Cogswell: Concord School Board Needs to Hear from Residents

CONCORD, NH — It is budget season again in Concord and this month, the Concord School Board is holding school district budget work sessions in an effort to balance all that the district needs to do for the city’s students. Last week, the board to heard the initial presentation on the proposed budget for the 2017-2018 school year.

The budget process takes almost two months and in that time, members review all aspects of the budget. The administration will present the number of classroom teachers and that number is controlled by the number of students and the class size guidelines set by the school board.

Here’s an overview of some of the issues board members will be tackling this budget season:

MEETING INFO

• Feb. 15: Work Session, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
• Feb. 22: Work Session, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
• March 6: Regular board meeting, 7 to 8:30 p.m.
• March 20: Public hearing on the budget, 7 p.m. at the Mill Brook School.
• March 22: Public hearing on the budget, 5:30 p.m. at Rundlett Middle School.

The administration is eyeing an up to 8 percent budget increase over last year’s budget while facing both fixed costs that are increasing.

This is my ninth year on the school board and this is going to be one to the most difficult budget the board will face while I have been on the board. That even included the building of three schools. The main reason this year's budget is so complex is that we are faced with major issues that come all at once:

The special education budget will be presented at one meeting and features $800,000 in out-of-district placement costs. We look at the number of special education students we have and what services they have. The special education laws have been enacted by the state and federal government and we a district determine how best to implement those laws and provide the best education for our district.

The cost of staff makes up the major part of our budget. We employ teacher, administrators, teacher aides, secretaries, maintenance staff, coaches, bus drivers, crossing guards and consultants.

The downshifting of the retirement system is not new. The state has over the last couple of years has passed the total cost of the system to local taxpayers. This year that amount is close to $700,000.

Concord Steam will close at the end of this year. We now have two convert four of our schools to produce their own heat with the cost of new boilers and all the systems that need to be in place to handle the new system at a cost of more than $700,000 for the first bond payment. At Concord High School, we need to add a new small building to handle the boilers.

These costs, the school board has no control over.

Another large additional cost to the budget this year is the addition of all-day kindergarten.

BUDGET DOCS

• Open Budgeting Presentation in .pdf
• Enrollments, Salaries, and Benefits in .pdf

Last year a committee of staff, parents and community members looked at the question of all-day kindergarten. The committee looked at research to see if kindergarten was right for Concord. The findings of the committee were mixed. The research shows that for the best results for our children we should invest in quality preschool. The study showed very little gain in third grade from students having all-day kindergarten.

What it did show was that at-risk students did show improved skills through three grades. Fortunately, we have a great preschool program in place.

The current budget proposes the reduction of five teaching positions due to an enrollment drop and another five positions rather than implementing all-day kindergarten (the board is considering a second program that will provide all-day for one-third of students). While remaining within the class size policy set by the board, upper elementary class sizes will increase.

Gov. Chris Sununu, R-NH, has said that his priorities for education are to fund all-day kindergarten and helping communities recover from the downsizing of the retirement fund. Personally, I hope that happens.

What the school board needs from this community is your feedback on the budget. I have had many people approach me already.

BOARD MEMBERS

• Clint Cogswell, at-large: ccogswell@sau8.org, 603-224-5283
• Nathan Fennessy, at-large: nfennessy@sau8.org, 603-856-3890
• Maureen Redmond-Scura, at-large: mredmondscura@sau8.org, 603-224-5834
• Tom Croteau, District A (Wards 1,2,3,4), tcroteau@sau8.org, 603-225-8409
• Jim Richards, District A (Wards 1,2,3,4), jrichards@sau8.org, 603-219-0038
• Barbara Higgins, District B (Wards 5,6,7), bhiggins@sau8.org, 603- 224-7450
• Jennifer Patterson, District B (Wards 5,6,7), jpatterson@sau8.org, 603-225-4610
• Alana Kimball, District C (Wards 8,9,10), akimball@sau8.org, 603-396-0229
• Pamela Wicks, District C (Wards 8,9,10), pwicks@sau8.org, 617-895-6352

Most saying that it is time to implement all-day kindergarten; I’ve had other community members tell me they think the community cannot afford an all-day program at this time but they are afraid to speak up because they will be viewed to anti-education.

Please feel free to reach out to us about your feelings on the budget and the future of our school system. If you would like your comments to remain confidential, any member will do that.

Clint Cogswell is president of the Concord School Board.