Blog Archive

Tuesday, February 7, 2017

PVRS Community update

Dear Community,
I am writing to let you know that the Budget Hearing scheduled for tonight, Feb. 7th is cancelled and it has been rescheduled for Thursday night Feb. 9th in the Pioneer auditorium at 7:00 PM. This is an opportunity for community members to hear about next years proposed budget and provided feedback for the School Committee. 
Thank you,
Superintendent Miller

Betsy DeVos Confirmed As Education Secretary

You might also want to keep this in mind when voting on school budget .

 

Betsy DeVos Confirmed As Education Secretary

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is one of the most controversial Cabinet picks in recent memory.
Carolyn Kaster/AP
Today the Senate confirmed Betsy DeVos as President Trump's education secretary, 51-50. The vice president had to cast an unprecedented tie-breaking vote, after hearings that became fodder for Saturday Night Live; after angry constituents swamped Senate offices with 1.5 million calls a day; after two Republican senators defected; and Democrats held the floor overnight in protest.
The 59-year-old philanthropist and activist from Michigan takes over the leadership and management of a federal bureaucracy with 4,400 employees and a $68 billion annual budget.
Now, the question is: How much will actually change for the nation's 50 million public school students and 20 million college students?
Perhaps her opponents should take a deep breath. The federal role in education policy is limited. Less than 10 percent of funding for K-12 schools comes from the feds, for example.
That said, here's what we'll be watching in the coming weeks and months.
On the higher ed side
The Higher Education Act is up for reauthorization. Three issues that may come up early in a DeVos Education Department: the role of for-profits, college costs and enforcement of Title IX (which governs sex discrimination, including sexual assault cases).
  • On Title IX: DeVos said in her hearing that it would be "premature" to say she would uphold a 2011 rule that requires colleges to take an active role to prevent sexual assault.
  • On college costs: "Free tuition" proposals drew a lot of Democratic fans during the presidential campaign. DeVos was dismissive of the idea in her hearing: "There's nothing in life that's truly free."
  • On for-profit colleges: During the Obama administration, the department, along with the newly formed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, went after many for-profit colleges, with allegations of fraud and predatory lending. Two were forced to shut down: Corinthian Colleges and ITT Technical Institute. Meanwhile, the gainful employment rule required colleges to demonstrate that they were preparing a significant percentage of their students for the job market. When questioned by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., DeVos said she would "review" rather than uphold that rule.
On the K-12 side
The headline here is: More state decision-making power.
Regular readers of our NPR Ed blog know that the main K-12 education law was reauthorized last year as the Every Student Succeeds Act, ESSA, which covers annual testing, among other things. The new law gave more authority to the states, at the expense of the federal government, to identify and remedy failing schools.
The Trump administration has already paused the process of ESSA implementation. Republicans in Congress have moved to use a little-known law called the Congressional Review Act to throw out the new accountability rules altogether. That leaves states in a situation that some Democrats and advocates have dubbed "chaos and delay." Other groups, including the National Governors Association, have said they welcome having still more authority at the state level.
Some civil rights advocates have raised concerns that, in the absence of a strong federal hand, some states will be less vigilant than others in identifying and correcting historic educational inequities of race and class.
DeVos' responses to Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., in her controversial written questionnaire, indicate that she comes down on the side of states' rights: "It is necessary and critical for states to have flexibility to determine how to identify and improve schools."
DeVos' department may take a leaf from Arne Duncan's book and set up a competitive grant program that encourages states to expand school choice. If so, we'll likely be hearing more about the benefits of private, virtual, religious and for-profit schools.
The school reforms DeVos backed in Michigan have favored for-profit charter school operators. And her husband previously held financial stakes in the for-profit and online K12 Inc., whose numbers she (erroneously) cited in defending virtual schools in her written answers to the Senate.
The organization she chaired, the American Federation for Children, favors both vouchers and a device called "tax credit scholarships," which allows companies to offset tax liability by funding students to attend private schools. In Florida, which the AFC has called out as a model program, 70 percent of these scholarships go to religiously affiliated schools.

Monday, February 6, 2017

This is just messed up

So let me get this straight , you cutback
$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.

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.
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.
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.



Good news or bad news ???


This is good news and yet I feel bad news . Miller does NOTHING without a bigger reason  that suits her behind it and she is surly not doing it for the kids, I can assure you of that .  So, that brings me to her budget .
Update:
I received an email from Templeton , they have been watching our blog and see we are still fighting the fight and was warned again to watch her budget . Its not about the kids and Templeton was left holding the bag .. wait for it  47,000,000.00 . Yep you read them numbers right . Also, watch the budget  with special ed students they will  curiously be left behind .

Also lets remember a name if it should ever come up I will tell you the rest later . John Gaziano. This was one of Millers hire who she got a big raise before leaving Templeton and he has now come up upon the missing . Some say he was removed in handcuffs ( but that has not be verified ) However he was removed from the property by police before the bus arrived to take the kids home for the day .  Another of her hires Matthew Kacavich, was also  just dismissed  for having sexual relations with students and Yes, she was at the school when it initially  started ., as Superintendent . Seems they were not vetted well ..

Time will tell but again watch the budget .




NORTHFIELD — Hoping to save the district money coming into fiscal year 2018, Pioneer Valley Regional School District plans to move its central offices back to the Pioneer campus.

Currently, the central offices are in a leased 2,806-square-foot space at 168 Main St. in downtown Northfield. The space costs $3,030 a month to lease, a cost that Superintendent Ruth Miller wants to eliminate.

“How much money are you going to spend to have office space for seven or eight people?” Miller questioned. “(The Main Street office) has been a very good place to land initially, but I want that money to go back into programming for the kids.”

Up until January 2016, the central offices were in three single-story modular buildings behind Pioneer. However, foundation cracks, rust and roof leaks, outdated electrical, communication and alarm systems, and mold in the basements led Pioneer administrators to relocate.

The offices would not be returned to the modulars. Though they are still on the campus, Pioneer administrators are looking to have them removed.


Instead, the building and grounds subcommittee toured Pioneer during a Thursday meeting. Led by Facilities Director Tim Brandl and Assistant Superintendent Gail Healy, the subcommittee viewed the most likely space for the central offices: rooms 206, 207 and 208.

“This is the best place as far as not disrupting students,” Healy said during the tour. “This is where we have found to be the most logical, least intrusive, least expensive and it works for kids.”

“The technology is already there, the services are already there,” Miller said.

The classrooms are in a wing not far from the school’s main office, but removed from more heavily trafficked hallways. The classrooms are also next to an outside door, where Healy said a door buzzer could be installed to allow for easier access to the central offices.

Because administrators are proposing a roughly 13-percent reduction in staff for next school year, Miller said more classroom space would be available in the school to fit the central offices.

Miller hopes to have the offices moved by the end of June, when the 18-month lease of the Main Street office space will end. Miller said there is a possibility the district could lease the space on a month-to-month basis if necessary, but she hasn’t factored that cost into the fiscal year 2018 budget.

Following the tour, the building and grounds subcommittee voted unanimously to recommend to the School Committee that the offices be moved to Pioneer’s 200 wing. Healy expects the committee will discuss the move at the February or March meetings.

Miller said Brandl will be tasked with figuring out how to divide the classrooms into cubicles and ultimately create “a very nice space, at the absolute lowest cost.