Joint City Council/School Board

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Community Forums
Joint City Council/School Board 700 p.m.,
Monday, December 29, 2008 Buker Community Center
- Gymnasium 700 p.m., Tuesday, December 30,
2008 Hodgkins Middle School - Gymnasium
PUBLIC INVITED
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THE CITY AND ITS PUBLIC SCHOOLS ARE FACING
ECONOMIC HARDSHIPS

1. Loss of General Purpose Aid to the schools from
   the State of Maine
2. Loss of Revenue Sharing to the City from the
   State of Maine and
3. City and School operating cost increases for
   Utilities, Insurances, and Labor Agreements.

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SCHOOL OPTIONS
CLOSURE OF HUSSEY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

• PROS
• Savings of 859,075
• Easier to staff and project enrollments for the
  other three elementary schools students
• Students from Hussey would move into
  more-recently constructed elementary schools and
  at least two of those schools, Lincoln and
  Farrington, would have specialized spaces, i.e.
  Music, Art, for those programs and
• Students would have a more heterogeneously-grouped
  population.
• CONS
• Elimination of All-Day Kindergarten. In order to
  accommodate the Hussey Elementary School students
  in the other three buildings, the School
  Department would need to return to a Half-Day
  Kindergarten Program
• Class sizes between 26-30 students per class,
  including Kindergarten, First, and Second Grades
• Disparate impact on students from the Hussey
  neighborhood as they no longer have a
  neighborhood school to attend
• Anticipated increase in special education
  services and
• Unknown costs for busing and more students taking
  the bus as opposed to walking to school.

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SCHOOL OPTIONS
CLOSURE OF HODGKINS MIDDLE SCHOOL

• PROS
• Saves 933,564.
• Students from Hodgkins would move immediately
  into upgraded facilities. The Hodgkins physical
  plant is deteriorating and specialized areas,
  such as those for the Music Program, Coral
  Program, Art Program, and Gymnasium are in poor
  shape
• The transition from students moving from the 8th
  Grade to the 9th Grade would be facilitated as
  students would already be familiar with the
  building
• Vertical teaming opportunities for Teachers in
  Grades 7-12 and
• Increased use of the Capital Area Technical
  Center, which may encourage additional enrollment
  in Technical Center Programs.
• CONS
• Loss of identity for students formerly considered
  Hodgkins Middle School students and
• No more Middle School transition. Students would
  move from the Elementary world directly into the
  High School.

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SCHOOL OPTIONS
CLOSURE OF HODGKINS MIDDLE SCHOOL (ADDITIONAL
PROS AND CONS)

• PROS
• Middle School/High School transition concerns
  greatly reduced.
• The Middle School program will be in a modern
  and more educationally-sound facility.
• Middle School will have access to more
  specialized academic spaces.
• Middle School will have the opportunity for
  exposure to technical programs at CATC.
• An opportunity exists for expanded Middle School
  UA offerings.
• High School programming and class size will be
  affected less than if there are major teacher
  cuts.
• All Middle School core teachers will have common
  planning time.
• High School core teachers will have common plan
  time that coincides will Middle School planning
  time.
• Opportunity for High School students
  mentoring/tutoring Middle School students will be
  increased.
• Greater opportunity for vertical and horizontal
  curriculum articulation 7-12.
• CONS
• Possible loss of Middle School identity.
• Some mixing of Middle and High School students.
• Change in daily schedules for both Middle and
  High School students.
• Some components of the Middle School Unified
  Arts Program may be reduced.
• Non-core teachers will not have planning time
  with Middle and High School core teachers.
• The house concept at the High School will have
  to be revised.

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ELIMINATION OF TEACHING POSITIONS
30 Teaching Positions 30 Teaching positions
would break out to be 10 at the Elementary level,
15 at the High School, and 5 at the Middle
School. The total savings would be
1,363,100. Eliminate All-Day Kindergarten (5
Teaching Positions) Offer only half-day sessions.
The total savings would be 208,000. Eliminate
5 Additional Positions The total savings would
be 220,400. Instrumental Music - 1 Position
- 57,400 Elementary French - 1 Position -
48,000 3 additional teaching positions
115,000 Grade 6 Farrington (1
position) Gilbert (5/6 Combination) (1 position)
(23 students per class) Currently 4 positions
down to 3 positions. Hussey (1-2 combination) to
hold at current 3 staff for Grades 1 2 (23
students per class)
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ELIMINATION OF TEACHING POSITIONS

• Middle School - Eliminate 5 Positions
• The total savings would be 206,400.
• 2 Language Teachers - 94,000
• 2 Classroom Teachers (1 Grade 7, 1 Grade 8) -
  74,000
• 1 Life Skills Teacher - 38,400
• High School - Eliminate 15 Positions
• The total savings would be 728,300.
• The first considerations were current and
  projected capacity in each Department and the
  Departments contribution toward graduation
  requirements. The core (Math, Science, Social
  Studies, and English) was kept at a level that
  allows students to meet graduation requirements.
• Department Positions
• English 2
• Math 1
• Foreign Language 1.4
• Science 1.6
• Social Studies 1
• PE/Health 1
• Art 1
• Family/Consumer Science 2

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ELIMINATION OF TEACHING POSITIONS

• PROS
• Savings of 738,000.
• CONS
• The existing program will be drastically
  reduced.
• The majority of non-core (elective) classes will
  be eliminated.
• It will be impossible to provide a full academic
  schedule for all students.
• It may be necessary to reduce graduation
  requirements to the minimum
• State requirement.
• Many students will have more and larger study
  halls unless open campus
• exists for the majority of students.
• NEASC Accreditation will be in jeopardy and may
  be lost.
• A reduced academic program will not prepare
  Augusta students to be
• competitive at the post-secondary level.
• Students will not be exposed to a broad-based
  curriculum that prepares
• them to be competitive in society.
• If graduation credits are reduced, many students
  will graduate prior to
• reaching a level of maturity expected by
  society.
• A sub-par high school may have a negative effect
  on the local real estate

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ELIMINATION OF ATHLETICS AND CO-CURRICULAR
ACTIVITIES

• PROS
• Savings of 433,000.
• CONS
• Community support for school system will
  decrease
• Student behavior problems could increase
• Without physical activity, student obesity could
  increase
• May lose students to other schools who do offer
  athletics
• With loss of students comes loss of families,
  many of whom help the school in different ways.
• Loss of school spirit and community spirit.
• Grades of athletes may decrease, as sports are a
  huge incentive to many students
• Drug and alcohol issues may increase without an
  athletic drug and alcohol policy and
• Loss of school pride.

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PROPERTY TAX INCREASE
Property tax increase of at least 6, or an
additional 140.00 taxes on a 100,000 home.
AUGUSTA PUBLIC SCHOOLS Office of the
Superintendent 12 Gedney Street Augusta, Maine
04330 Phone [phone] Fax
207-626-2444 www.augustaschools.org