional teachers at this point, but possible new registration would trigger the need for an additional classroom at one of two sites. At the middle school level, adding one Technology/Engineering teacher would allow for the expansion of the program to Grade 6.

For Academic Programs, the recommendations are for two English Language Learner positions, plus one Instrumental/Music teacher, in part to assist with the reviving of the Renaissance program at North Quincy High School.

For Academic Support, adding funding to cover 18 aides in the Full-Day Kindergarten program (formerly paid by the Full-Day Kindergarten grant), adding 20 Special Education Aides, and additional Extracurricular funding for Elementary Schools.

For Academic Expenses, recommendations include adding $10,000 for Professional Development; $472,000 for Special Education tuitions; and $40,000 for Technology acquisition.

In summary, the $1,376,300 would be allocated $100,000 for Academic Classroom Teachers, $150,000 for Academic Program Teachers, $604,300 for Academic Support, and $522,000 for Academic Expenses.

Mrs. Hubley opened the meeting for discussion and finding none, requested a motion to adjourn.

Mr. McCarthy made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 5:30 pm. Mr. Bregoli seconded the motion and on a voice vote, the ayes have it.