Adams-Cheshire Questions Opening School-Choice Slots
CHESHIRE, Mass. — With budget cuts, staff cuts, and uncertainty over the future structure of the Adams-Cheshire Regional School District, there may not be room for school-choice students.
The School Committee decided Monday night to hold off on opening any more school-choice slots, which allow students from other school districts to enter the district. Slots are often a form of revenue since the state money follows the student.
Superintendent Kristin Gordon said many grade levels cannot accept school-choice students because of high class sizes and the uncertainty of shifting within the district.
She said these numbers were calculated after meeting with the principals.
School Committee members asked if the principals could spread out some of the numbers throughout the grade levels.
Hoosac Valley Principal Jeremiah Ames said they could show how big some of the classes will get by raising the school-choice cap but could not promise any changes.
"I hate to turn away money but we have some big classes," Ames said.
Cheshire Elementary School Principal Peter Bachli agreed
"It's a very tough decision to make a fourth-grade class with 28 kids," he said.
Gordon said the state's Department of Elementary and Secondary Education needs the committee's ruling by June so a vote could be held at the next meeting. She said the only option is to ask for an increase in school choice after the numbers are submitted and that number of times they can ask is limited.
She said the School Committee may want to look at eliminating school choice all together in the future.
"The idea is that you are getting kids that are going to improve the district," Gordon said. "Although we welcome all kids, some of our choice kids have more needs and it costs more. At some point, we should see if school choice is working for the district."
She said the only downside of eliminating school choice would be losing longtime students.
"If a family moves .... to North Adams but they have been here since their child started school and we don't have school choice openings, we can't take the student back," she said.
In other business, the School Committee voted to accept a resolution from the Massachusetts Teachers Association against raising the charter school cap in the state. A number of local school districts, including Pittsfield, have endorsed the cap through a similar petition circulated by the Massachusetts Association of School Committees.
The resolution was submitted by Jacob Keplinger, president of the Adams-Cheshire Teachers Association.
"There have been many school districts in the area that have adopted this resolution against lifting the cap on expanding the charter schools in Massachusetts," Keplinger said. "Right now over $400 million in the state goes to charter schools directly from public school districts.
Adams-Cheshire gets hits hard by the Berkshire Arts and Technology Public Charter School, losing nearly a $1 million annually in funding to the charter school.
Keplinger said the question will most likely be on the November ballot, and the resolution will in no way hurt the local charter school.
"It does not hurt BArT whatsoever; they are established," he said. "If the cap is lifted, what can happen is that they can put a charter school anywhere ... right now there is a limit. If it's lifted, it is open season."
• Currently the district is in the middle of both Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers and Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System standardized testing. Administrators said, "so far so good."
"We are in our third week of it, and we started math today," Bachli said. "We have a few bridges technology-wise ... but otherwise it has been going pretty well. The students were certainly more excited to start."
He said the near monthlong test started in late April. This year the district is "held harmless" because the test is being piloted and administrators are taking notes so they are prepared when it does hit.
C.T. Plunkett Principal Michelle Colvin agreed with Bachli and thanked the tech department and the families because so far there has been great attendance
Ames said he anticipates next year they will see a combination test that pulls from both PARCC and MCAS.
He agreed that things are going well but the testing is still a burden on the teachers and takes away from the classroom.
"Our staff has been great getting up to speed and being flexible and the kids have been great, but it's a lot of time out of the classroom," Ames said. "It takes the kids focus off of learning and the staff is flexible but they are geared up for test administration."
He said many students said they would rather just take the MCAS.
• The School Committee reorganized and re-elected Paul Butler as chairman and Stephan Vigna as vice chairman. It also welcomed new members Jennifer Andrews and Peter Tatro, elected in last week's town elections.
• The committee voted to increase the hourly tutor rate for paraprofessionals and uncertified tutors from $15 to $18 and raise certified tutors from $25 to $30.
School Committee member Darlene Rodowicz said because the district's rate is not competitive, it has to hire outside of the district, which costs more money.
"When we are short we have to buy out of the district, and we are paying more than what we are with the proposed increases," she said. "It makes more sense to make this more attractive so we can bring in our own staff on and help use save money."
Tags: ACRSD, charter school, school choice,
