Februrary 6, 2008
Bedford Journal
BEDFORD – Getting voters to support staff salary increases is so important to the school board that the board cut the operating budget by another $410,000 in order to offset the cost of the salary articles, which voters will see on the March 10 ballot.
The proposed operating budget is now lower than the default budget.
More than 100 voters and two-dozen non-residents attended the school district’s Deliberative Session at Bedford High School Tuesday night, where the board formally amended the budget proposal.
The amendment brought the budget down to $56,428,229, which is $338,171 lower than the default budget ($56,766,400).
The board also added another $200,000 in impact fee funds to the revenue side of the budget to offset the property tax impact, which will increase anywhere from 48 to 62 cents per $1,000 of assessed property valuation, depending on how much state funding is received.
The budget cuts will delay site work at McKelvie Intermediate School and the installation of a fire sprinkler system at Peter Woodbury Elementary School, although needed roof repairs at McKelvie is still in the budget.
Residents praised the board for making the cuts Tuesday night, and several residents spoke on the issue of salary increases.
Paul Hannan, who identified himself as a senior citizen living on a fixed income, spoke forcefully in support of teachers’ raises.
“Will a pattern of resistance to negotiated teacher salaries facilitate future hires? I think not. The far-reaching consequences of rejecting Article 2 (teacher salary increases) better damn well be considered beforehand,” Hannan said.
Hannan said his daughter is a teacher in the district.
Bedford’s ability to attract and retain teachers is a concern, board member Cindy Chagnon said.
“We have to remain competitive. (Our teacher salaries) are pretty low compared to surrounding towns. And we just can’t be the lowest,” said Chagnon, especially with a new high school opening in Windham next fall.
“Windham high school will be . . . hiring a full staff. If we don’t show teachers and paraprofessionals that we support them, we don’t know what will happen,” Chagnon said.
According to paraprofessional Betty Clemons, that support has been lacking.
“I’ve been a paraprofessional since September 1980,” Clemons said at the session. “I make $18,807.11. After 28 years of service, I think that kind of salary is unreasonable and unfair.”
Resident Paul Macewen said the current economic climate justified asking the unions if they would forego salary increases this year.
However, another resident said the teachers should get more money.
“My question is, when times were so good, where were all the people saying, let’s give our teachers more?” said Stephanie Willer, who praised the board for developing such a low proposed budget.
“I’m amazed you were able to keep the cost down so low, and I commend you for that. . . . I would like to see the teachers get more,” Willer said.
The negotiated salary increase comes with some concessions on the part of the teachers, said Superintendent Tim Mayes. The employees will take on more of the health care costs under a new plan.
Dan Sullivan wanted to know how much that concession would save, but Mayes said that is hard to predict.
One resident who had opposed the salary increases said she had changed her mind.
“I am not against this set of raises anymore,” Joleen Worden said.
Worden said the salary agreement set a good precedent because the employees take on more of the health care costs. She was also pleased by the new budget reductions proposed by the board, outlined on a green handout.
“So why don’t we support the stuff on the green sheet and stop arguing about the teachers?” Worden said to applause.
Philip Bruno wondered whether the cuts listed on the green sheet should be reconsidered, since they will force the district to hold off on work at McKelvie Intermediate School.
“McKelvie’s parking lot is not in great shape,” said Bruno.
The board wrestled with the issue but found a better potential solution, according to the school board Vice Chairwoman Terry Wolf.
“This is a delay that none of us wanted to make, we just felt it was the best choice for right now,” Wolf said in a phone interview Wednesday. “In doing research on that, Mark Conrad (the district’s CFO) found that we would potentially be eligible for state funding if we put (all the McKelvie work) into one bond. That state might reimburse 30 percent of it.”
Ann Marie Banfield had another idea for reducing costs: by reconsidering whether to offer an International Baccalaureate program at Bedford High School.
The IB program, which sets rigorous academic standards, costs about $56,000 a year.
Board member Bob Donahue said that tough economic conditions make IB more important than ever.
“My wife is an IB graduate, and having seen her and other family members’ success, I’m a strong supporter of IB,” Donahue said. “But I’m concerned about the economic crisis. Every day I open up the newspaper, and I don’t know what I’m going to see. What bank is going to fail? What company is going to lay off 10,000 workers? I would say that because of the crisis, we need the IB program even more. Jobs are going to be scarce, and we need our children to be competitive.”
More than half of the high school’s juniors are enrolled in at least one IB class, with 148 students signed up for a total of 316 classes, according to Wolf.
Before adjourning, School District Moderator Ryk Bullock reminded the attendees that there will be a blood drive and a bone marrow drive at the polls on Election Day, March 10. There will also be a Cell Phones for Soldiers collection box (for cell phones and laptops)
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Did someone think to ask Mr. Donahue why it was necessary to spend $56,000 to create “rigor”? Why can’t regular classes, all of them, be subject to rigor, as a matter of course? What is it about the political correctness of IB that will make students any more competitive? Or is this just the latest fad that some in Bedford just have to have? These are questions we would have liked to have asked the Bedford School Board.