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One of the great strengths of a democratic government is the right of its citizens to participate in, even criticize, leadership decisions. That right (a privilege and a responsibility) is especially demonstrated during tough fiscal times when people, as we saw at recent school budget hearings, voice concerns to their elected leaders. Tonight, the Lowell City Council will begin its budget deliberations at 5 pm, and citizens should participate in (or at least watch on channel 10) the process. Also tonight, the school administration will hold a special meeting for parents at the Rogers Middle School at 7 pm regarding transition issues relative to closing the school. Tomorrow, the School Committee will continue its budget hearing around 8 pm in Council Chambers after subcommittee meetings on special education (6:15 pm); transportation (6:45) and its regularly scheduled board meeting (7 pm). Next week, the Lowell High School subcommittee will convene on Tuesday, June 23, at 7 pm to discuss the impacts of teacher and administrative cuts at the high school, particularly regarding class size, student distribution, and programs under the direction of the now-eliminated position of student support services coordinator. These meetings are all open to the public, and I urge you to be involved and express your concerns: a strong democracy, like a strong community, is one where citizens are part of the process.

After listening to Warren Shaw on WCAP 980 yesterday morning and then reading Jackie’s post about the budget blues, I have to wonder what suggestions Mr. Shaw would have for the school committee. All he seemed to say while “sticking up for the little guy” was that governments should “innovate” rather than raise taxes (he was protesting the 2% meals tax). Teddy Panos pointed out some innovative things already being done by the school committee – closing a school, moving the school department out of the Bon Marche building, etc, but Mr. Shaw was not impressed. (To Panos’ list, I would add the school department’s creation of a model Teachers’ Academy that is now marketed to other districts, its development of internal programs to reduce out-of-district tuition, and its efforts at more efficient transportation, including regionalization.) Mr. Shaw, however, seems to ignore these successes and prefers to take the position that the cost of running our cities and towns should never go up except under extreme circumstances, at which time he would allow some emergency tax hikes that would then expire after a set term. So, let’s imagine for a moment if the city budget was level funded year after year. In the meantime, the cost of utilities, building maintenance and especially healthcare would continue to rise. To maintain level funding, city workers, teachers, programs and services would be whittled away, which is exactly what’s happening now and has been happening in the schools since 2003. If you ask me, this approach to running our city is more harmful to the “little guy” than a 2% meals tax.

After last night’s school committee meeting, I’ve got a bad case of the Budget Blues, and I’m guessing I’m not alone. (Symptoms include a pervasive sense of sadness, frustration, and a craving for sugar.) Yes, we cut another $1.2 million from the school budget which brings our total cuts up to about $5.8 million—two million shy of the number projected by state and city revenue reductions. Mind you, the funding is not definite as the state struggles with its budget woes and the city begins its own budget review. (Check LiL for Mimi’s take on the city’s budget.) And yes, we voted to move out of the downtown rental properties, a loss for the owners and area businesses, but one that does not adversely impact the education of our children at least. Sadly, the same can’t be said about many of the other cuts made last night. As we attempt to bring class sizes at the high school more in line with our fiscal crisis, the struggle is how to do that and still maintain a rich diversity of electives. With middle schools being pushed to an average of 25 students per class while the elementary schools hover at 22 and higher depending on the grade, getting the high school up to an average of 21 students per class shouldn’t be so difficult—if it wasn’t for the impact it has on the selection of courses offered (consider six kids in a Latin class, nine in Business English, or four in ceramics). This dilemma also offered the one highlight of last-night’s long, depressing meeting: that is, the opportunity to hear many eloquent speeches from students, parents, alumni, and staff about the exceptional enrichment of LHS offerings, dance and Latin in particular, as they were slated to be cut. We didn’t make those cuts; and in fact, we ended up reducing teaching staff at the high school by a total of 21 instead of the 25 recommended by the administration. As I said last night, we need a plan that creatively combines course levels, efficient scheduling, and an equitable distribution of students to get to a class size we can afford without devastating programs. Meanwhile, the shortfall continues. Stay tuned for our next budget hearing on Wednesday, June 17.  

Tomorrow night, the Lowell School Committee will resume budget hearings at 7 p.m. in Council Chambers. The meeting will be televised live on LTC channel 10, public participation is welcome, and if you are concerned about the high school, please come down and participate. With enrollment at the high school hovering at about 650 students less than five years ago, the administration is recommending a 10% reduction in teaching staff.  Also recommended is a 50% reduction in the television studio staff,  elimination of programs such as after-school detention and Saturday morning tutor/buy back, as well as cuts to custodians, clerks, parent liaisons, and instructional technology specialists. The administration also recommends not filling several open administrative positions, such as database administrator, family consumer science chair, and coordinator of student support services. In addition to these recommended reductions, last week high school administrators were instructed by members of the LHS subcommittee to identify an additional $400,000 in administrative cuts. To date, the committee has reduced spending by about $4.5 million district wide, primarily by closing the Rogers Middle School along with a number of central office reductions. The general feeling is that millions more are needed to meet the shortfall. (Check here to see the budget.) There are also several reductions to assistant coaches being recommended, but those decisions may be deferred until after the Athletics Subcommittee meets on Thursday, 6 p.m., at 155 Merrimack Street.

Tonight at 6 pm, the LHS subcommittee will hear updated reports regarding reducing teachers at the high school based on declining enrollment (650 less students than five years ago) amid a budget shortfall that numbers in the millions—anywhere from $3-5 million more in cuts needed, depending how optimistic you are that the state will deliver on education funding. Also to be discussed at the public meeting, are other recommendations for cuts in high school staffing, such as assistant coaches, department chairs, and the TV studio. Votes based on the information received tonight will be made during the next Budget Hearing for the schools on Wednesday, June 10, at 7 pm in Council Chambers. Please join us tonight to hear these reports firsthand and participate in the discussions. Let us know your thoughts and concerns. After the LHS subcommittee meeting, the school committee will go into executive session to discuss rental contracts downtown, as well as union negotiations. Mimi of LiL has a post on the downtown building issue that brings in a number of voices and is worth a read if you haven’t seen it.

I’m the queen of 20/20 hindsight and last night at our second budget hearing I had one of those moments. Ann Brady, a behavior modification specialist at the Rogers School, spoke to us about the collective and personal loss of closing her school (a vote we took on Saturday) and how no one had bothered to thank Principal Tim McGillicuddy or his staff for their years of service and commitment to educating our children. Since joining the school committee five years ago, I have seen firsthand the strong community that is the Rogers School, from the students exuberant cheering of their principal and model behavior at assemblies to the pride on the faces of their teachers and administrators. That energy is not easy to measure, but you feel it when you are in its presence and you know it is real and making a difference in the lives of children. I have also seen it demonstrated at the Rogers School in the standard ways we measure success: improved MCAS scores, improved attendance, and steady numbers of students trying (and getting into) the infamously difficult Latin Lyceum at LHS. So, late as this is, I want to publicly thank the entire Rogers School community—the administrators, teachers, staff, students and parents—for the care and effort they put into making it a thriving educational community. And I want to publicly apologize for having to vote to close their school and for this belated gesture of appreciation. It is an unfair loss for them, I know, and for all of us.

Beginning at 1 p.m. in Council Chambers, the Lowell School Committee will begin hearings for the FY 2010 budget.  The public is invited to attend and comment on the budget in general or on specific line items. You may also watch the proceedings live from LTC’s municipal channel 10. Due to increased costs to provide the same services and programs, a level service budget would require an increase of about $14 million. Taking into account a federal stimulus contribution of $4.7 million, a level-funded contribution from the state, and the city manager’s indication that he will be recommending the City Council reduce its appropriation by $5 million, there is a budget shortfall of over $9 million. Last year, the city appropriated about $19 million for the schools while the state contribution was about $118 million. The manager’s recommendation represents about a 28% cut in the city’s contribution to its schools. Today, the committee will begin making decisions to reduce staff and programs to bridge that shortfall. Please pay attention and be involved.

It’s no secret: involved folks impact budget decisions. As you probably know, the school department is facing cuts of $9.5 million to its budget for next year, with over $2 million slated to be cut from Lowell High School. Informed participation from citizens in decisions that impact the quality of education our children receive is an important part of the process—especially during these difficult times. TONIGHT, Tuesday, May 26, 7 pm, on the second floor conference room at 155 Merrimack Street, the LHS Subcommittee will meet to discuss Accreditation, Class Size, Class Attendance Policy, Scheduling Options, P.E. Requirements, Science Recommendations, Quarterly Exams, and Molloy Program Design. These discussions will likely impact budget decisions regarding the high school, and your input at the subcommittee meeting is key. The school committee will hold Budget Hearings on Saturday, May 30, at 1 p.m., Monday, June 1 at 7 pm, and Thursday June 4 at 7 pm. At that time, budget decisions will be made line by line and public participation is vital. So if you care at all about what’s happening in our schools, you need to get involved and let us know your thoughts.

Concern and community outrage continues to build as the Lowell School Committee meets tonight in council chambers at 7 pm to receive the proposed budget for FY 10. (Hearings on the budget will begin next Wednesday at City Hall, at 7 pm.) There are no motions from committee members but a number of important reports from the Finance, Transportation, and Facilities Subcommittees that begin to lay out the administration’s plans for slashing staff and programs to meet the expected $8 million budget shortfall. At the last school committee meeting, supporters for the school lunch program spoke passionately about keeping their program, which costs the district about $775,000 out of the local budget. Expect to see members from the Rogers School community tonight, expressing their despair at the possibility of closing their school to save $3.2 million. With $8 million in cuts required, there will be lots more programs, staff, and distressed people before this budget is completed. How to manage these difficult decisions? It requires keeping a laser-beam focus on what’s best for the students district wide, and trying as much as possible to mitigate the negative impact of cuts this deep with decisions that make the most sense overall. (If you can’t make it downtown tonight, the meeting will be televised live on cable channel 10. You can also get information on replays or on-demand streaming video at LTC’s website.)

With more bad news on the fiscal front and the Lowell Public Schools likely facing $8 million in cuts next year, the Facilities Subcommittee and other members met last night to discuss closing schools to save money. The administration proposed a new plan (Plan B) to close the Rogers Middle School, moving the strand of Portuguese-speaking students and their teachers to the Butler School, and dispersing the remaining students to middle schools throughout the district where space is available. The plan will save the district $3.2 million up front with additional savings in reduced rental fees possible by moving the Family Literacy Center, Adult Education, and portions of Central Office to the vacated Rogers School site. Since some middle schools are currently under enrolled, closing the Rogers School will not have a major impact on class sizes, which typically run about 25 students at the middle-school level. (Previously, the administration had proposed a plan to close the Moody School, sending those elementary students to the Bartlett Community Partnership School while moving the Bartlett middle-school students to the Stoklosa School, and using the old Moody building for administrative offices. That plan would have saved the district about $1.2 million.) According to the administration, Plan B not only saves more money, but it also displaces less students, and provides the district with a better site for offices, family literacy, and adult education as well as a centralized location in the city. The full committee will consider this cost-saving recommendation, among others, during Budget Hearings, which begin May 27 in Council Chambers at 7 pm. Closing the Rogers School—a thriving community of caring educators, students and families—is but one painful step in a long road of recommended cuts required to educate our students with $8 million less in revenue next year.