Shrewsbury School
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* S * h * * r P E e o w C s s R t b Shrewsbury School a W u l r C S y S , u M s E t D o A m D 0 e M 1 r 5 * 4 * * 5 * N W O P U O E N Serving a community that empowers learners Winter Edition 2020 • Vol XXIV • No. 2 . R S R - P C . M R P P E I O O T A Journal S I S F T N D I E T O T A R . O G 1 , 0 R M E 1 G Superintendent’s Corner A Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every Rising to an society, in every family. - Kofi Annan unprecedented challenge DR. JOSEPH M. SAWYER SUPERINTENDENT This Superintendent’s Corner would have been on a much different topic, but the COVID-19 pandemic became an emer- gency just prior to the time this edition of the School Journal would have gone to print. So, instead, I will share with the larger community some of what I have been communicating with our families and staff now that all of our schools are closed Elementary students (left to right)Nina and Aishah, and Grade 4 teachers Kelly Finneran, Anna Ross, Christine Zambernardi, Wendy Bell (Principal), and Julie Murphy engage with the new science curriculum. See “A Positive by order of Governor Baker until at least Reaction...” on page 6. April 7, and all town buildings are closed to the public with business being conduct- ed via phone and electronic communica- tion. Please see our website at schools. shrewsburyma.gov for up-to-date informa- Budget Planning: a rite of spring tion on our school district’s response to the pandemic. and a familiar scenario cost mitigation across the district. I hope all of you reading this continue to MS. SANDRA FRYC be well. When I write this, there are still no SCHOOL COMMITTEE CHAIR Funding for schools is a combination of state confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Shrews- aid, local contributions from taxes, fee revenue bury, but with expanded testing begin- and grants. State aid and Federal grants have ba- ning to happen I assume it is a matter of As winter turns to spring the rite of devel- sically been flat for a decade. The level of fund- time until we have the first confirmed case oping the annual School Department budget ing from the State of Massachusetts is below the within our community. I ask that you help becomes the main focus of the School Com- rate of inflation. Growth in local property tax protect our older family and friends, those mittee’s work. The budget develops over revenue combined with relatively flat increases with health conditions, first responders, several months and the recommendations in other revenue areas means that all inflation- and medical professionals by practicing made take into consideration the district’s ary pressure shifts to the town appropriated bud- social distancing. mission, values, and strategic goals and pri- get and the core of our school budget funding orities. Unfortunately, we are facing an all comes from town dollars. Over time the public too familiar scenario of structural funding is- school budget cuts have translated into higher Closing schools is a major interruption to sues that continue to overshadow the School costs for families. Shrewsbury school fee rev- our educational program that creates dif- Department budget process. enues have nearly doubled in the past ten years, ficulties for our students, who rely on our which means this source of revenue has become schools not only for education but also for On January 22, 2020, Dr. Sawyer provided significant to the annual School Department the school committee with his initial bud- budget. Proactively the School Department has CONTINUED, see page 2 get recommendation. In order to main- sought additional funding by seeking alternative inside • pages 2, 3 & 4 tain the district’s status quo an increase of revenue sources including competitive grants, partnerships, sponsorships, and philanthropic • Right-sizing our elementary schools $4,277,873 or a 6.45% increase over the Fis- cal Year 2020 school budget will be required. gifts to the district. As we begin the FY2021 through redistricting This means the amount of money the district budget planning, the reality is that our town con- • Beal Project: the faces behind will have to invest in the advancement of tinues to struggle to fund a level service school Construction Management its five-year strategic priorities will be zero. budget due to the fiscal constraints. The amount • SHS Alumni - we’re looking for you! Town Manager Kevin Mizikar’s initial FY21 of revenue available to our local government is budget recommendation is an increase of not sufficient to meet the short-term needs of the inside • pages 5, 6 & 7 $1,366,281 or 2.06% over the FY20 school schools or town departments. • Beal Unified Hour of Play - A practice budget resulting in a budget gap of $2.9 mil- lion. Please note that as of the writing of this A frequently asked question is, “Didn’t the suc- in inclusive practices article we are very early in the budget pro- cessful Proposition 2 ½ Override in 2014 solve • United Sound at Shrewsbury High cess and there may be some improvement in the school funding problem?”. In the three years School the town’s overall budget situation as we get prior to 2014, in order to reach a balanced school • A Positive Reaction: new Science Cur- closer to the annual Town Meeting in May. budget, the district had to reduce staff positions riculum engages elementary students, However, the School Committee and School and educational programming. It was neither teachers Administration do not believe the budget • Add some “Spark” to your summer gap can be resolved without some level of CONTINUED, see page 3 WINTER 2020 • SHREWSBURY SCHOOL JOURNAL • PAGE 2 Superintendent’s Corner CONTINUED from page 1 Right-sizing our elementary schools many aspects of their well-being, including social and emotional sup- through redistricting port and meals. This decision also places a significant burden on many while keeping geographic School Building Committee families with regard to childcare. JON WENSKY entities intact. voted unanimously to fund with However, I believe that this has SCHOOL COMMITTEE • Student demographics should the approved project budget. been the right thing to do with re- VICE CHAIR be taken into account when gard to the health and safety of our redistricting school atten- Over the next month, the Central community. dance zones. Office and the Town of Shrews- The new Beal School construc- • Future potential population bury’s GIS Coordinator will tion is well underway and the growth should be consid- share critical school and town “I have always been proud School Committee has formal- ered when establishing at- data with AppGeo to begin the to be a member of the ly assembled an Elementary tendance zones. process of crafting redistricting Shrewsbury community, School Redistricting Subcom- • Changes of school assign- recommendations. AppGeo will mittee to support the addition ments for existing students also incorporate our guiding and I am confident that of a new school and allow should be minimized to principles along with conduct- our collective response to for successfully right-sizing the greatest extent possible ing a neighborhood review to this very challenging all Shrewsbury elementary within the context of the develop a baseline of options. schools. We received many ap- other priorities. The technological capabilities situation will be character- plications from local residents • The redistricting process of AppGeo will expedite the ized by respect and sup- that had an interest in contrib- should work in concert with information and analysis pro- port for one another.” uting to this important town other district initiatives vided to the subcommittee. project. This subcommittee is where possible. Geographic boundaries can well represented and includes be tweaked based on the com- I shared three key messages with a diversity of perspectives from The last time Shrewsbury Public mittee’s feedback and revised the school community regarding School Committee & District Schools experienced redistrict- school zone maps can be gen- how we are responding to this un- leadership, Elementary School ing was prior to the 1997 open- erated quickly. The goal is for precedented and rapidly evolving Principals, and, most important- ing of Floral Street Elementary the subcommittee to review Ap- crisis: ly, parents representing each of School. Patrick Collins, Assis- pGeo’s initial recommendations our existing elementary schools. tant Superintendent of Finance before the summer. Meetings The subcommittee consists of • The health & well-being of stu- & Operations, participated in will reconvene in September the following 11 members: dents, families, & staff is priority #1. the Floral initiative and advised with AppGeo providing revised • This is an extraordinary time in that the process was very manu- redistricting recommendations • Two School Committee al. Paper maps were used to cre- and collecting additional feed- history, and everyone in our members: Sandra Fryc and ate neighborhood zones. These back. The subcommittee will community has a collective Jon Wensky maps were color coded with then prepare to present formal responsibility to respond to this • Joe Sawyer, Superintendent highlighters and school zones redistricting options for review challenge. of Schools were manually weighted & op- in public hearings and School • Even though our schools are • Patrick Collins, Asst. Su- timized based on the capacity Committee meetings beginning closed, we will continue to perintendent for Finance and geographic location of each in October. support our students, fami- and Operations school. lies, and staff from a distance • Tiffany Ostrander, Princi- The process to decide new el- and empower our students pal, Calvin Coolidge School Fast forward 23 years later to ementary school districts is with opportunities for learning.