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ADMINISTRATIVE BUDGET SESSION

MARCH 7, 2017

At an ADMINISTRATIVE BUDGET SESSION of the Town Council and School Committee of the Town of South Kingstown, County of Washington, in the State of Rhode Island held at the Town Hall, in and for said Town on the 7^th day of March 2017 at 7:00 PM.

PRESENT: TOWN COUNCIL

Margaret M. Healy, President

Abel G. Collins, Vice President

Bryant DaCruz

Liz Gledhill

Joe Viele

SCHOOL COMMITTEE

Alycia Collins, Chairwoman

Roland Benjamin

Michelle Brousseau-Cavallaro

Maureen Cotter

Stephen Scott Mueller

Also present: Stephen A. Alfred, Town Manager, Patricia Sunderland, Finance Director, Colleen Camp, Executive Assistant, Aimee Reiner, Director of Administrative Services, Dr. Kristen Stringfellow, School Superintendent and Mary Anne Crawford, School Chief Financial Officer.

The Pledge of Allegiance is given.

Dr. Kristen Stringfellow presents the proposed FY 2017-2018 School Fund request. A proposed budget for FY 2017-2018 in the amount of $60,573,360 was approved by the School Committee on February 7, 2017. Some of the items that will have a profound impact on the School Budget for FY 2017-2018 are: a larger payment to the pension system, $500,000 less in state aid, increase in the cost of materials and supplies, a $400,000 increase in health insurance, a $20,000 increase in dental insurance, a $28,000 increase in utilities, an increase in outside tuitions, an increase in transportation cost, negotiations with all three bargaining groups and a $232,000 increase in teacher step pay costs. The increases in health insurance, steps, salaries and the loss of state aid make it impossible to keep the same budget as last year even with the decrease in enrollment and a property tax transfer of increase 4%.

Councilwoman Gledhill asks how increases in salary are projected in a negotiation year.

Dr. Stringfellow: usually at an Executive Session in the month of October preceding the negotiation cycle, the Business Manager and the School Committee determine a budget place holder for salary. It is not something the School Committee is committed to.

Discussion ensues relative to a potential increase of 11% in health care costs and how the School Department would handle those additional costs. Funds would be taken from other areas such as supplies and materials. This year more positions were required than were budgeted for and expenditures from P account have been stopped.

Even with a 2% increase to the property tax transfer the expenditures outweigh the revenues. Just the $500,000 reduction in state aid, a $400,000 increase in health care cost and $232,000 in teachers pay step increases accounts for $1.1 million. In the School Department’s proposed budget for FY 2017-2018 there are no new staff members with exception of two special education teacher assistants required by the students’ IEP and one additional ESL teacher required by students’ ESL plans.

The Town Council has given the School Department more money every year since 2012 to operate with fewer students due to less in state aid and higher costs and to maintain high quality programs. The School Department has cut staff and expenses each year. Since 2009, 95.9 FTEs have been eliminated and enrollment has declined by 480 students.

Since 2000, South Kingstown has lost 25.5% of the 14 or less age group from 5,187 to 3,865, in 2014 a reduction of 1,322; and the over 60 age group has increased significantly. It is projected that in FY 2017-2018, 87% of the revenue to the School will be generated from the local tax transfer, and 11% from state aid, and 80% of the expenditures will be for salaries and benefits.

Discussion ensues relative to the history of the property tax transfer from the Town.

Discussion ensues relative to the reduction in state aid to South Kingstown from 1996 to 2018.

Discussion ensues relative to the School Budget History.

Discussion ensues relative to the Rhode Island Funding Formula Support for South Kingstown and surrounding communities. South Kingstown has lost a total of $1,265,734 since the first year of the new funding formula, we are now in Year 7; North Kingstown has lost $300,347; Narragansett has gained $300,522 and Westerly has gained $1,847,822. South Kingstown has also lost funding from the enrollment decline in addition to the funding formula reductions.

Discussion ensues relative to property tax transfers in South Kingstown and surrounding communities. The Town of North Kingstown School Department is proposing a 4% increase in the property tax transfer for FY 2017-2018, Chariho is proposing a 2.61% increase, Narragansett has not been determined yet, Westerly is proposing a 0% increase and South Kingstown is proposing a 2% increase.

There are no new programs proposed in the FY 2017-2018 School Department Budget however 3 new staff members are required by ESL plan or IEP, a Middle School ESL teacher at a cost of $86,702 and two 1:1 Special Education Teacher Assistants at a cost of $72,730.

The recommendations for staffing reductions include: 0.5 FTE of an Administrator; 1.0 exempt position, 7.8 teachers; and 2 Council 94.

In the current year the following positions were added and not budgeted for: one medical leave for a teacher that was not anticipated (the teacher was being paid on leave and we had to hire another in their place), there were special education positions and special education para-professionals, and a second grade in Peace Dale where the enrollment was larger than anticipated. The School Department lives within its FTEs that the School Committee has approved unless there is a state law requirement or a contractual requirement to go above.

Discussion ensues relative to the School Committee approved reductions in order to balance the School Department’s Budget with a 2% increase in the property tax transfer including positions and line item reductions.

Discussion ensues relative to what the School Department’s FY2017-2018 budget would look like with a 1% increase and at a 0% increase to the property tax transfer and the additional reductions in positions and line items that would be included.

Discussion ensues relative to if the increase to the property tax transfer were more than 2% what would be the School Department’s priorities to add back to the budget. The top priorities include: 1 clerk, .5 custodian, 1 teacher, security cameras, and professional development.

On February 7, 2017 the South Kingstown School Committee adopted a budget in the amount $60,573,360 and they approved a Request for Proposal for a facilities plan. The RFP is due March 24, 2017 and a vendor will be chosen on April 4, 2017. It is estimated that the study will conclude in August 2017. In the fall of 2017 public discussion will commence on the results of the study and a vote in regard to recommendations. Implementation of elements of the plan could be as soon as September 2018.

Discussion ensues relative to what has happened since the School Committee adopted its budget for FY 2017-2018 on February 7, 2017. There has been notification that the health care costs will increase more than budgeted. In addition, there is uncertainty at the federal level in terms of funding. It is already known that Title 2 funding to South Kingstown has been reduced by 26.3% from $170,444 to $125,548 or a $44,896 reduction.

ESSA has changed the rules regarding private school required set-asides. ESSA is creating a position at RIDE for a private school ombudsman to resolve disputes of funding between public and private schools. Previously, all private school children from South Kingstown would be eligible for funding or in-kind service from our Title allocation. Now, all students attending a private school located in South Kingstown, regardless of their town of residence, will be eligible for allocation from South Kingstown. This will significantly lower our public school share since we have so many private schools in town (Prout, Msgr. Clarke and Private kindergartens), while other districts have few to none. It is important to note that charter schools are being allowed to keep their entire allocation, and have no requirement to allocate a set-aside for private schools.

The School Committee is negotiating with the largest bargaining group (NEA-SK teachers), and will soon start bargaining with the other two groups (SK – ESP and Council 94).

Discussion ensues relative to average class size. The contractual class size for kindergarten through Grade 3 is 23 students and the average for kindergarten is 16.91; Grade 1 is 17.91; Grade 2 is 18.5, and Grade 3 is 20.3. Grades 4 through 7 the average class size is 22; Grade 8 is 20 and at the SKHS 18.28 but could go as high as 27. In the applied arts it is an average of 16.85, art and music is 19.7, math and world language is 17; English is 16, SK Series and Social Studies at 19, Science is 17 and Physical Ed is 21.

At the Matunuck School there are two sections for each grade, at West Kingston three sections for each grade, Peace Dale four sections for each grade; and Wakefield between two and three depending on the grade level. Class size varies at the schools depending on the neighborhood enrollment area. Grade 5 is pretty tight because it is all in one building.

The proposed FY 2017-2018 School budget is over 80% salaries and benefits. Unless you cut positions you are not cutting the program size. If you take the salaries and benefits and add the purchased services for specialized educators you will be closer to 90% of the budget. The School Committee has indicated that all of those things are mandated and there won’t be a lot of flexibility. Unless you take health care away in terms of a benefit or reduce the value of that benefit you won’t make any major changes. The retirement is set through the state formula. If the cost of living is increasing 2% per year that is a base number you will see in contract negotiations based on the structure of collective bargaining in the state. More than 85% of the school budget is controlled by personnel and contracted professionals.

Discussion ensues relative to classroom ratios and the policy questions that need to be addressed as far as the number of sections that are provided for the education program particularly at the elementary level or even at the High School level.

The Town Manager discusses that at the Matunuck School there are two sections each with 16 students, first grade two sections, 19 and 17 students, second grade two sections each with 19 students and the documentation for the classroom size for Kindergarten through third grade is 23 students.

When you look at the facilities, the number of facilities that the School Department operates has a profound impact on the classroom ratios. If you had less schools in operation you would have a greater propensity to have 23 students in the classrooms. If your contracts allow for 23 students but you can’t obtain it because of the facilities being managed and the operation costs associated with those facilities, then those facilities become a more important factor to look at than the fact that you have 80% of your funding tied up in personnel. Closing schools does provide reduced costs for operations and reduced costs for personnel. The School Committee and the Town Council as well have to make the decision on what the policy is. If enrollment continues to decline each year by 70 to 80 students the classroom ratios continue to decline, at what level do we as a community wish to keep all buildings open and is there a threshold of the classroom ratio that we can’t go below. These are the decisions that many suburban school districts are going to face because if you can’t control the personnel costs and the state dictates how many people you have to have in each of the roles, then the only way you are going to control any part of your budget is to be able to take care of those elements that you do control.

This budget is going up $650,000 in expenses, is requiring $1,027,000 in new property tax, and is predicting 80 students less than the current year. This is not a cut it is a value that has to be placed, you are spending more dollars with less students. You have to look at whether this is sustainable when the average house value is $350,000 and the average tax bill is over $5,000. There is an ability to pay. We have less students because we have less families, because the affordability of the community becomes less and less. We have to look at where we are going as far as a community.

The Superintendent discusses staffing in the elementary schools. When you see two kindergarten sections each with 13 students we don’t begin the year presuming there will be two teachers teaching kindergarten. We look at the kindergarten enrollment data and we plan for one kindergarten section if the enrollment data indicates that it will be less than 23 at any particular school. The data is watched closely beginning in January and going forward in order to determine how many sections in any particular grade there will be. The community came forward in 2010 and said we value neighborhood schools and that is part of the reason we have not looked at closing an elementary school. It is not because of a lack of planning.

A kindergarten teacher cannot be hired for September, and then in October there are less students than anticipated for September, say to the teacher now you are on furlough. By state law we are contractually obligated to that teacher until the following August. If you go through K through 8^th Grade there is not one place as our August and September data where we could cut anymore sections contractually. Other than to say you live in the Wakefield district but you can’t go there you have to go to Peace Dale. When we get to the Middle School we could look at electives but there has to be places for a student to go off the four block content area. There has to be enough sections within contractual compliance. We can’t get more efficient unless we change the configuration of buildings or change the boundaries. We have policy boundaries right now.