As mentioned in an earlier blog post, social networking sites can be wonderful sources of information. This is true when the information posted is factual, empirically based, and is written with the intent of promoting some type of public good. In many cases however, posts on sites such as Facebook can be written by individuals who misinterpret facts, only serving to proliferate their own misunderstandings.
Recently I was made aware of some military terminology that is fitting for this situation. In war there are two types of truth. The Official Truth is what people are willing to say publicly about things, and the Ground Truth is terminology that accurately reflects real life events. The two statements below provide an educational example of Official Truth vs. Ground Truth.
Official Truth: Our students MCAS scores are higher than many students statewide who are from similar socioeconomic backgrounds. This statement may be viewed as propaganda.
Ground Truth: Our students are consistently not meeting accountability standards set forth by the state. They are failing the MCAS in alarming numbers. This statement is a cold hard fact.
This blog post is written in response to a recent post on Facebook by a member of the Orange Taxpayers Association. In an effort to provide readers with Ground Truth, I will dissect the post one statement at a time. I have found this level of honesty about our situation is appreciated by many faculty and parents in our school community.
Ms. Piro's statements are in black
Mr. Baldassarre's statements are in red
Ms. Piro: I have asked Mr. Baldassarre how much in extra expenses it will cost the town if we regionalize.
Mr. Baldassarre: This statement is true. To clarify, I have posted the entire electronic correspondence from Ms. Piro with my response to her at the bottom of this post. You can read every question that Ms. Piro asked of me, and every response that I provided.
Ms. Piro: If we regionalize- all the elementary teachers pay will go up to meet the pay already received at the Mahar level, if the pay raises outweigh the bus savings, then financially it will hurt the town.
Mr. Baldassarre: The statement made by Ms. Piro here is not ground truth. Our consultants are currently conducting a financial analysis of the exact increases in salary for teachers if they are negotiated that way. In order for the salary schedules to be made final three teacher contracts must be merged and three non teaching contracts must be merged. All six of these mergers will involve intense negotiations with the new school committee.
A Mahar teacher with a Masters Degree in his/her first year of teaching is paid $305.00 less per year than a teacher with a Masters Degree at Orange Elementary.
A Mahar teacher with a Bachelor’s Degree in his/her 14th year of teaching will be paid $1,015.00 less than an Orange Elementary Teacher in his her 14th year of teaching if he/she has a Bachelors Degree and 18 additional credit hours.
You see, our pay scales are different. They are available for any reader to see. And I recommend perusing these documents before publishing statements about them. The bottom line, ground truth is that the salaries have to be negotiated. The union and the school committee have the right to collectively bargain.
Ms Piro: I also asked if we are implementing the suggestions from the DOE report of 2011, the suggestions in this report which I posted here a couple weeks ago, had very serious issues with the curriculum in certain areas, critical thinking skills and conversations for the students, continuity of curriculum from Fisher to Dexter to Butterfield, and the end result being poor MCAS scores, these are not money problems, but management problems, have we fixed these issues yet?
Mr. Baldassarre: The above is not true. As you will see in the correspondence posted to the blog from me to Ms. Piro, no such question has ever been asked of me. Unfortunately, those opposed to regionalization have failed to express any concerns of the quality of our educational programs via e-mail or in open sessions. This should alert those who are interested in improving education for our students.
Ms. Piro: Not enough information on the questions I am asking to warrant the regionalization at this time.
Mr. Baldassarre: We will have an informational session on October 13, 2011 here at Mahar at 7:00 PM. This is an open meeting. I have posted information on this blog and there is central office consolidation website on the mahar webpage (http://www.rcmahar.org/central-office-consolidation-website/). There readers can find a video in which we engaged a public question and answer session about this topic.
Ms. Piro: If we fund our elementary and make the changes the DOE has suggested, then our students will get a better education and we will still own our school system, I think these needs to be done first before we jump into a new system that so far, is only offering a savings to the town for one year.
Mr. Baldassarre: The elementary schools have been funded up to 20% less than the average of districts across the state in 2010, 2011, and now in 2012. The students in Orange are not being given the opportunity to compete with students from more than 300 districts in Massachusetts because of the funding issues. What Ms. Piro says is true however. If the elementary schools were given a little more than $1,000,000.00 more each year the children would be subject to a higher quality education. Of course another way to solve this issue would be to increase district capacity. This can be achieved through regionalization.
Ms. Piro: Bus costs fluctuate; pay raises only keep going up. We cannot afford to make the wrong decision.
Mr. Baldassarre: Bus costs do fluctuate. Fortunately for those in regional school districts like Mahar, our transportation costs are reimbursed by the state. This year Mahar received $309,502.00. Orange received $0.00. The state pays a portion of regional transportation. In Orange, transportation is paid for by the taxpayers.
Electonic Correspondence Below: Sent to from Mr. Baldassarre to Ms. Piro
Copied and Pasted to this Site September 2, 2011
Ms. Piro's statements are in black
Mr. Baldassarre's statements are in red
From: Michael Baldassarre
Sent: Monday, August 15, 2011 6:04 PM
To: 'nqac@verizon.net'
Subject: RE: Regionalization
Ms. Piro: Hi Mike - Brenda Piro here- I couldn't make the last meeting but will make the next - It was posted for Sept 1 st, it was also posted albeit FB that the BOS are in support of this- is that true?
Mr. Baldassarre: Hello Brenda and thank you for your correspondence. The next regionalization planning meeting is in fact on September 1, 2011 at 6:30 PM in the Media Center at Mahar. I have not been given any indication that the Board of Selectmen are against our regional effort. If this were the case, I would have to ask for reasons. You see, we have already consolidated central offices, special education administration, maintenance, technology, and cafeteria services. The final piece, an approved agreement means up to $300,000.00 in additional aid every year. Why would one turn down such funding???
Ms. Piro: I am familiar with the 2 assessments, one question I have is a comparison of what the assessment would be for elementary 2011/12 vs what they asked for at town meeting.
If we were a region- what assessment would be used?
Mr. Baldassarre: I am not clear on your question about the “two assessments.” There is really only one assessment – the statutory method that has ever been used. In this case, 3 of 4 towns must agree to pass a budget. The alternative assessment cannot be characterized by using terminology that defines it as a single assessment. This assessment methodology can be different every year. It can be changed at the discretion of the school committee. All four towns must agree in order for any alternative assessment to be passed.
If we become a larger region the rules for assessing the towns would be the same. 3 out of 4 for statutory, and 4 out of 4 for any alternative to that.
Ms. Piro: they asked for 5385037 and got 5083060- in the new regional scenario- what would that figure be?:
Mr. Baldassarre: These numbers are incorrect. The budget was again reduced to 5.037 million dollars. It appears very likely that Net School Spending will not be met in fiscal year 2012 – which is a real travesty. This will mean that NSS has not been met in three consecutive years. On average schools in the commonwealth are funded at 13% above NSS. Orange Elementary’s funding being below NSS means that our students receive close to 20% less than students across the state. But to answer your question, we would not know the outcome of the assessment until the towns voted. It is up to the school committee and the people of the towns. To illustrate this, I have attached a document that defines the proposed process.
Ms. Piro: I realize this is simplified as people are told there will be additional revenues coming in if we regionalize - but this is the question taxpayers are concerned of - a simple breakdown of funds that will rise if we consolidate would be helpful. I think if the answers are " shot from the belt" rather than the over complicated - take the long road around so as to create confusion- (not that you do it ) citizens wil understand, many citizens just want the financial breakdown- not the structure that gets us to the finances.
Mr. Baldassarre: It is true that this topic is complicated, and we are doing our best to ensure that everyone has the most accurate and empirical information. In a nutshell, here is what we stand to gain by regionalizing:
1. $50.00 in one-time bonus aid per student. With approximately 1800 students this equates to $90,000.00
2. 56% in regional transportation reimbursement. This means approximately $200,000.00 for Orange every single year. This can go up, and has been as high as 85% in recent years.
Ms. Piro: This town has a long history of frugal savers- thats how our coffers 10 years ago had 7 million in them, they have listened to our governance tell them that do this- this is good, and watched as the 7 million was spent in less than a decade.
Mr. Baldassarre: Right now, things do not look so optimistic. It is not my position to comment on town matters. As an ambassador for the schools however, state takeover of the elementary system should be on the radar of the town’s leadership. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has implemented a serious system for school accountability under the No Child Left Behind Act. It should not be taken lightly.
Ms. Piro: So..... you need to understand this past with our town. Citizens are extremely upset, with good cause. We have seen the management of our town not go to the good of the community. We pay people here the same pay to do a job that others do with much greater populations and responsibilities. We have always been a poor town- we are the 9th poorest in 353 communities in Mass. We have the 21st higest tax rate, our children are not doing well in school, and we act( financially) like we have cadillac services,of which many would beg to differ.
Mr. Baldassarre: It is my sincerest hope that I will have be able to provide you along with our parents and teachers with an understanding of all that has taken place over the past few years. I do not do this by stating my opinions however. I will be rooting any and all statements in facts that are made available via audits and document analysis.
Ms. Piro: also- it was stated that Orange would have to accept the budget or it wouldnt go through- I find that hard to believe- could you clarify?
Orange would have 5 members- other towns 7 ? Is this true?
Mr. Baldassarre:
Orange – 5
Petersham – 2
New Salem – 2
Wendell – 2
It takes a 2/3 vote of the school committee to pass a budget. This means that 8 of 11 must agree to pass a budget. If Orange representatives choose to, they will be able to stop a budget from moving forward since they will have 5 members.
Ms. Piro: what would the sub committes function be, and thier powers- if any?
Mr. Baldassarre: Subcommittees advise the full committee.
Ms. Piro: Information told to citizens at Fincom was the audit hadn't been done since 2010- FB parent at school meeting said 2003- clarify?
Mr. Baldassarre: The end of year report is required pursuant to 603 CMR 10.10 to be audited every year. Orange Elementary has not had its end of year report audited since 2002. I have attached a letter from DESE ordering that an audit of Fiscal Year 2010 be completed. Once information is available I will issue a report.
Ms. Piro: Thank you for your time- It would be nice to sit and ask questions, If you have time for a 1/2 hr meeting I would surely appreciate it- Talk Soon
Mr. Baldassarre: I’d love to get together. Just let me know what works for you.
Michael Baldassarre, Superintendent of Schools
Ralph C. Mahar Regional School District
Orange Elementary Schools
Petersham Center School
507 South Main Street
PO Box 680
Orange, MA 01364
Office: 978-544-2920
Fax: 978-544-8383
Website: www.rcmahar.org
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