Savings Reinvested in What Matters

As Published in Local Papers, Week of November 12, 2012

For the past three years the Orange Elementary Schools, Mahar Regional, and Petersham Center School have been sharing a consolidated Administration for Special Education, and the same three districts are now in their second year of sharing all Central Office Services and Administration of Technology. Orange Elementary and Ralph C. Mahar Regional (without Petersham Center) are in their second year of sharing Administration for Food Services Management. The spirit of saving resources by sharing services also appears to be on the brink of permeating Town Hall as the new Orange Town Administrator, Diana Schindler and I have begun sharing ideas about how we can team up to do more with less!


The consolidation of the schools’ Central Offices began with considerable commotion. For starters, the Orange Elementary School District was faced with a half-million dollar deficit that could only be alleviated through cuts in staff. On top of this Orange Elementary was faced with a decaying technological infrastructure and pressure from the Department of Education to improve student performance on standardized testing. Up the street, Mahar Regional prepared for a ten-year accreditation visit by a team of 14 people from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), and all three districts began to struggle through the initiation of a new system for educator evaluation that was forced by the State.

As if this was not enough, the roof at the Dexter Park Elementary School continued to leak water, the chairlift at Butterfield Elementary School was in need of repair, and the Dam at Mahar Regional started making front page news on a regular basis. The roof at Dexter Park and Mahar Dam alone threatened to constitute about another half-million in spending for the district and the Town.


Just yesterday I was asked about the shared cost agreement that was voted by all three school committees seemingly so long ago. I took a moment to reflect on that document this morning and actually found myself smiling because I am starting to realize how the actions that the committees have taken are paying off for our children. In all the consolidation of Technology, Special Education, and Central Office Administration has saved the partnering districts hundreds of thousands of dollars.


Some of these savings are easily seen. For instance one Technology Administrator instead of three, one Special Education Administrator instead of three, one Cafeteria Director instead of two, and one Superintendent Salary with two Assistants instead of three Superintendents, and all with health and dental care plan costs that are shared by the three districts approaches $200,000.00 in savings each year. By the end of this fiscal year nearly $500,000.00 will have been saved in salary and benefits alone.


Then there are savings that are not so easily seen. For instance, every time counseling, speech, or psychological services are shared in the Special Education Department and every time joint contracts for services across the districts are negotiated the taxpayers continue to save. Let us not forget partnerships such as those in the ASPIRE afterschool care program. Under normal circumstances the transportation of Petersham students from Petersham Center to the program at Mahar would cost nearly $17,000.00 per year. This expense would be incurred by the taxpayers from Petersham or the parents of the children who participate. In the current partnership the cost to the parents and Petersham Center School for transport to Mahar is $0.00.


I am happy to report that the savings you have just read about have been put to use in improving the quality educational environment for all of our students. In the Orange Elementary Schools all three school buildings now have full access to the Internet – without wires. 72 brand new Mac Airs (new high tech laptops) and 140 iPads have been deployed to the elementary schools for student use. This is the equipment that many educators across the country use everyday in their classrooms – and we are proud to say that we finally have this technology in Orange.


The leaky roof at Dexter Park is fixed, the chairlift repair at Butterfield is underway, the accreditation team has come and gone at Mahar, the Mahar Dam issue is going to be handled by a generous group of volunteers, and we are hopeful that assessments to our member towns will be reduced in Fiscal Year 2014. Art instruction and Physical Education are back at Orange Elementary along with additional support in reading. We are also scheduling the purchase of a brand new math curriculum in January 2013, which is outstanding considering that our teachers were called upon to provide instruction without for far too many years.


As you can see the administrators, teachers, and staff of our three districts have dealt with a lot in recent years. I would be remiss if I did not take this opportunity to publicly applaud their efforts. Their willingness to engage in professional development and to pursue data driven techniques for the improvement of student learning is noted and should be appreciated by all. If you have gotten this far into this article and are the parent or friend of an employee in our three systems, please take a moment to send them a note of thanks.


Because of their hard work and efforts the schools in your towns have been enhanced. These schools are a better place for your children than they have ever been. You have elected educationally supportive school committees, and you continue to do your part to fund us as best you can. For this I am personally grateful. Your investment in our schools is an investment in the future of our children. The path to improvement in not only set, but as you have read we have been on it for some time.