MURSD Open Budget Hearing

March 16, 2015

MURSD Strategic Plan, 2013-18

Our Mission:

The Mendon-Upton Regional School District, in partnership with our communities, delivers a progressive educational experience focused on the unique needs of each child, providing them with a competitive advantage in the 21st century. Exemplary teaching and a high quality curriculum equip our students with the skills to create solutions for a rapidly changing, technologically rich, and culturally diverse world.

Key Ideas from Strategic Plan• Reduce Class Sizes• Full Day Kindergarten• Improve Parent Communication/Outreach

• Ensure Support for Struggling Learners, Particularly at the Elementary Level

• Strengthen Elective Offerings at the Secondary Level

• Improve STEM Education

• Restore Lost Programs (e.g., MS World Languages & Librarian)

• Incorporate More Technology in Teaching

• Provide Appropriate Curriculum & Professional Development

• Reduce Exorbitant Athletic User Fees

• Support the SI Program• Avoid Contention Between the Two Towns- Work Together!

Targeted Investments in Strategic PlanFY 14 Budget Implementation of Full-Day K (2.0 FTEs)

Grades 3-4 Special Education Inclusion (2.0 FTEs)

Restoration of District Curriculum Director (1.0 FTE)

New Elementary Literacy Series Aligned with the CCSS ($80,000)

Targeted Investments in Strategic Plan

FY 15 BudgetTechnology Upgrades to Support 1:1 Initiative ($197,000)

Addition of Technology Integration Specialist (1.0 FTE)

Additional Support to Nipmuc Athletics ($70,000)- provides family cap

FY12 FY13 FY14 FY15$0

$5,000,000

$10,000,000

$15,000,000

$20,000,000

$25,000,000

$30,000,000 $27,643,509 $27,998,260 $28,557,284 $29,925,320

MURSD Operational Budget

Recent Budgets have been revenue-driven

1.28% 2.00% 4.79%

Average annual budget increase in this span has been 2.75%

FY12 FY13 FY14 FY15$0

$1,000,000

$2,000,000

$3,000,000

$4,000,000

$5,000,000

$6,000,000

$7,000,000

$8,000,000 $6,792,520 $6,954,518 $6,988,193 $7,153,559

Assessment to Mendon

2.38%0.48% 2.37%

Assessments have been sensitive to available resources

Average annual increase in this span has been 1.77%

FY12 FY13 FY14 FY15$0

$1,000,000 $2,000,000 $3,000,000 $4,000,000 $5,000,000 $6,000,000 $7,000,000 $8,000,000 $9,000,000

$8,233,265 $8,416,370 $8,600,212 $8,634,846

Assessment to Upton

2.22% 2.18% 0.40%

Assessments have been sensitive to available resources

Average annual increase in this span has been 1.63%

Enrollment & Teachers in the MURSD,FY10 – FY16

Student Enrollment

Year Enrollment

2009-10 2,891

2010-11 2,757

2011-12 2,600

2012-13 2,574

2013-14 2,466

2014-15 2,395

2015-16 proj.

2,340

Number of Instructional Staff

Year # of FTEs

2009-10 184.25

2010-11 163.4

2011-12 151.74

2012-13 156.83

2013-14 163.19

2014-15 163.52

2015-16 prop.

171.52

Mendon: 992 (44.72%) Upton: 1,226 (55.28%)

Average Class Sizes, FY11 to FY15

School Average

Class Size,10-11

Average Class Size, 11-12

Average Class Size, 12-13

Average Class Size, 13-14

Average Class Size, 14-15

Clough ES

25.1 24.0 21.7 21.7 21.2

Memorial ES

26.2 23.5 21.0 21.1 20.5

Miscoe Hill MS

27.9 26.0 25.2 23.7 24.0

Nipmuc Reg. HS

26.2 25.4 22.9 21.1 19.6*At elementary and middle schools, avg. class size is avg. homeroom size; at high school, avg. class size is in core academic classes only

FY16 Operational Budget Drivers

Salaries COLAs: 1.25% to 1.75%Salary increase (including steps) is $690,066

EmployeeBenefits

3.5 % increase in health insurance from HPH ($122,134);Increase in assessment from Worc. County Retirement ($99,530)

Transportation

8 % increase ($114,048) from Tellstone & Son

Student Services

Decrease in out-of-district placement costs ($190,942);

Buildings & Grounds

Increase in electricity ($59,000); Potential savings of $45,000 in heating oil

Business & Finance

Increase Business Manager position from .6 FTE to 1.0 FTE ($42,000)

FY16 Operational Budget DriversTechnology Enhancement of technology infrastructure and instructional

tools, including:• Renewal of 3-yr lease on district desktops (inc of $20,000)• Update of Altiris (ghosting software) ($15,000)• SMARTBoards at Clough & Memorial- Lease Payment

($28,000)• SMARTBoards- 7th & 8th Grade Math Instruction ($25,000)• 1:1 Initiative ($90,000)- Provision of Loaner iPads

Textbooks/Instructional Supplies

Second payment for K-4 Reading Wonders series at Clough & Memorial ($80,000); Two additional sets of leveled classroom texts ($30,000); Addition of Reading Wonders at Grade 5 ($35,000)

Nipmuc Reaccreditation

Expenses to host a visiting team for a week in November ($16,350)

Athletics Additional investment of $40,000 to defray high expense of athletic user fees at Nipmuc- est. fees of $175/sport; Provision of funds to cover Miscoe Hill athletics transportation ($10,000)

District HS Enrollment

# of Sports

Amt in DistrictBudget

User Fees

Bellingham 675 19 $329,000 $250*

Blkstn-Millville 535 16 $240,000 $200, $325*

BVT 1,147 16 $317,800 $30

Grafton 674 10 $353,000 $0

Hopedale 338 19 $130,000 $200*

Hopkinton 1,069 23 $350,000 $135

Milford 1,108 24 $603,000 $125*

Nipmuc 639 18 $187,000 $325, $375, $425*

Northbridge 674 22 $308,000 $200*

Uxbridge 454 17 $219,509 $75**Incorporates a family cap into fee structure

FY15 User Fees for High School Athletics

Strategic Investments in the FY16 Budget

Staffing at the Elementary Level:

Why?

• To work with our youngest students who are struggling with basic literacy

• To work along our classroom teachers to enhance reading/writing skills of all students

• To continue the successful inclusion model in grades 1 & 2

• 2.0 FTE Reading Specialists• 2.0 FTE Inclusion Special

Educators

Strategic Investments in the FY16 Budget

Staffing at the Elementary Level:

Why?

• To expose all students to a foreign language, not just SI students

• Strategically smart, as could be used as a way to offer a second access point to the SI program

• 21st Century Skill; Research shows that 2nd language exposure enhances other academic skills

• 1.0 FTE FLES (Foreign Language in the Elementary School) Teacher

Strategic Investments in the FY16 Budget

Staffing at the Middle Level:

Why?

• Restoration of important programming (lost since 2009)

• Information literacy/basic research skills

• Long overdue in effectively preparing students for the high school curriculum

• 1.0 FTE Library Media Specialist

• 1.0 FTE World Language Teacher

Strategic Investments in the FY16 Budget

Staffing at the High School:

• 1.0 FTE School & Community Coordinator

Strategic Investments in the FY16 Budget

Staffing at the High School:

Why?

• Build on the success of the Nipmuc STEM Scholars Program…. Addition of the Humanities Scholars Program

• Key responsibilities include creating more connections with higher ed and businesses for more internship, job shadowing, etc. opportunities for our students

• 1.0 FTE School & Community Coordinator

Strategic Investments in the FY16 Budget

District Support of Miscoe Hill Extracurricular & Co-Curricular Activities ($25,500)

Why?• To provide support to programs

such as Student Council, Art Club, Jazz Band, Drama, etc.

• To restore enrichment programming such as Destination Imagination

• Reduce/eliminate parent fees and fundraising

FY16 proposed expenditures increase by 6.39%

FY16 Operational Budget Drivers

Revenue: State: Chapter 70 up $45,900; Regional Transportation decreased by $304, 840 (based on 9C cut); Slight decrease in Net Charter ($ 30,911)

Decrease of $289,851 from FY15

District Receipts: $350,000 from E & D; $150,000 from revolving accounts; $50,000 less in Medicaid reimbursement

Decrease of $550,000 from FY15

Local: Mendon- assessment of $8,491,632 Increase of $1,338,074 from FY15 Upton- assessment of $10,050,285 Increase of $1,415,438 from FY15

Projected FY16 revenues

Revenue by Source- FY15 Budget

43.40%

23.90%

28.85%

3.84%

State AidMendonUptonDistrict

Source Amount %

State Aid $12,986,915

43.40%

Mendon $7,153,558

23.90%

Upton $8,634,847

28.55%

District $1,150,000

3.84%

Total $29,925,320

100%

Revenue by Source- Proposed FY16 Budget

39.88%

26.67%

31.57%

1.88%

State AidMendonUptonDistrict

Source Amount %

State Aid $12,697,074

39.88%

Mendon $8,491,632 26.67%

Upton $10,050,285

31.57%

District $600,000 1.88%

Total $31,838,981

100%

MURSD Funding Trend- FY07 to Present

The Δ in the funding formula has put more burden on local communities

Another consideration…Target Local Contribution

• Why? Staring in 2007, the State established a new funding formula… one where a greater burden for financing PK-12 education would be on municipalities

• Target Local Contribution: establishes a goal of how much each municipality should contribute, based upon two factors-

Aggregate property values Aggregate personal income levels>

MRGF

Aggregate property values Aggregate personal income levels

State & Local Targets

• Overall goal in MA: municipalities cover 59% of foundation budget and state aid should cover 41%

• But variations exist based upon wealth of community…. Ex- low of Lawrence (12.5%) to high of 82.5% (131 communities, the cap)

Town FY2015 Target Contribution

Douglas 48.36 %

Grafton 66.02 %

Hopedale 52.11 %

Hopkinton 82.50 %

Milford 51.41 %

Northbridge 46.62 %

Mendon & Upton Target Contributions

Town FY15 Target Contribution

Mendon 66.05 %

Upton 62.21 %

The Present Gap to Target Share

Town Target Contribution

Actual FY15 Contrib

% Off

Mendon 66.05 % 57.96 %

8.09 %

Upton 62.21 % 54.44 %

7.77 %

• 72 municipalities across the state (29%) are BELOW their target share. Mendon & Upton are two of those communities

The Forced Migration to Target Share

Town Target Contribution

Actual FY15 Contrib

% Off MRGFFY15

Mendon 66.05 % 57.96 % 8.09 % 4.16 %

Upton 62.21 % 54.44 % 7.77 % 3.57 %

• If a community is 2.5% or more below its target, then an increment of 2% is added to the minimum local target %

State Avg MRGF: 3.76%

Mendon & Upton rank #11 & #14 in distance from target local share

Before After implementation

percentage below effort below effort above effort distance fromDistrict of foundation shortfall shortfall excess

target

ROYALSTON 30.64 -519,200 510,799 0 -35.38

TOLLAND 62.60 -131,990 124,587 0 -19.90

ATHOL 13.19 -3,442,519 3,397,570 0 -18.98

EAST BROOKFIELD 34.29 -420,244 394,676 0 -10.13

DUDLEY 29.27 -2,170,255 2,066,205 0 -11.00

FALL RIVER 18.84 -13,916,043 13,398,123 0 -9.28

HANSON 42.26 -1,825,029 1,687,337 0 -9.83

NEW BEDFORD 15.57 -16,063,649 15,554,259 0 -8.99

HOLYOKE 12.72 -6,911,859 6,722,598 0 -8.55

LAWRENCE 4.47 -16,541,018 16,374,993 0 -8.38

MENDON 57.96 -993,764 874,837 0 -8.09

DUNSTABLE 73.61 -581,374 500,322 0 -8.68

SPENCER 35.17 -1,486,106 1,363,961 0 -7.43

UPTON 54.44 -1,233,820 1,089,319 0 -7.77

GARDNER 28.36 -2,128,929 2,050,147 0 -7.11

Source: MA DESE Office of School Finance, Final Ch. 70 & Net School Spending Spreadsheet

% of Funding Above State Requirement, FY-06-15: MURSD vs. State Average

FY06 FY07 FY08 FY09 FY10 FY11 FY12 FY13 FY14 FY1595.0%

100.0%

105.0%

110.0%

115.0%

120.0%

125.0%

113.4%

119.2%

MURSDState

2000

-01

2002

-03

2004

-05

2006

-07

2008

-09

2010

-11

2012

-13

2014

-15

2016

-17

1,600

1,800

2,000

2,200

2,400

2,600

2,800

3,000

2,3

95

2,3

40

2,2

68

2,1

93

Oct 1 Enrollment

Will an increase in funding be sustainable?

Enrollment projections for Oct 1 2015 and beyond are based upon: actual pre-K and K enrollments,NESDEC Enrollment Projections, and live birth data for Mendon & Upton, 2010-12

Min. Local Contribution Increase vs. Actual Contribution Increase from Mendon

FY13 FY14 FY15 FY16$0

$50,000

$100,000

$150,000

$200,000

$250,000

$300,000

$350,000

$400,000

MLC Increase Mendon Increase

The 4-year cumulative shortfallwould be

$406,442

Min. Local Contribution Increase vs. Actual Contribution Increase from Upton

FY13 FY14 FY15 FY16$0

$50,000

$100,000

$150,000

$200,000

$250,000

$300,000

$350,000

MLC Increase Upton Increase

The 4-yearcumulative shortfallwould be

$453,717

Sticking to this Model for FY16 means…• The FY16 Operating Budget would actually be $621,729 LESS than this current year’s Operating Budget

• The deficit to be made up would be approximately $1.4 million

• This would result in numerous cuts to programming, staffing, and services (less supports, less electives, etc.)

• Class sizes would revert to the 26-30 range at all levels

• The MURSD would regress rather than move forward

The Measures of Success are Many!

In Summary…• This is a critical time for the MURSD. The FY16 Budget is a needs-based budget that will maintain what we have and move the district forward as envisioned in our strategic plan

• A significant investment will have to be made locally, as both state aid and district receipts are projected to be diminished in FY16

In Summary… • The issues of increased target local share and the required local contributions will continue to affect the MURSD Budget

• This budget has been constructed to sustain the district for the next 4-5 years

• Without appropriate support, the district will lose what it has gained- and regression to where it was 5 years ago will occur

The MURSD is very much at a crossroads…

Two neighboring communities…

Two very different results!

Key Upcoming DatesEvent Date

Mendon Town Meeting May 1

Upton Town Election May 4

Upton Town Meeting May 7

Mendon Town Election May 12