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About Erving School Union #28
Governance Each local school committee elects 3 of its members to serve on the Union #28 Joint Supervisory School Committee. This governing board is comprised of 15 members, three from each of the 5 communities served by the Union . Each member has an equal vote on the committee and each community is equally represented. The primary duties of the Joint Supervisory Committee are to hire, evaluate and supervise the Union #28 superintendent. It also negotiates the contract for the superintendent, as well as sets the budget for Central Office functions. In addition, the Committee creates policy and procedures that guide the superintendent and/or central office in their operations. Financial The Union #28 Joint Supervisory Committee votes an annual budget for the Union #28 Central Office expenses. However, before this budget is voted, it is thoroughly vetted and reviewed, first by the Union #28 Budget and Personnel SubCommittee, then by each of the local school committees. Each year, the proposed Union #28 budget is reviewed at the local school committee meetings and town/public input is received. Once these local 'hearings' have occurred, the Budget and Personnel SubCommittee reviews the feedback received and creates a recommendation for the full Union #28 Joint Supervisory Committee. A public hearing is held at the January Union #28 Joint Supervisory School Committee meeting and a budget is voted. Each town then pays a percentage of the Union #28 budget based upon the percentage of enrollment their students comprise for the entire Union #28 student population. Personnel The Erving School Union #28 District provides each of the above school districts with the following Central Office positions/services:
Each of these employees serves all four school districts, and each district is charged on a per-pupil percentage for the employee's salary and benefits. The school districts also share a Grant Coordinator for the Community Network for Children which in 2009, due to grant reductions and state reconfigurations, consolidated the program offerings for its Community Partnership for Children Program (CPC) and its Family Network Program. Prior to 2006, each of the Union #28 school districts had their own CPC grant and coordinator. The consolidation of these grants has reduced redundancies, freeing more money to be applied directly to children services. Prior to 2006, each school also had a part-time special education secretary. Cumulatively, there were over 50 hours of time spent per week accomplishing the necessary tasks for the individual school districts. In 2006, the position was consolidated and brought to the Central Office. Once again, by reducing redundancies, the job is being done more efficiently within a normal 40 hour work week. Since each of the elementary school districts is relatively small, there are no extra administrative layers in the Central Office or at the building level. The Superintendent, Special Education Director and Principals, in concert with the teaching staff in the schools, address most of the curricular review, planning and implementation. In the 2009 school year, the Principals did collaboratively pool their Title IIA grant monies together to hire a .4 Curriculum Coordinator. This coordinator has helped the Principals facilitate curriculum discussions, gather curricula and program data for the schools and assist in looking at and revising current curriculum documents. The principals do not have Vice-Principals to assist with discipline or staff supervisory duties. These tasks are handled exclusively by the Principals with the support of the Superintendent. The Special Education Director, in addition to overseeing all of the special education programs for each district, writes the Federal Grants for the districts and serves as the Union #28 English Language Learning Director, as well as Title I Director. The Superintendent for Union #28 works directly with the Principals on curricular, personnel and school-related issues. The Superintendent works with the Director of Finance and Operations and the Principals to create and oversee each of the school budgets. The Superintendent also works directly with the School Committees on policy revision and development, as well as contractual matters. Legal counsel to assist with personnel negotiations is limited - instead, the Superintendent and Director of Finance and Operations are primary negotiating agents for the School Committees. In the schools, personnel frequently have more than one role (e.g. the school nurse also teaches health) and most staff members serve on at least one task-force committee. Union #28 and County Collaborative Efforts In addition to the above cost-sharing/saving efforts, the Union school districts also share professional development resources. Union-wide curricula days are scheduled and professional development activities are planned for the entire Union on these days. Legal advice is sought in a collective way to save costs, and a number of employees work for more than one school district. The Superintendent for Union #28 has been working with an area legislator to get new language added to G.L. Ch.32B S. 2(d) to make it easier for the Union to share employees and work out equitable cost-sharing measures to provide benefits to these employees. If this legislation were to be implemented, there would be additional ways that Union #28 could share employees and save money. Union #28 school districts also tap into county and other collaborative entities to save money and be more efficient. Currently Union #28 is using the Lower Pioneer Valley Collaborative to purchase oil at a lower price. This collaborative also offers special education transportation at shared costs and takes on the lion's share of administrative duties to secure Medicaid reimbursements. The fee that is charged is much less than if each school district had to hire a staff member to oversee and complete these administrative tasks. The Union #28 Special Education Director also works with other special education directors to share transportation routes and expenses for students going to out-of-district placements. Whenever possible, public special education programs in neighboring school districts are used rather than having the students attend more expensive private placements. The special education directors meet regularly to discuss ways to collaborate, as do the Franklin County superintendents and business managers. Union #28 networks and collaborates with other Franklin County and Pioneer Valley public schools and entities in a number of ways. Its school districts access the Hampshire County bid for the purchase of some supplies and materials. Union #28 also joins with eight other Franklin County school districts to provide professional development opportunities to its teachers and support staff. For one day during the fall, all school districts schedule the same curriculum day. On this day, a number of professional development activities are conducted. These are publicized throughout the school districts and most are open for all to attend. For the past sixteen years, the Franklin County Professional Development Team also has coordinated a professional development Summer Academy for public school employees in Franklin County (and beyond). Typically 3-4 dozen different workshops/courses/seminars are offered. These cover all four content areas as well as special subjects, technology, health and safety. It would be cost-prohibitive for any one district to offer these programs at a significant cost savings to the individual districts. (A number of the presenters are veteran teachers who offer workshops for free or at extremely reasonable rates.) Grant Resources and Collaboration All of the Union #28 school districts are members of the Collaborative for Educational Services (CES; formerly known as HEC). This Collaborative provides a number of services to its members including professional development, limited legal advice, reduced rates on special education programs, participating in grants, etc... The Union #28 school districts also collaborate with other Franklin County school districts to apply for and secure state and federal grants. Recent examples of this have included Union #28's participation in STEM (Science Technology Engineering Mathematics), a program funded by the National Science Foundation. Over the last four years, Union #28 schools have received grant money to sponsor STEM Research Academies for Young Scientists (STEM RAYS). They have also participated in the federally funded Teaching American History grant. Multiple school districts throughout Franklin, Hampshire and Hampden Counties (including Union #28 schools) have participated in the program which offers free comprehensive course offerings, seminars and workshops to teachers, along with providing money for field trips and materials for their classes. A third example of a shared grant opportunity has been Union #28's participation in the CRISTAL (Cooperative Regional Storage for Teaching and Learning) projects that have occurred over the years. The overall goal of these projects has been using data to understand and develop strategies to address achievement gaps in at-risk populations in the partner schools and to make informed decisions on how to improve student performance for all students. Benefits of Collaboration and Community Commitment As one can see from the above information, the Erving School Union #28 School Districts (i.e. Erving Elementary School District, Leverett Elementary School District, Shutesbury Elementary School District and the New Salem-Wendell Regional School District) are engaging in numerous cost-saving and efficiency efforts. As much as Union #28 was formed to assist these five rural communities financially, the primary focus of the communities and school personnel has been to provide the highest quality educational experience possible for its children. Because these communities feel so passionately about providing a high-quality education for their children, they have funded their local school budgets very well, and have made the difficult choices about Prop. 2 1/2 overrides to ensure that the schools have not only the core and essential programs, but also a number of very enriching additional programs. Each of the Union #28 school districts has:
In addition to parents and community members choosing to fund their local elementary school well, these same people give hundreds of hours of in-kind service to support their local schools. They volunteer in classrooms, donate materials and supplies, serve as guest speakers, assist with special arts programs, chaperone field trips, raise funds, work on school newspapers, providing grant writing, work at PTO events, etc... etc... One could never capture all of the in-kind support that Union #28 parents and community members give to their local schools. Student Performance Last, but not least, Union #28 students perform very well on the state standardized tests. Even though there have been small, isolated, cohorts of students who have struggled with the rigorous expectations of these 'high stakes' tests, each of the schools has been able to address those needs and has helped all students to demonstrate improved or sufficient progress. The schools are currently using a number of measures to monitor student progress and analyze data so that instruction can be modified to meet student needs. These actions have helped our students to perform very well on these state tests and in their general learning. In summary, the Erving School Union #28 member schools are truly dedicated to the task of educating their children (the whole child) and preparing them for the 21st century. It is a strong partnership between school personnel, parents and community that ensures that these schools are successful, not just on state mandated tests and AYP measures set by NCLB, but on how well these children do when they head to middle and high school, and even more importantly, how well they do beyond their secondary education as they enter the real world - as college students, workers, and citizens ready to make their contributions to society. The Union #28 students have done very well in this regard because their teachers, school administrators, parents and community members cared enough to provide them with the education and tools that they would need to be successful. The Union #28 school districts are always looking for ways to save money, continually improve efficiency, and collaborate with other educational and business entities. However, their first commitment is to provide their children, the future citizens of the world, with a public education that has the highest standards and quality possible. Erving School Union #28 |
