Proposed amount to be added to the Regional District budget in FY10 for the Bridges Program in the middle school. This would go for 2 "professionals" (from the salary level I assume these would be teachers?) and one paraprofessional. So we would be adding $128,000 for this compared to eliminating $118,800 (2.20 FTE) for world languages. Available to ALL seventh graders, presumably also students in Bridges.
What, I asked myself, is the Bridges Program and how many students does it serve? I was able to answer the second part of the question through the Amherst Regional School District Budget Planning Information document. According to page 28, there were 8 students enrolled in Bridges this year. Yes, 8. At this point, according to the same data table, there are 2.0 FTE dedicated to this program. Resulting in a staff:student ratio of 4:1. Pretty good! So by adding an additional 3.0 FTE to Bridges next year, it would bring the total FTE to 5.0. This represents an increase of 250% for this program. So unless the district is also anticipating a 250% growth in Bridges students (which would mean there would be 20 students enrolled in FY10), this represents a significant increase in resources for a very small group of students.
As to what, exactly, the Bridges Program is, I still have no definitive answer. It is listed under "specialized programs" in the planning document and was listed under "special programs" in the recent presentation given by Principal Cresto to incoming seventh grade parents at the middle school. Nothing further. I do remember someone at the February 24th School Committee meeting asking why so much money was being put into Bridges but the only answer that was given (by then-Superintendent Vivian) was that if we didn't add these resources to Bridges, the parents of these students may well tuition their children out to other districts (a topic I will post about soon because it has yielded some very interesting information).
So, I am left with facing the possibility of my rising seventh grader (and almost 300 others like him) being unable to take a language next year while the 8 students currently enrolled in Bridges get an increase of 250% to their teaching/professional staff next year. I have nothing against these students or this program (how could I when I really know nothing about it?!), but in these hard times, hard choices must be made and I hope the School Committee is looking at these same numbers and also wondering, "is this money being best spent toward the education of the students in our care?"
2 comments:
I am a certified teacher with a number of years in the schools so I hope I can be of some assistance.
I believe the numbers in your Specialized Programs Chart under FTE reflect two types of positions - the first number being professional positions and the second being paraprofessional positions so there are actually more positions than you have indicated.
I am troubled that the school committee would dismiss discussion because IEPs are involved. On that basis a good chunk of the budget would never get talked about. You obviously can not talk about specific students but the superintendent should be able to explain each specialized program and the rationale for the staffing. Numbers in specialized programs are often in flux and especially for therapeutic programs so that the likelihood the numbers will double next year are slim. I am a special educator but worry that special education programs have a tendency to grow much faster than is often warranted. Unless every child needs a 1:1, IEPs do not generally drive staffing levels. Much of this is at the discretion of the school system.
Parents could certainly pull their children out of any specialized program and pay for it themselves if they are not happy. However, there is a process by which you would come to a determination that a particular program was not the least restrictive program to meet a child's needs and have the school pay for an outside setting. A hearing would be set up if an agreement can't be reached. So much seems to be justified by the belief that many Amherst parents of children on IEPs are just waiting to ship their child off to some expensive school on a long van ride each day. Most parents want to keep their children close to home. Amherst has a great system and most children's needs can be met in house.
As with AIG and their "retention" bonuses it seems Amherst is willing to spend a lot of money to retain students that are probably getting a great education and are not in danger of leaving. We do needed to balance the needs of all the students so the $128,000 questions is an excellent one.
Anon 6:11PM: Thank you so much for clarifying the numbers in that chart!! That is so helpful. You are right, though, this does mean that there are many more FTEs in each of these programs than I had originally thought. Even more reason to take a look at them, I think. Especially if your assessment, as an insider, is true. I appreciate your candor.
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