Feb. 27, 2024 - Building Committee Meeting

MIDDLETOWN SCHOOL COMMITTEE

MIDDLETOWN, RHODE ISLAND

February 27, 2024

Members Present:          Theresa Spengler, Chair

Tami Holden, Vice-Chair

William O’Connell

Greg Huet

Wendy Heaney

Also Present:                  Rosemarie Kraeger,  Superintendent of Schools

Michelle Fonseca, Assistant Superintendent of Schools

Lori Miller, Interim Business Manager

Lisa Birkett, Director of Student Services

David Annese, Director of Technology

Poe George, Director of Facilities, Transportation, and Safety

The Middletown School Committee Meeting was called to order at 4:31 p.m. by Chair Theresa Spengler. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.

Administrative staff members present were Donna Sweet, William Niemeyer, Kaitlin Gibbins, Erica Bulk, and Rebecca Silveira. Town Councilman Peter Connerton was also in attendance.

·         Rhode Island Department of Education FY25 Funding Formula was presented via Zoom by CFO Mark Dunham, Kristen Cole, and Steve Coleman Chief at Office of Municipal Affairs.

·         Link to presentation:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EEzZcIELvwrArXZiyvCDgCGZFfgtDJgV/view?usp=drive_link

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·         The more tax capacity a community has to pay for its educational needs, the less aid it will receive. Many coastal communities are calculated at 0%.  Without the quadratic mean, a lot of these small communities would not qualify for any state aid.

Per pupil wealth in Middletown is greater than per pupil wealth in Barrington or Tiverton.  Although Barrington may have more wealth than Middletown, they also have 30% – 40% more students.

Mr. Huet asked how RIDE accounts for 50% of Middletown residents being part-time residents which causes our property values to be high and our enrollment to be low.

Mr. Dunham said they account for this in the funding formula by putting more weight on the higher poverty indicator. If property values are high, then the PreK-6 reduced lunch numbers should skew them.  The quadratic equation will put greater weight on that portion of the formula.  Middletown PreK – 6 poverty level is 28%.

Chair Spengler stated that Middletown has many low-income families, along with a shortage of housing.  No one in the Town wants to hear that our community has the capacity to pay, and that their properties are valued higher than what they are, because that means an increase in taxes. We also have a very transient population with the military which skews our enrollment on a regular basis, as well.

Mr. Huet agreed with Chair Spengler’s comments by adding that senior citizens are being driven out of their homes by high taxes and young families simply cannot afford to purchase homes here. The funding formula is not helping Middletown at all.

Mrs. Kraeger asked what they could be doing besides speaking with their legislators to influence the funding formula.

Mr. Dunham ** suggested **making requests to the General Assembly. They are aware of these problems and are the only ones who have the power to change the funding formula.  There is currently a law on the books that is requiring RIDE to change the poverty factor for FY25.

Chair Spengler inquired as to how the formula supports high needs special education students with out of district placements.

Ms. Cole replied that there is a Special Ed categorical threshold in place for FY24 of $65k and any cost over this triggers funding by the State from 70% – 75% after the $65k.  She suggested lobbying the legislature as they have been responsive on this issue.

Mr. Huet responded by asking why they had to lobby the legislature.  Why isn’t RIDE providing the funding?

Mr. Dunham responded that the state has proposed raising the success factor.  RIDE strongly advocates on behalf of the LEAs, and the governor has raised the budget each year, just not to the amount that we have requested.

Chair Spengler said she has seen the changes and believes RIDE is advocating on their behalf.  However, it is difficult due to the new mandates being handed down without the funding to support them. Mandates should be funded before they are implemented.

Mr. Dunham stated that there are new regulations that will be in place two to three years from now that will require funding to be attached to new mandates. RIDE is required to enforce the requirements put forth by the General Assembly.  If they do not attach funding, RIDE still has to start implementing.

Mrs. Heaney stated inflation alone is not 4%.  When we have all these increases and the Town is willing to help us, but the state will not allow them to go over 4%, and RIDE is asking us to do all of these things, then we’re forced to submit a waiver.

Mr. Huet stated that as our advocate, RIDE needs to go to our governor and say no more mandates without funding.  As our leader that is what needs to happen.

Chair Spengler thanked the representatives from RIDE for being there and explained that the School Committee had experienced a rough four to five years of budget challenges.

Mrs. Kraeger asked Mr. Dunham if he had heard of any initiative to eliminate the 4% cap, and he answered no aside from the waiver.

Ms. Cole presented nine similar sized communities to Middletown that are currently calculated at 0%, as well.

Mrs. Kraeger mentioned that the district has lost 210 students since COVID which greatly affected their funding, unlike area communities who are holding steady or gaining students.

Mr. Huet asked if it is a loss for the district when a child from Middletown attends private school.  In a lot of states, the money must follow the child wherever they go.

Ms. Cole said yes, but if they came back, the funding would return.

Mrs. Fonseca reminded the School Committee that if a child is going to a state or charter school the district must pay for their bussing and books.

·         FY25 Budget Overview was presented by Superintendent Kraeger, Assistant Superintendent Fonseca, and Interim Business Manager Lori Miller.

o   Revenue

o   Expenses

Link to presentation:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/13recJceaJ_AiEGe1xa0IjnQlhYl3B7jq/view?usp=drive_link

Mrs. Miller said that she has been working closely with the Town Finance Department to load everything into their software and generate accurate projections in order to provide a detailed budget for next week’s Budget Workshop.  This will also provide a trail of how things are done for the Town who will be taking things over in FY25.

Mrs. Kraeger stated Revenues are expected to remain constant. Impact Aid may be affected by enrollment and funding, in general.  She will recommend a 4% increase in Town appropriation for FY25.  Other local revenues to remain relatively constant.  We are hoping for an increase in CTE tuition, especially in the future with the new middle/high school.

Mrs. Miller explained that there is an increase in high-cost Special Education which will help the district, but with a decrease in state aid of $748,436.00, there is still a

-$628,215.00 difference between FY24 and FY25 funding. If we cannot make this revenue up, we will need to make cuts again this year.

Chair Spengler this was discussed at the Revenue Conference the other day.

Mrs. Kraeger stated that a 4% increase in local appropriations would equal $1,216,882.00 leaving the district with a net increase of $588,677. FY25 expenditures will include settled contracts with certified teachers and paraprofessionals equal $622,453.00.  The custodial contract has not been negotiated.  If custodians get the same increase they got last year it would equal close to $50,000.00. For FY25 fringe benefits for settled contracts the total is $113,984.00, and this is just fringe.

FY 25 purchased services including transportation, special education tuition, CTE, charter, and other tuitions, as well as other professional services total $309,320.00.

The summary of FY25 increases equal $1,045,757.00.  This does not include breakage from retirements.  She will be asking the School Committee to approve opening early retirement again.

Building principals requested 61.29 positions.  Prioritized positions for funding are Special Education, Multi-Language Learners, and Structured Literacy.

Other FY25 considerations are positions hired through FY24 that need to be funded in FY25 - .5 PreK teacher, 1.2 MLL teacher, 1.0 Social Worker, and 1.0 Structured Literacy.

Mr. Huet asked that transportation, one of the highest costs, be looked at prior to the next Budget Workshop. He would like to know what the district is required to provide in terms of transportation and if it was possible to establish a policy where students within a mile of school would be required to walk.

Mrs. Kraeger said there is a policy in place and we may not ask families to pay.

Chair Spengler added that she has lobbied in the past at the State House for “pay to ride” and “pay to play,” which they have in Massachusetts.

Mr. Poe stated that students must live within a mile of school to ride the bus.

Mr. Huet asked if it could be extended to a mile and a half.

Chair Spengler cautioned against extending the limit as some families may not have access to cars. Those students could be forced to walk on busy and unsafe roads.

Mrs. Kraeger suggested the district survey families to ask if they use the bus.

Mrs. Birkett stated that where she lives families are required to sign up for the bus if they need it.  There is a cut-off date for the registration.  Middletown may find that more people who say they need it actually do not.

Mrs. Heaney asked if there was a standard in place for how far a student was allowed to travel to a bus stop.

Mrs. Kraeger said that the police department approves their bus stops.

There were no requests to speak during the Public Forum.

FY24 MOA INSTRUCTION PARTNERS /MPS

1)Tami Holden. 2) Greg Huet. That the School Committee approve the FY24 MOA between Instruction Partners and Middletown Public Schools. Unanimous vote.

** MOTION**:  1) Tami Holden, 2) Greg Huet

Respectfully Submitted,

Theresa Spangler, Chair