There is an email that is being circulated asking parents to oppose the rumored reductions in teaching staff at the High School. I and the rest of the school board have received at least one email pleading with us to maintain the status quo regardless of the cost or fairness to other teachers in the system.
I have also received a couple of emails in support of the rumored reductions in force at the high school. In both cases these residents wish to remain anonymous because they feared retaliation against their children.
Here are the facts.
School enrollment has been and continues to decline. With zero residential building permits pulled this year (less then a decade ago the town processed over 150 new residential permits), with low birth rates and with a high inventory of existing homes for sale it is doubtful that the declining enrollment trend will be revised anytime soon.
Last year the teacher student ration in the elementary and middle schools was increased to about 22 students per class. The state recognizes 25 students to teacher as a reasonable ratio.
In the current proposal the High School core courses class size for grades 9, 10, 11 would be increase from 15 to about 22. No more then 25 as reported by some
These small class sizes have resulted in Bow High School per student costs being significantly above the state average. (About $14,000 per year)
If Bow High School is to continue to exist it will soon need to attract paying students from other towns. Our High School cost eliminates us from consideration by many other towns.
The school board has expressed a desire to have equity in class size across the system, to reduce the per student cost at the HS and to hold the line of property tax increases. The School Board also is committed to maintain the High Schools current core and elective course offerings.
With ALL of the wishes in mind the BOARD proposed increasing the average High School core class size from 15 to 22, give or take a student. This would allow for a reduction of 4 teachers from the core courses. The BOARD also proposes to increase class size in the elective offerings which would result in one additional teacher reduction. It would actually be reducing the number of hours among several teachers that would result in an equivalent of one additional teacher.
It is important to note that these reductions in staff if implemented correctly would result in NO REDUCTION IN CLASS OFFERINGS.
The elementary and middle schools will continue a staffing pattern that produces 22ish kids per class and this will result in one less teacher in both schools in the next budget.
Where the rumors are just plain wrong.
There have been NO SECRET meetings of the school board. All meetings have been advertised to the public in accordance with the right to know law and all budget meetings have been open to the public.
At this point in the process no one knows which teachers will not be hired back next year. This is primarily due to the teachers unions bumping rights. Seniority is NOT the only factor when one considers union bumping rights. For example; one or more teachers, with many years of experience in the Bow system, may choose to retire once there is a budget that calls for teacher reductions.
To summarize;
The issue of equity and fairness to all teachers requires the high school to increase their class size.
The BOARD has devised a proposed budget that does not eliminate a single core course offering nor does it eliminate one single elective.
The high school teaching pattern is only being brought into line with the elementary and middle schools.
The student to teacher ratio across the system will be in the lower 20’s across the entire system.
With 22 or 23 students to a class Bow will still be below the state suggested ratio.
The next school board meeting is this coming Monday evening at the High School at 7PM.
Please think about attending and voicing your opinion on this matter.
On the town side the Selectman meet this Friday evening at 5:30 PM in an effort to make produce a final budget for next year. The current proposal is projected to increase taxes, on the Town portion, by almost 10%.
My son said that there is a school news video that has got students in a tizzy. I heard that there was going to be a zero % budget increase proposal by the school board but is this just a ploy to get the tax and spenders to the school district meeting?
Can the BCC post that school video?
Thanks Tom,
I will try to make it Monday night, but do you guys know that Monday the 21st is so close to Christmas. Have some respect. Will ya.
Tom, your update addresses some of the frenzy going around. Did you know that the names of the teachers (very popular and talented teachers) are already out there? Something is wrong with this picture.
The school machine is at it again. Students in a tizzy? What about us taxpayers? These students do not pay the bill we do! I understand that Dr. Dean started all this with an email to the staff and the greedy teacher’s union moved it forward from there, is this true?
Bow sports fan that video is linked to this article. Please scroll up and click on: Bow Students React to Zero % Budget Freeze
Hello all,
Just a couple things – I think the class-size numbers from the state are the minimums for what Concord considers an adequate education. Those numbers were derived by taking the total amount of money the State was able to pay, and using that figure to “independently” cost out, as required by the courts, an adequate education – the same one they are legally bound to fund. This approach basically allowed the State to meet the terms of the court mandate without impacting their own budget. The numbers are not recommendations.
That’s just a side point really. Honestly, I think the numbers Mr Keane is referencing are reasonable given the current economic situation and not high enough to significantly reduce the quality of education in Bow. We as citizens, especially parents like me, just need to readjust our expectations as is always the case in tough times. Some teachers may be slower in responding to inquiries, writing recommendations, grading papers/tests and pro viding differentiated instruction. I think the reduction in staff is a responsible solution, lots of business are requiring more work of less people, I just hope if it comes to be that parents remember that come September and accept a slower, if not lower level of service.
As for the email from Dean, I have no idea what the facts are, but he’s the leader of the school district. The budget is by far the biggest news of the day impacting the staff, and its discussions are public. He has to inform the people that work for him what is going on. Its part of his job. Not communicating to his own staff the result of public budget meetings that directly affect them is not a good approach.
I also have no idea where the ideas of secret meetings come from. I am sure that’s not the case. However, communication is a problem, not because of any desire for secrecy, but because the process is not conducive to it. Its tough to stay properly informed. The budget workshops are during normal work days making them impossible to attend for all practical purposes. The deliberative session is way too late to get involved and have any chance t make an informed decision. Even the upcoming meeting is late to be involved for the first time. I will be attending, but I have no idea what the discussions have been up to this point? What other cuts have been looked at – already enacted, considered, scrapped? I don’t have a solution, but believe we need one. The budget is a complicated issue filled with Special Ed laws, unfunded State mandates, curriculum choices, low-term estimates, etc. It’s a lot to absorb in sound bites. A local access cable channel maybe?
I am very happy to see the idea of equity across the district being focused on. For too long, in my opinion, the focus has been centered on the high school to the detriment of the middle and elementary kids. Where does Dean, who’s office I believe to be located at the high school, spend his days? Why are high school activities/coaches funded but elementary activities, like Destination Imagination – an activity far cheaper than high school sports, not fully funded? Why do only elementary teachers need donations for classroom supplies? Just some thoughts – there are other areas of inequity, not just class sizes.
Thanks for your time!
GrizzlyCoach, Welcome to BCC and thank-you for your insight and informative post.
I was a graduate of BHS and have benefitted from “smaller” class sizes. I don’t really remember, but I’m sure my Humanities core classes had close to if not over 20 kids in them.
Enrollment is down and naturally one would expect that with that decline we could see the loss of some teachers. That being said, I don’t want to see the more seasoned teachers lost. They have provided excellent instruction to bow youthes. The question I have for the board is this:
Has the board considered cutting sports programs? I don’t want to rail on the sports department, but I’m always troubled that when it comes down to football or text books; football seems to win out. I’d rather see a loss of a sport team than teachers. I’m torn though, because I cannot get around the incortrovertible facts that enrollment is down.
It all depends on whose ox you gored. As you can tell I am a sports fan and my son’s football is very important to him. With that said I do believe we need to do something with the school budget. With the drop in enrollment it makes sense to cut teachers but we also need to look elsewhere so we don’t loose good teachers. How about administrative? Asst. Principals.
Lets work together.
Start with programs that come from outside like IB, then snake-oil consultants that push them, then admin… that’s where the money is wasted.