10/28/2008 LETTER TO THE EDITOR
The Status Quo Doesn’t Work
While I would prefer not to debate public policy on the Editorial page, I do not want any members of the public left with the impression that I am “confused” about the Sandwich Community School – or that I acted “out of the blue”. Please note that I am submitting this letter as my personal opinion. It does not necessarily represent the view of the School Committee, or the School Department.
I think the staff of the Sandwich Community School has built up a thriving business over the past several years and performs a tremendous public service. They should all be very proud of that accomplishment. They have also followed the policies and procedures of the various School Committees who have supervised their operations over the years.
My contention is that the world has changed in 34 years and school policies need to change with them.
As a review of meeting minutes, emails, memos, and meeting tapes will show, I have consistently and frequently raised numerous concerns about Community School operations over the past two and a half years.
Public schools across the Commonwealth are facing rapidly rising costs and shrinking or stagnant revenue. Even if the current economic conditions would support an Override request, I believe it would be completely irresponsible for any school committee member to support an Override until all operating costs have been carefully reviewed and all other potential funding sources have been exhausted.
My quote regarding the relationship between cutting courses and Community School funding is very simple. The School District pays approximately $170,000 for building & grounds maintenance – BUT any rental income generated from school buildings, parking lots, or athletic fields goes to the Community School – not the School District. If the District did not have to invest that $170,000 for maintenance costs, it would put the funds into such academic endeavors as working to improve math, science & technology program – a weakness that was apparent in the most recent MCAS results. As funding tightens, having this funding could also prevent existing courses from being eliminated.
The mission of the Sandwich Public Schools, and the responsibility of every member of the Sandwich School Committee, is to provide the best education possible to students in grades K-12 to prepare them to become the leaders of tomorrow.
The Community School, which is an integral part of the School District, has had the much broader mission of providing life-long learning opportunities and maximizing the use of school facilities. The Community School offers several different programs, some of which are profitable, some which are not. It is self-funded because revenue generated from the profitable courses is used to fund the unprofitable courses.
As the minutes of the July 30 School Committee meeting will attest, The Committee met with the Community School Director to discuss changes he would like to propose in the structure of the Community School. He suggested transferring responsibility for Summer School, Drivers Education, Facilities Use, and Full Day Kindergarten from the Community School to the School District. The Committee and the Superintendent agreed to the idea and agreed to begin further discussions to work out the details. This discussion was again raised at the August 13 meeting along with other concerns related to operational efficiencies.
It’s interesting to note that the minutes of Mr. Lehane’s first meeting with the School Committee on June 21, 2006 almost two years previous, also contained many of these same concerns.
These issues were also addressed in a very detailed memo from me to Mr. Lehane and several others on January 28, 2008. Ironically, the second to last paragraph said, “Jim, I know this is an extensive laundry list. But, I am trying to raise all of my concerns in advance so we can have a significant discussion at an upcoming SC meeting – I don’t want to surprise you with anything. My goal is always to get information – or climb up on my soap box and share my own opinion --- not to play “gotcha!” on SACAT! "
It’s important to note that the Community School is part of the School District and the School Committee is the only body legally responsible for the operations and oversight of the Community School. Any money “given” to the School District by the Community School is money that is ALREADY “owned” by the School District.
Our schools will be facing numerous financial challenges in the coming years. I hope Mr. Lehane will apply the same entrepreneurial spirit he has exhibited at the Community School for the benefit of all of the students in the Sandwich Public Schools.
Robert F. Simmons, Jr.
(NOTE -- When this was written, it was not known that the Community School no longer paid for pool utilities.)
1 comment:
Just because the message is consistent, and apparently very accurate, doesn't mean people will believe it --- especially if it means disrupting somebody's little club ... or admitting they either had no understanding of what they were doing or were liars.
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