Well, the school budget is back in the news with the city manager declaring a gap of $2.7 million between what the superintendent recommends and what the city can afford. The school committee, with members Doherty and Mendonca dissenting, seems to be ducking the issue by sending Dr. Baehr into meet with John Cox. While there may be hope of a compromise, the gap is too large to expect that further cuts won't be required. But what and where?

The superintendent's current budget of $122.9 million has the stated goals of reducing class size wherever possible; ensuring re-accreditation for LHS;and maintaining the department's capacity to improve student performance. This is purely a maintenance budget with no room to add needed resources except at the high school. Here's what is already missing from the budget: funds for unexpected midyear cost increases; adequate funding for professional development, teacher recruitment, textbook and technology replacement; clerical support at our middle schools; expanded access to pre-school and alternative programs at all levels; additional guidance counseling resources; and the restoration of pre-school transportation and library media specialist positions.

A new round of cuts will seriously damage the three goals that Dr. Baehr set forth in her current budget.

The May issue of the CPC Newsletter includes a short questionnaire. If you received it, please take the time to fill it out and send it in.

Here's what we want to know:
1) What meeting topics would you like to see next year?
Raising academic standards; MCAS/testing issues; safety/discipline; planning for high school/college; middle school transition; diversity challenges and strengths; helping your child succeed/tips for parents; or tell us what interests you.

2) What other areas should the CPC focus on?

If you do not receive our newsletter, why not? It's free and full of timely information about the schools. To get on our mailing list, send us your address by using the "contact us" email feature on the website. You can answer the above questions at the same time, or simply post a comment with your answers here on the blog. Thank you!

The roundtable discussion format was a great success at last night's meeting on school funding at the Bartlett School. Admittedly the table was more of a horseshoe shape to accomodate the cameras, but the conversation was lively and wide-ranging, just as we had hoped. Superintendent of schools, Dr. Karla Brooks Baehr, school department Director of Finance and Operations, Jay Lang, and school committee member Joe Mendonca were there to answer questions and guide the discussion. Also in attendance were school committee members John Leahy and Jackie Doherty.

As predicted, we talked about Lowell High reaccreditation; Hancock vs. Driscoll; the current, past and future budgets; creative ways the district has found to save money; and much more.

There was a lot of valuable information packed into the meeting. Anyone interested in the ins and outs of school funding and how it will impact the quality of education in the city should try to watch the meeting on Channel 22. CPC meetings are broadcast on Sundays at 5:00 p.m., Mondays at 7:00 p.m., and Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10:30 a.m. Have a look and then give us some feedback!

Tonight is the last CPC meeting of the school year. Please join us at the Bartlett School at 7 p.m. for a roundtable discussion of school funding. We are planning an informal give and take session with the discussion ranging in many different directions depending on the group. Dr. Baehr will be present as well as Jay Lang, the Director of Finance and Operations and some school committee members. We will probably talk about budgets past and present, the Hancock vs. Driscoll case and what it means for Lowell, how the school district funds and maintains programs, Lowell High reaccreditation, after-school/summer programs and other issues surrounding finances.

In addition, tonight is the night when we will elect a new executive board for the next school year. We also invite interested parents to get more involved with the CPC by joining the Excecutive Board. Finally, we will be asking for parent input about next year's meeting topics with a short questionnaire. Hope to see you tonight!

Was anyone else confused by the long and rambling Saturday Chat last week (Lowell Sun, Saturday, May 8, 2004)? Under the title "More Pressure Needed to Ensure Schools Succeed", Kendall Wallace compared the city manager's job performance with that of the superintendent, somewhat to the detriment of Dr. Baehr. His praise of the manager's ability to keep things running smoothly without raising taxes is undermined by his subsequent criticism of the school department. Obviously things aren't running as smoothly as he thinks.

After the budget cuts that the school system sustained last year, it seems disingenuous for Wallace to point a finger at Dr. Baehr because the high school will be facing a tough reaccredidation process in the fall. Dr. Baehr fought hard to keep the cuts to the high school at a minimum, but the city council refused to appropriate more money to the schools or raise taxes. The direct result of these actions is that Lowell High is significantly understaffed. Mr. Wallace pointed out that Brockton High has 55 administrators and 350 teachers. Lowell High has close to the same amount of students, but has 27 administrators to 275 teachers.

Mr. Wallace pointed out that "doing more with less reaches a point of no return", yet that is the way the schools have been expected to operate for the past two years.