Earlier tonight, I read this at a Norwich Board of Education Meeting. I got all the way to the last paragrah when they told me I had to "wrap it up" .... here is the complete version!
Heather Romanski, Scotland Road, parent of 2 daughters at the Nationally Recognized Moriarty Environmental Sciences Magnet School and passionate supporter and advocate for Norwich Public Schools.
I come before you today and ask you to give thoughtful consideration to the ways in which you will address the shortfall in funding you will face this coming year. I implore you to take actions that minimize the impact to staffing and programs that directly impact the children of Norwich Public Schools. I dare you to brainstorm a way to end the cycle of presenting a budget, have it underfunded and face this challenge again and again.
To date, I believe, 72 pink slips have been delivered to non-tenured teachers. I shudder at the thought of what that does to our ability to quote your 30 second marketing video “focus on our students”.
I’m asking you to think outside of the box - to not go the historical route and slash the number of teaching staff. I’m asking you to take a hard look at the way our non-teaching staff work. Do we need a separate building for central office? We’re a Google Apps for Education district - how about using the technology we’ve invested in to help us reduce our costs? Use tools like Google Hangouts with video calls, allow people to telecommute. Stop funding cell phones, or move to a more cost effective stipend program that isn’t subject to carrier contracts and requires less administration. This is becoming an industry standard. I’m suggesting a cost review like no other - reviewing health insurance costs, property insurance costs, consider changing the number of days that administrators work, evaluate the workloads of the administrative assistants - decide if we can afford both a full time and part time admin that exist today in more than one of our schools. In a previous job I was responsible for 22 million dollars in operating budgets, I recognize that what I am proposing is not a simple task. For as long as I can remember the Board of Ed has struggled to present a budget that was fully funded, we need a new approach.
How do we continue as a district that markets itself as working under a framework of a “Forward Thinking Future” when we continue to do business in the very same way, year after year. Our district often looks to outside consultants when it comes to advice on our infrastructure and other needs, perhaps we need to seek outside financial services - that proverbial “fresh set of eyes”. Maybe it’s time to spend money on professional financial services in an effort to find more cost savings.
At the end of the year, our Curriculum Director is retiring, the district has a history of bringing back retired staff as consultants. Will Mr. Stefon be returning in this capacity? If so, I ask how you, our board, can justify paying administrative consulting fees while laying off teachers? Perhaps the Board considers eliminating that position all together and redistributes the responsibilities across other qualified staff. Maybe those consulting dollars are better spent on the budget consulting I referred to earlier.
Less than a week ago Moriarty received a National Award for Excellence, this was the result of an intensely collaborative and driven staff to make that program and that school the best it can be. I suspect while they are pleased with the work they have done, they’ll tell you they still have a ways to go. The bar has been set - as a board and an administrative team - you should be proud, you allowed them to take that risk, but you should also be worried. One of your responsibilities, is to ensure that the high standard can continue. I can assure you that cutting staff and programs that impact our students on a daily basis will not win you any more awards. I am also confident, that if we keep doing business the very same way, we will continue to be plagued by the very same problems. My husband and I are constantly challenging our girls to learn from their mistakes, to alter their behaviors to get a better result. They are challenged in the same way by their teachers. Isn’t that one of our greatest goals in education? I respectfully ask you to lead by example and alter your behavior to get a better result.
Thank you.
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