$55,000 reduction to the assistant principal’s salary ( but not Bacons)
Miller gets a 700.00 increase
Assistant Superintendent Gail Healy will receive an 8 percent increase on her $100,000 salary, not including her $5,000 annuity, which is 8000.00
You are taking away 11 full time positions
cutting one to a half
Hiring four new full-time positions and one half-time position
Administrators will receive a cost of living increase in their pay
Hello .. what about the teachers? You are giving yourselves raises and teachers are fighting to pay bills. DOES ANYONE SEE SOMETHING WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE ? Not to mention a $80,000 shortfall in the special education budget. ( Another Templeton warning coming to pass)
Also, why are teachers hearing all this from the newspapers and not the Administration? Their is no communication between them and teachers and this already shows how poorly this set up is running . The teachers are the hearts of this school and this is just not acceptable what is happening to them .
Oh and a update from previous post about where Superintendent is moving offices to .
Rooms 206, 207 and 208 are
Ms Brown, Ms Hammett, and Ruggiano
One of these teachers taught in that classroom for 20 years .
I remember this post I was sent last year from Templeton.
Bev.Bart.May 24, 2016 at 3:46 PM
You
poor people at the Pioneer School District. Oh where do I start ? Maybe
when Ms. Miller kept telling the people in Templeton how we did not
contribute enough, and were under funding the School District. A man
from our town had to sit with Ms. Miller and show her a number of times
how she was wrong, before she could understand it. Let me see, the very
worse Town Meeting in the history of this Town comes to mind. The
residents of Templeton voted no, not once but three times, at the polls,
before it was pushed through at a Special Town Meeting, where half the
people who were in the cafeteria were not counted. This Town is so
divided, most people do not have a clue, but I do because I talk to
them. People who always attended the Annual Town Meeting, boycotted the
last one because they feel their votes do not matter. Only 40 people
showed up, and very few people voted in May. When Ms. Miller says she
really needs the money, don't believe it. She has no problem taking from
the Town who was/is in a financial bind, with no consideration for
anyone else.or maybe this one
I hope Ms.Miller has checked to be sure this new school district has deep pockets, before she takes over. Any school district needs to require that their superintendent live in the town they work for. That would make the decisions made by the superintendent and the School Committee have a impact on her life and pocketbook, the same as the rest of the town. It is to easy to suck the town dry, and get in the car at the end of the day, to go home to another town or state, with out a care in the world. Don't let the door hit you, on your way out. Enough is enough
Dont you just love how these "managers" come in, receive a $105,000 salary run budgets that are out of control and then leave to go to another fertile spot to receive more pay for sitting atop a mountain of inefficiency and mismanagement.Way to go Ruthless.
AnonymousApril 12, 2013 at 11:42 AM
Look at the towns report and go to the school salaries page , Then when you regain your vision . then Go And Vote NO !
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~As you can see its a pattern which follows her . High pay for herself etc.. and loss of teachers is massive in her wake .
Now, I am sorry but do we really need an asst. superintendent ? At this cost its now beyond ridiculous and why wouldn't a normal paid secretary do the same job? Thats right she can!
Miller is paid a very high salary and in that job description should be able to handle the running of the superintendents office with a secretary , not a 108,000.00 a year asst. This is just off the wall. The remanding balance could be offset to give teachers a well deserved raise instead . I also think that Bacon salary should also be cut. As a first time principal who many of us feel she is not doing a very good job and is being highly over paid .
Lets keep in mind people this is a RURAL school not a CITY school.
Example this is pay for city school principals
| School Principal | $112,540 | Arlington,MA | January 30, 2017 |
| School Principal | $102,093 | Attleboro,MA | January 30, 2017 |
| School Principal | $103,672 | Barnstable,MA | January 30, 2017 |
| School Principal | $112,540 | Boston,MA | January 30, 2017 |
| School Principal | $108,098 | Brockton,MA | January 30, 2017 |
| School Principal | $112,540 | Brookline,MA | January 30, 2017 |
| School Principal | $112,540 | Cambridge,MA | January 30, 2017 |
| School Principal | $105,405 | Chicopee,MA | January 30, 2017 |
| School Principal | $105,234 | Fall River,MA | January 30, 2017 |
| School Principal | $100,895 | Fitchburg,MA | January 30, 2017 |
| School Principal | $110,838 | Framingham,MA | January 30, 2017 |
| School Principal | $105,403 | Haverhill,MA | January 30, 2017 |
| School Principal | $105,405 | Holyoke,MA | January 30, 2017 |
| School Principal | $103,672 | Hyannis,MA | January 30, 2017 |
| School Principal | $105,403 | Lawrence,MA | January 30, 2017 |
| School Principal | $101,816 | Leominster,MA | January 30, 2017 |
| School Principal | $107,799 | Lowell,MA | January 30, 2017 |
| School Principal | $112,495 | Lynn,MA | January 30, 2017 |
| School Principal | $112,540 | Malden,MA | January 30, 2017 |
| School Principal | $112,540 | Medford,MA | January 30, 2017 |
| School Principal | $105,403 | Methuen,MA | January 30, 2017 |
| School Principal | $105,234 | New Bedford,MA | January 30, 2017 |
| School Principal | $112,540 | Newton,MA | January 30, 2017 |
| School Principal | $111,815 | Peabody,MA | January 30, 2017 |
| School Principal | $102,529 | Pittsfield,MA | January 30, 2017 |
| School Principal | $105,811 | Plymouth,MA | January 30, 2017 |
| School Principal | $112,540 | Quincy,MA | January 30, 2017 |
| School Principal | $112,540 | Revere,MA | January 30, 2017 |
| School Principal | $111,688 | Salem,MA | January 30, 2017 |
| School Principal | $112,540 | Somerville,MA | January 30, 2017 |
| School Principal | $105,405 | Springfield,MA | January 30, 2017 |
| School Principal | $107,564 | Taunton,MA | January 30, 2017 |
| School Principal | $112,540 | Waltham,MA | January 30, 2017 |
| School Principal | $105,405 | Westfield,MA | January 30, 2017 |
| School Principal | $108,098 | Weymouth,MA | January 30, 2017 |
| School Principal | $103,266 | Worcester,MA | January 30, 2017 |
Really?? More cuts backs are needed starting with the Administration before voting on this budget .
NORTHFIELD — Balancing cutbacks and increases, the Pioneer
Valley Regional School District’s fiscal year 2018 budget is expected to
remain stable from fiscal year 2017.
Coming into the budget hearing, which will be held Tuesday, Feb. 7, at 7 p.m. in Pioneer Valley Regional School’s auditorium, the proposed budget is approximately $14.1 million, increasing only a fraction of a percent from FY17’s preliminary estimates.
The budget, which will not be finalized unless it is approved by the school committee and three of the four member towns, includes a series of significant changes which administrators hope will improve the district in both financial and academic ways.
Cutbacks The main cutback will be to staffing levels. As enrollment at Pioneer Valley Regional School has dropped by 25 percent over the past eight years, administrators are proposing a roughly 13 percent reduction in staff for next school year.
According to Pioneer Principal Jean Bacon, 11 full-time positions are being cut including the dean of students, and one districtwide technical support staff member will be reduced to half-time.
Currently, Bacon said, there are 88 staff members at Pioneer.
While it is currently unclear which positions will be affected, Bacon
said the administration will consider what individual teachers offer, as
well as how the layoffs would affect class size and diversity of
programs.
Between a nearly $55,000 reduction to the assistant principal’s salary, and the reduction in staffing, the cutbacks would save the district more than $360,000.
Increases Despite staffing cuts, Bacon also intends to add four new full-time positions and one half-time position, ones she believes better fit the needs of the school.
The proposed new positions include: an online learning facilitator, who will supervise students in a lab environment while they work on online classwork; a districtwide science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics (STEAM) facilitator; a college and career readiness facilitator; a Tier II interventionist to give small group or individualized instruction to students who require extra support; and a half-time instructional assistant supervisor to oversee instructional assistants and ensure they receive necessary training.
The cuts help to offset increases in employee health insurance contributions, as Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) and Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) rates paid by the district are increasing 9.5 percent and 10.5 percent, respectively.
Many administrators will receive a cost of living increase in their pay, which amounts to less than $700 in the case of Superintendent Ruth Miller.
However, in the proposed budget, other administrators will receive more substantial pay increases. For example, Assistant Superintendent Gail Healy will receive an 8 percent increase on her $100,000 salary, not including her $5,000 annuity.
The reason for Healy’s pay increase, Miller said, was to improve male-female pay equality. Miller said former male principals and assistant principals at Pioneer have been offered larger salaries than Healy’s in the past.
“By the law, and just because it’s the right thing to do, we needed to increase that salary,” Miller said during a budget subcommittee meeting. “It’s still not where it needs to be, but it’s a start … I personally think it’s long overdue.”
Another large increase affects the special education budget, which increased from more than $727,000 to more than $1,038,000, a difference of approximately $310,000. The increase, Miller said, results from having created specially designed programs for children with special needs, including a life skills program at Pioneer, an elementary behavior support program and generally more academic support.
Through the programs, Miller said, the district is “keeping students here for the right reasons and making sure we have programs available that fit their unique needs.”
However, the increase led to an $80,000 shortfall in the special education budget.
“If we don’t make reductions in programming or staff, we would be overspending our budget,” Miller said.
Overall, from FY17 to FY18, the district is increasing funding for its four elementary schools while decreasing funding for Pioneer Valley Regional School.
$1,000 worth of guidance textbooks to support college readiness;
Naviance software, which would cost $10,000 to set up, and allows students to submit college applications, receive recommendations, track their classes and otherwise participate in four-year planning;
New world language textbooks, replacing 17-year-old versions;
Textbooks for new advanced placement (AP) biology, AP language and composition, and statistics and probability courses;
Instructional equipment for science classes;
More supplies, money for field trips and a Second Start bullying curriculum for all the elementary schools;
One additional instructional assistant for each elementary school;
and 85 Chromebooks and accessories for ninth-grade students, which will cost $29,900, to support Bacon’s plan to have a personal computer for every student by 2021.
Coming into the budget hearing, which will be held Tuesday, Feb. 7, at 7 p.m. in Pioneer Valley Regional School’s auditorium, the proposed budget is approximately $14.1 million, increasing only a fraction of a percent from FY17’s preliminary estimates.
The budget, which will not be finalized unless it is approved by the school committee and three of the four member towns, includes a series of significant changes which administrators hope will improve the district in both financial and academic ways.
Cutbacks The main cutback will be to staffing levels. As enrollment at Pioneer Valley Regional School has dropped by 25 percent over the past eight years, administrators are proposing a roughly 13 percent reduction in staff for next school year.
According to Pioneer Principal Jean Bacon, 11 full-time positions are being cut including the dean of students, and one districtwide technical support staff member will be reduced to half-time.
Between a nearly $55,000 reduction to the assistant principal’s salary, and the reduction in staffing, the cutbacks would save the district more than $360,000.
Increases Despite staffing cuts, Bacon also intends to add four new full-time positions and one half-time position, ones she believes better fit the needs of the school.
The proposed new positions include: an online learning facilitator, who will supervise students in a lab environment while they work on online classwork; a districtwide science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics (STEAM) facilitator; a college and career readiness facilitator; a Tier II interventionist to give small group or individualized instruction to students who require extra support; and a half-time instructional assistant supervisor to oversee instructional assistants and ensure they receive necessary training.
The cuts help to offset increases in employee health insurance contributions, as Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) and Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) rates paid by the district are increasing 9.5 percent and 10.5 percent, respectively.
Many administrators will receive a cost of living increase in their pay, which amounts to less than $700 in the case of Superintendent Ruth Miller.
However, in the proposed budget, other administrators will receive more substantial pay increases. For example, Assistant Superintendent Gail Healy will receive an 8 percent increase on her $100,000 salary, not including her $5,000 annuity.
The reason for Healy’s pay increase, Miller said, was to improve male-female pay equality. Miller said former male principals and assistant principals at Pioneer have been offered larger salaries than Healy’s in the past.
“By the law, and just because it’s the right thing to do, we needed to increase that salary,” Miller said during a budget subcommittee meeting. “It’s still not where it needs to be, but it’s a start … I personally think it’s long overdue.”
Another large increase affects the special education budget, which increased from more than $727,000 to more than $1,038,000, a difference of approximately $310,000. The increase, Miller said, results from having created specially designed programs for children with special needs, including a life skills program at Pioneer, an elementary behavior support program and generally more academic support.
Through the programs, Miller said, the district is “keeping students here for the right reasons and making sure we have programs available that fit their unique needs.”
However, the increase led to an $80,000 shortfall in the special education budget.
“If we don’t make reductions in programming or staff, we would be overspending our budget,” Miller said.
Overall, from FY17 to FY18, the district is increasing funding for its four elementary schools while decreasing funding for Pioneer Valley Regional School.
http://tabsoft.co/2kC9rrn
The overall budget will also support purchasing or adding: $1,000 worth of guidance textbooks to support college readiness;
Naviance software, which would cost $10,000 to set up, and allows students to submit college applications, receive recommendations, track their classes and otherwise participate in four-year planning;
New world language textbooks, replacing 17-year-old versions;
Textbooks for new advanced placement (AP) biology, AP language and composition, and statistics and probability courses;
Instructional equipment for science classes;
More supplies, money for field trips and a Second Start bullying curriculum for all the elementary schools;
One additional instructional assistant for each elementary school;
and 85 Chromebooks and accessories for ninth-grade students, which will cost $29,900, to support Bacon’s plan to have a personal computer for every student by 2021.
