NPS Stands to Lose 66 positions

Norwalk Public Schools may cut up to 66 positions next year, according to budget documents presented at Thursday’s meeting of the Board of Education's Finance Committee. This list includes 20 teaching positions, five elementary assistant principals, one director level position and one instructional specialist.

The possible job losses came to light as the Finance Committee met to begin what promises to be a lengthy budget reconciliation process. Norwalk Public Schools has to cut $6 million from its current spending plan after the Common Council capped its budget at $153.3 million, a 2.4 percent increase over last year.

On a more positive note, several positions were taken off the chopping block, including housemasters at Norwalk High and Brien McMahon, assistant principals at Ponus Ridge and West Rocks Middle Schools, the school to career program, the swimming and ice hockey teams, and band transportation.
Superintendent Susan Marks stressed that the list of cuts is not final. “This is a starting point. No decisions have been made. We are still taking things in and out. These are some ideas,” she said.

As for the 20 teacher positions, schools Chief Operating Officer Craig Drezek said that includes 14 anticipated retirements. Marks said she’ll be looking at enrollment projections and class sizes but did not rule out cutting teachers of “specials” such as art, music and physical education. Three additional elementary assistant principal positions were on the new list — this is on top of two already slated for reduction on the previous list.

Marks was not specific about which central office director or instructional specialist positions might be eliminated. In addition, one finance, technician and secretarial position has been added to the initial list of cuts from the central office. Districtwide, two secretarial positions, two interns and one food service position might be eliminated. Hours might be reduced for elementary school librarians.

In the first part of the meeting, Drezek presented an audit of the current year’s budget, which contained nearly $4 million in account overages. However, as a result of the hard spending freeze put in place by Marks in February, the district has recouped $2 million so far. Drezek, who arrived in Norwalk in February, recouped another $1.6 million by scouring the budget for savings.

“We have been working with every department and meeting with vendors,” Drezek said, noting that he has renegotiated insurance rates. “We’ve been nitpicking every transaction. We’re like a little mom-and-pop store trying to get by.”

Finance Committee Tonight/Thursday

The Finance Committee of the Board of Education will be meeting tonight, Thursday March 31 at 7 p.m, City Hall A300. 

After a week of tempers flaring and heated rhetoric, it's time to get back to work on the next year's budget.  Finance Committee Chair Steve Colarossi says that tonight's meeting will be "all about numbers."  New COO Craig Drezek has examined both this year's and next year's budget and has found some "variances" that may save the district some money.  He'll also give the committee an idea of how much money will go back into the budget from the state/ECS, jobs bill , and savings from insurance.  "This will give us more accurate numbers," says Colarossi.

financeagenda

Fay Ruotolo Leaving

Fay Ruotolo, NPS' Human Resources Director, will be leaving the district at the end of June according to a story in The Hour.

In the story,  Superintendent Susan Marks says she will  begin a search for a new Director next week and that person must hold a teaching certificate. "My experience is that position should be certified because the bulk of your hiring duties are for certified staff," she said.

Ruotolo has been in charge of Human Resources for close to 10 years. In recent years, she has come under criticism for her mishandling of several personnel matters including the hiring of Stacy Lore, a fake autism therapist. She was also criticized for the hiring of Dina McNelis, a substitute teacher with a history of abusive behavior towards students in this district and at other area schools. 

Last year the BOE voted 6 to 2 to renew Ruotolo's contract for one year for her $145,000 job, amid grumblings that no written evaluations had been conducted of her performance. The BOE added a requirement that written evaluation of Ruotolo be conducted within  six months time by Marks, which was conducted according to the article.

The departure of Ruotolo presents an opportunity for Marks to significantly influence the hiring of NPS teaching staff  and how evaluations are conducted. As a former Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources in Maryland, Marks herself was responsible for personnel matters. As such, she is perfectly positioned to make this important hire.

Democratic Town Committee Chairman on ECS "Discovery"

This is a letter to the editor from Marc Bradley, Norwalk Democratic Town Committee Chairman.  It references a March 22 article from The Hour.

Moccia the Magic Maker

I was amazed to read in Robert Koch’s article, Unions Urged to Accept Wage Freezes that the Mayor had magically come upon $1.4 million in additional Educational Cost Sharing (ECS) funds – a remarkable discovery on the eve of the Board of Estimate and Taxation’s public budget hearing.

The Mayor states that the $1.4 million in additional funding from Governor Malloy is meant to, “replace the (lost) federal stimulus money” and that he would graciously, “transfer that 1.4 million to the Board of Ed”. This would have been a fine gesture had a) the money actually been new funding and b) that the funding was meant to go anywhere BUT the Board of Education.

The $1.4 million referenced is a portion of Norwalk’s annual share of the ECS funding – funding that both the Mayor and the City’s Director of Finance, Tom Hamilton should have been well aware of.

While it is true that the State prevented a reduction in these funds for fiscal year 2012, the total amount compared to the previous 3 years has not increased or decreased a dime. ECS funding is distributed annually, to every municipality on a predetermined scale. For the past 3 years, Norwalk’s share of ECS funding has held steady around $10 million per year.

These funds are meant to supplement our school system. They are not monies meant to fill holes in the proverbial dike – you know, some extra spending cash that allows the Mayor to skim off the top of the annual Board of Education budget.

As a City that has a diverse student population with a variety of needs, the State funding is meant to add additional programs to enhance our school system. Time-and-time again this administration has used State ECS funding as a means to dilute our public school system, as an excuse to take additional municipal funds out of our kids’ schools.

If our schools fall behind, our property values will continue to slip, and our taxes will continue to rise. It is time that our Mayor stops playing games with Norwalk’s taxpayers, voters, and public schools. The blame game, Union finger pointing, and last minute gifts from the Mayor and his administration are not the ways to move Norwalk forward.

Marc Bradley
Norwalk Democratic Town Committee, Chairman

Around the area

Some of my colleagues at TheDailyNorwalk.com's sister websites have been covering school budgets. 


Westport Teachers Worried About Cutbacks
In Wesport, the school board voted not to renew contacts for 144 non-tenured teachers.


Budget Cuts May Limit Teachers in Fairfield
The Fairfield BOE recommended a 4.9 percent increase, but the first selectman is recommending a 3.75 percent. Fairfield's superintendent is expecting to make personnel cuts to make up the difference.

I'm out of town for a few days, and will resume posting next week. 

Capital Budget Cuts Expansion Plans, Programs to be Relocated

The plan to expand five crowded Norwalk elementary schools has been pared down by the Board of Education because of the city’s tight budget. Under the revised plan, Naramake and Rowayton elementary schools are prioritized for expansion, but neither school will get portable classrooms next year to handle overflow. Instead, certain programs at those schools will relocate to other locations.

At its meeting last Tuesday, the school board voted 4-1 with two abstentions to pass a revised $2.8 capital budget plan for the city. The initial plan had called for $4 million for next year.

Craig Drezek, the district's new chief operating officer, presented a plan that he said would address the district’s "immediate needs." The funds would come from money remaining from a previous construction grant, so no new funds are being requested.Next year's plan includes only funds for design work at Naramake and Rowayton, he said. Design and construction work at Jefferson, Cranbury and Columbus have been pushed back.

Additional portables at the two schools would have cost the district $350,000. "By relocating district programs in the two schools, this would give us options. It would free up space," said Drezek.
Superintendent Susan Marks supported the revised plan. “The financial situation forced us to think outside of the box,” said Marks. “We are going to have to move programs around. In doing so, we will make the best decision for the kids."

Although Drezek assured board members that “space was available” to move programs, neither he nor Marks were specific about which programs would be moved or where they would go. Drezek indicated that the "options were limited" because only programs that drew students from across the districts could be relocated.

Board member Sue Haynie said possibilities were discussed at a recent board finance committee meeting.  Naramake's Family Resource Center could move to Norwalk High school, where a preschool facility already exists, and Rowayton’s special education classrooms for emotionally disturbed students might move to Silvermine, which has space. Marks said nothing had been finalized and said a committee was evaluating options.

Haynie, who voted against the capital budget, was uneasy about the plan. She questioned whether Naramake would even need an addition if the Family Resource Center were to move out. She also questioned whether it was wise to move emotionally disturbed students from a familiar environment.
Haynie expressed concern about some of the delays. “I’m concerned that Jefferson is being pushed off, in spite of its growth," she said. Jefferson would not see construction until 2014-15 in the new plan. Haynie also said allocations were not made for repairs at eight schools that have been waiting for infrastructure upgrades.

Board members Jodi Bishop-Pullan and Migdalia Rivas abstained. “I’m not sure what we are doing with the space,” Bishop-Pullan said in explaining her vote.

Parent-Teacher Conference: Excited or Stressed?

My parent-teacher conference is this week. Every few months, I count down the days to this conference with a mix of excitement and anxiety. For 15 minutes I get to talk about my favorite subject: my kids. And not with my husband or mother, who it’s safe to say, are not exactly objective.

My kids’ teachers, on the other hand, are third party professionals. They spend as much, if not more, time with my children as I do on any given weekday. They have a frame of reference for comparison, and they see my kids' strengths and weaknesses in a way that it’s hard for me to.

The parent-teacher conference is a delicate dance. Teachers are expected to be honest but encouraging. My kids are both poor spellers, this I know. So I was glad when one teacher said plainly, “Your son’s an imaginative writer, but a terrible speller.”

I try hard to listen to constructive feedback and not to be defensive. While the conference might sometimes feel like an evaluation of my parenting skills, I know it is really about my kids as students.

As a parent of elementary school children, I end up asking a lot of questions about the social/emotional well-being of my kids. Who do they play with? Do they get along with other kids? Are they kind?

I also look for signs that teachers understand my children. Not like I do, of course. But a little something that indicates that they know how to motivate them. Do they get that my daughter has a great sense of humor and my son likes a little competition?

Parents, how do you approach your parent teacher conference? Teachers, what makes for the most productive conference? 

Calendar Changes Proposed

Next year, Norwalk students might have to go to school on Veteran’s Day and the second day of Rosh Hashanah, and have a shortened February break.  Their reward, though, would be getting out of school earlier in June.

This scenario was one of three Superintendent Susan Marks presented in draft calendars for 2011-12 to the Board of Education for discussion on Tuesday night.  The school year begins on August 31 in all three options. Also, they all have 181 days of school for students and 185 days for teachers, as pre-negotiated by their contracts.

Option 1:  A “status quo” calendar with the same holidays and vacations as this year.  The last day of school, barring snow days, is June 18.  (Feb. break may be used to make up snow days) 

Option 2:  Proposes one day off for Rosh Hashanah, not two and no day off for Veteran’s Day.  February break remains.  The last day is June 14. (Feb. break might be used to make up snow day)

Option 3: Same as Option 2, but shortens February break so that Feb 17, 20 and 21 are off.  The last day of school, barring snow days, would be June 12.

Marks assembled a calendar committee comprised of parents, teachers, administrators and union representatives.  She explained that the committee's mandate was to create a calendar that had more instruction time for students, was family friendly, employee friendly, and similar to local districts.
 “No calendar is going to please everyone and we weren’t able to come to consensus as a group about the calendar,” said Marks explaining why three options were presented.

Marks noted that Norwalk is the only area school district that takes the second day of Rosh Hashanah off, aside from Stamford. She also said that in many districts, schools are open on Veteran’s Day.  “They use it as a learning day about veterans.  It is more meaningful this way.”

Marks said she supports Option 3.  "It has more dates in the early part of the school year, before the testing."  Parents also preferred Option 3, as measured by a parent survey that was posted on the district’s website.  Several board members, including Sue Haynie, Jack Chiaramonte, Jodi Bishop-Pullan, Susan Hamilton and Glenn Iannacone, also indicated a preference for Option 3.

"This calendar has maximum instruction time and has a early end date on June 12," said Hamilton.
"I like that make-up days will be at the end of the year. Making up days during February break was not optimum for learrning," said Haynie of Option 3.

School board member Steve Colarossi, however, expressed concern about possible teacher absences on the second day of Rosh Hashanah.

During public comments, teachers’ union president Bruce Mellion said in a teacher survey he conducted, 57 percent voted for Option 1, 15 percent for Option 2 and 28 percent voted for Option 3. Next year's calendar will be voted on at the next Board of Education meeting.

Below are the draft calendars:

draft calendars(3)-1

BOE Revamps Child Abuse Policy

Every Norwalk Public School employee will soon be responsible for reporting suspected cases of child abuse to school administration.  Currently, only certain staff members such as teachers and principals have the authority to report cases of abuse. This Tuesday, however, the Board of Education is set to vote on a revised and more extensive child abuse policy.


“By making everyone a reporter, we give children the protection they deserve,” says Steve Colarossi, policy committee chairman. “The previous policy was short on details. We needed more specificity.”

Nine months in the making, the revamped nine-page policy is in response to two arrests made last year. In May, John Tate, an art teacher at Brien McMahon High School, was arrested on charges of having sex with a 17-year-old student. In the second case, Dina McNelis, a substitute teacher at Briggs, was arrested and charged with having "inappropriate" contact with middle school children.

After the arrests, parents and school officials questioned whether the school district had adequate policies to address abuse by school staff and whether they were appropriately followed. In response to community concerns, the policy committee of the Board of Education began a review of its child abuse policy at the end of last school year.

Just as the committee began its work, the state issued its own report on the subject. Then-Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and Jeanne Milstein, the state’s child advocate, released a report in July that examined child abuse cases in public schools across the state. It found that the state Department of Education, Department of Children and Families and school districts have all failed to adequately safeguard children. In particular, the report found fault with the rules regarding when school personnel must report abuse. “The attorney general’s report absolutely mirrored what we were working on,” says Colarossi, an attorney who was once a child abuse investigator.

“The committee saw the need for every member of the staff to become a ‘mandated reporter,'” Colarossi says of the biggest change in the revised policy. “Some children have a special relationship with someone on the secretarial staff or a custodian. That person should also be able to report abuse to their building administrator and understand the chain of command.”

The new policy also states that the superintendent should be notified “immediately” after the administrator. “Under the old policy, the superintendent would sometimes not know of the report until after the DCF investigation had started,” says Colarossi.

If the suspected abuser is a school employee, the updated policy also contains a provision that gives the superintendent authority to put the employee on “immediate administrative leave,” pending a DCF and police investigation. Colarossi says it was “critical to give the superintendent the authority to undergo her own investigation of the case.”

The committee invited student advocates from Brien McMahon’s Center for Youth Leadership to participate in policy-making discussions. Based on the student comments, the policy now states that schools cannot “discriminate or retaliate” against a student or employee who “in good faith” makes a report against another school employee. “The kids felt like they were listened to and heard,” says Bob Kocienda, director of the youth center.

Districtwide training on the new policy is needed, says Colarossi. All employees will receive copies. Colarossi doesn’t expect much associated cost with training. “We made the policy like a step-by-step instruction manual.”

Legislators Reject Bill to Raise Kindergarten Age

A proposed bill to raise the age of children entering kindergarten has been killed by state legislators. The bill received the backing of the State Board of Education in December but failed last week to gain the support of the legislature's Education Committee.

Currently, children can begin kindergarten in September as long as they turn 5 by Dec. 31. The rejected bill would have pushed back the cutoff date to Oct. 1, making the 10,000 children born in October, November and December wait another year before starting public schools.

Lawmakers were concerned that these families would have pay for another year of preschool. "This is not the right time to put undue financial burden on families to pay for another year of preschool," says Sen. Toni Boucher, R-26th District, a member of the Education Committee who represents Bethel, New Canaan, Redding, Ridgefield, Weston, Westport and Wilton.

In addition, the state budget doesn't allow for the expansion of preschool programs for low-income children. State officials have estimated it would cost about $37 million a year to provide preschool for about 4,400 low-income students who would have been affected by the change in enrollment age.
But timing aside, Boucher is in favor of the change because Connecticut has the latest kindergarten cutoff date in the nation. "We are out of synch with the rest of the country. ... We should be consistent with everyone else."

Dana Gorman, a preschool teacher at the Community Cooperative Nursery School in Rowayton, says the late date causes problems for some parents. "I have experienced the angst of parents who travel between states for jobs," says Gorman. "Parents want to keep their child in line with the age for one state, should they have to move back, causing them to withhold their child from kindergarten in Connecticut."

Some parents, especially in wealthier districts, hold back their children for developmental or physical reasons — a practice commonly known as redshirting. "It's a vicious cycle. Children are held back, causing older children to be in kindergarten, which in turn leads to a more academic kindergarten, coming full circle to parents holding their children back," says Gorman. "Of course, the parents who cannot afford that additional year of preschool have to send their children to a class that has lost much of its developmental appropriateness for 4-year-olds as it is now teaching 6-year-olds."

The legislative committee agreed to part of the bill that would help reduce the age range in kindergarten. Parents would be required to enroll children if they turn 6 during the school year, keeping 7-year-olds out of kindergarten classrooms. The revised bill does allow for waivers in special circumstances.

Is Seniority Fair?

This year's budget woes mean statewide teacher layoffs.  According the Hartford Courant, the loss of federal funds and increased costs could double the 1,500 teachers laid off in state last year.  Layoffs are determined by which teachers have been on the job the longest.  The "last in first out" policy is set by provisions in union contracts and protected by state law.  In Norwalk, the rule applies to aides and other school personnel as well. 

Education advocates have questionned the policy, but this year, the issue has taken center stage. On Sunday,  the Courant ran an op-ed,  Teacher Layoffs Schools Should Have The Power To Retain Their Best Teachers

A "last in, first out" policy is a disservice to the state's children as well as an affront to common sense. Most good organizations, when faced with downsizing, try to keep their best people, regardless of how long they've been on the job. Schools should be allowed to keep their best teachers.

The Courant also criticizes the practice of tenure which it says "makes it nearly impossible to fire a poor teacher, or requires a good young teacher to be laid off ahead of a longtime seat-warmer, it's not working for the best interest of children or the interests of the state."

In lieu of a statewide evaluation system that is expected in 2013, the editorial urges the General Assembly to "do what Rhode Island did last year and the New York state Senate did last week, and that is to pass legislation allowing school districts to consider factors other than seniority when making layoff decisions."

Gov. Dannel Malloy raised the issue in his budget address, proposing a reform of teacher tenure rules "to give local school districts the flexibility they need to retain new, talented teachers."

Opponents of such measures argue that removing seniority would put senior teachers at risk during budget crunches. More money could be saved by firing an "expensive" veteran teacher vs a "cheaper" first or second year teacher.   


Personally, I tend to prefer older teachers for my elementary school aged children. There's something about all that experience that is reassuring. Teaching is a skill that takes practice and time to hone, right?  My sister did Teach for America in Oakland, CA and she says that she still feels badly about her first year of teaching.   In spite of all her good intentions, her summer training did not prepare her for the rigors of the classroom.  Most of her batchmates left teaching after two years.  She ended up teaching for 10 years and getting a Master's in Education.  (She now writes science curriculum).

Fortunately, Norwalk probably won't lose lots of teachers this year so this issue may not be as urgent as in other parts of the state.  Seniority does, however,  impact aides, administrators and specialists.  What do you think of seniority rules? 

Sup Says: Central Office Not Fat

A version of this story appears in TheDailyNorwalk.com

With money tight at the Norwalk Board of Education, parents and city officials are trying to keep cuts away from the classrooms. Many are looking for savings from the school district’s central office. Next year’s school spending plan allocates about 40 percent of the district’s $155 million budget to “central office departments,” but Superintendent Susan Marks calls that number misleading.


Most of that money directly supports the schools and not the central office, says Marks. Only 7 percent of the district’s spending is on administrators, including principals, and 2 percent is spent on administrators who work at central office, she says. “I’m frustrated that there is talk about all the fat at central office,” says Marks.

After the Common Council set spending at 2.4 percent, less than the school board’s recommendation, Marks must look for more cuts. “I’ll need to think about reorganizing the central office in certain ways.” Already, she has proposed cutting two math coaches, 1.5 literacy coaches and 1.5 information technology staff members. She also anticipates deep school-based cuts.

Most of the central office expenses are for services to the schools, such as transportation and benefits to employees. For example, human resources contains allocations for substitutes and retirement contributions for noncertified staff. Special education services, such as out-of-district services, are also allocated to this part of the budget. Employee benefits, including health, life and dental insurance, amounts to $27 million and fall under finance. Also, all maintenance is administered through the central office, including the rental of classroom portables.

Board of Estimation & Taxation Chair Fred Wilms sees an opportunity to consolidate services between City Hall and the Board of Education. For the past year, Wilms led a committee to find savings. It has worked to consolidate purchasing, legal, payroll, printing, courier services, postage and phone services. Wilms sees room for further consolidations in information technology, finance, human resources functions and secretarial staff.

Wilms does not have an exact amount saved but says, “It is safe to say we have saved several hundred thousand dollars per year.” Marks says she is open to partnering with the city for cost savings where it “makes sense.”

Marks pushes back on cutting instructional specialists. “How will our teachers get training?," she asks. When Marks arrived in July, she was surprised there were no specialists beyond reading, language arts, math and science. “What about the arts and foreign language?”

When dark budget clouds clear, Marks hopes to invest in data systems that will improve central office efficiency and give her access to much more student information. Currently, she’s looking for private funds to audit the district’s current curriculum. She recently obtained a private grant so that all ninth- and 10th-graders can take the PSAT.

As a career educator, Marks says the tension between the central office and the schools is not uncommon. However, she says it is important to understand the key the central office plays in districtwide improvement. “If you read the research about schools systems that improve and are running at a high level, you see a strong central office that leads that effort.”

Marks says, “What we have to do is to make sure that central office employees are all working for the benefit of children and making sure the principals and teachers are getting the support they need.”

For those of you interested in the role of central office in improving district wide performance,   The Wallace Foundation did a study last year:  Central Office Transformation for District-Wide Teaching and Learning Improvement

Our findings reveal that leaders in these systems, first and foremost, understood what decades of experience and research have shown: that districts generally do not see districtwide improvements in teaching and learning without substantial engagement by their central offices in helping all schools build their capacity for improvement. Central offices and the people who work in them are not simply part of the background noise in school improvement. Rather, school district central office administrators exercise essential leadership, in partnership with school leaders, to build capacity throughout public educational systems for teaching and learning improvements.