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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 12/19/1996STEERING COMMITTEE 19 DECEMBER 1996 The South Burlington Steering Committee held a meeting of Thursday, 19 December 1996, at 7:30 p.m., in the Conference Room, City Hall, 575 Dorset Street. Members Present: City Council: Charles Hafter, City Manager; James Condos, William Cimonetti School Board; Bruce Chattman, Superintendent; Karen George, Dennis Snyder, Rob LeClair, Ten Manazir Also Present: Bill Smith, Donna Moyer, Mary Lynn Riggs, Agnes Clift, David Ford, Marilyn Frederick, David Kaufman, Mike O'Day, Tom Fraga, Tom Hubbard; Reps. Michael Flaherty, Frank Mazur, Ann Hallowell 1. Report on 1996-7 School Year School System Demographics: Bill Smith reported that the schools got 60-70 more students this year, mostly via in-migration. South Burlington High School is also a magnet for tuition students. This year, however, there was a drop in tuition students for the first time in 15 years. Mr. Smith then showed a graph of projected student population through the year 2020 and also an action line showing when new space would be necessary. He noted that the Middle and High schools are in the "pain area" now. In 4 years, they will be over the top. There would be a little more room without tuition students. Mr. Smith felt that the elementary school expansions provided the right level of capacity for those facilities. He showed charts on each elementary school and could foresee no problems in the next 5 years. The only possible problem might be at Orchard School. Mr. Smith felt the high school situation should be watched and the district should be ready to act before things get out of hand. 2. Update from School Site Selection Committee: Mr. LeClair said there would be a report on this after the first of the new year. 3. Briefing from South Burlington Representatives in State House on Property Tax Relief: Mr. Flaherty felt that whatever happens won't be in the best interests of South Burlington. He noted there are several plans under consideration including plans from the VLCT, League of women Voters, etc. If there are no new dollars available, the Legislature will consider sharing, which hurts South Burlington. Ms. Hallowell said that Chittenden County provides the bulk of money for any new plan. She hoped a bottom line could be held for Burlington and S. Burlington. From a political standpoint, she said, there is hope the Governor and leadership will come up with something reasonable, possibly smaller incremental steps. Mr. Mazur felt the Representatives #1 mission was to try to preserve what the city has. Chittenden County will be looked at very heavily. There is talk of lowering the sales tax in one part of the state and raising it in Chittenden County. Ms. Hallowell added that the question is whether what they come up with will be better relief than the rebate program. They need to look very carefully to see that there is actually a gain. Mr. Condos expressed the feeling that it would be bad for S. Burlington to be penalized for 25 years of good planning which other communities didn't do. He felt that legislators need to take into account what is included in per pupil costs, such as bussing, when looking on a state-wide basis. 4. Pre-Budget Discussion: a. Budget Cut Impacts on School System for 1996-7 - Supt. Chattman said that because of the increase in students, there has been a decrease in per pupil expenditures. He said that if this is to be a first class educational system, they may have to go to the voters and see what they will support. Ms. Moyer, new principal at the High School, noted that $606,000 had been cut from that budget. They had resolved to maintain as comprehensive a program as possible, including programs beyond the school day. She noted that facing a crisis has had both good and negative results. Most students have gotten into the classes they requested. Standards and assessment are progressing. Support services are functioning well. School spirit is increasing. They have even been able to maintain some courses and activities despite these having been cut from the budget. But, Ms. Moyer stressed, the High School has still not felt the full impact of the cuts. Among the negative impacts, the most obvious is larger class sizes. There are 83 sections with 25 or more students, one with 37 students. The South Burlington tradition has always been 18-19 students per class. There are also a large number of students not scheduled in each period, resulting in very large study halls. In addition, the number of options have decreased, resulting in less flexibility. The Senior Challenge program is in jeopardy. It is also very hard for administrators to get around to classes. One of the most serious affects is that the technology program is at a standstill. There are also safety issues. There is a need for a new bus. Students now arrive an hour early and have an hour to kill, increasing the risk of drug and alcohol problems. There also can be no family group conferencing. Building maintenance is also an issue, with the chemistry area being a particular place for concern from a safety point of view. It has also been difficult to meet the level of communication the community has come to expect. Parents are finding they can no longer walk in and be seen. Mr. Condos commented that his daughter, who is a freshman this year, is in a class of 38 students. She has a problem with that. The class can't cover as much material as they should and don't do as much writing. He felt the community needs to know this. Ms. Moyer said most of the large classes are at the freshman level because of the large size of the freshman class. Even more students are projected for next year's freshman class, which may result in even larger classes. Ms. Clift noted that guidance counselors are "straight out" trying to get students into colleges. She felt her daughter is not getting as much help as she needs. Supt. Chattman noted that it's the 5 main academic areas where classes are the largest. The population increase will only compound that. He added that this situation affects how attractive the school is to tuition students. It is possible the district will lose the $2,000,000 revenue tuition students provide. David Ford then discussed the impact on the Middle School. Cuts were substantially less there, $90,000. Within the infrastructure, part timers were used to save on benefits. 1.6 French positions are shared by 5 people. They also replaced excellent people with less experienced people, less expensive people. They stopped replacing some textbooks and are now using some which are out of print. Class sizes average 25.6 in core areas. Mr. Kaufman said he has students in all levels of education and is concerned for their futures. He commended the principals for dealing with the problems they have been facing, but he felt these problems must be addressed immediately. Teachers with large classes are concerned they can't provide one-on-one feedback to students and also have to cut discussions short. Mr. Kaufman said his son is in three classes with over 30 students. He has observed some teachers with no textbooks to use and inadequate lab supplies. Mr. Kaufman was also concerned that athletic programs will be cut back. Parents have been supporting the freshman program this year, but they can't do it every year. He stressed that athletics help keep some kids out of serious trouble. Mr. Kaufman felt teachers may have to go without increases for a few years in order to get programs back in place. Elementary school principals then reported on the affect of cuts. Judy Maynard said enrollments are going up. Chamberlin School has 350 students (326 were projected). Instructional supports have not increased with enrollment, and class sizes are increasing. Some K-1-2 classes have 25 students. Support personnel is spread very thin. Mary Lynn Riggs said that Orchard School still has small, manageable class sizes. There are 7 more classes that need co-curricular support. Intramural sports, concerts, etc., are nonexistent, though there is an effort to have them happen with parent support. It was noted that almost all technology was cut from the budget last year. This is very frustrating as the building projects got the buildings ready for technology that now doesn't exist. Central school classes are still averaging about 20 students, but there are the same support staffing concerns. Supt. Chattman noted that schools had to reduce instructional assistants to get a new teacher. Mr. Snyder added that the Superintendent doesn't even have a full-time secretary. Marilyn Frederick then reported on Technology district-wide. The major problem is the lack of hardware. She showed a chart of student/computer ratios, also internet capable computers and multi-media capable computers. The ratios, she said are grim. Mr. Hafter suggested looking at new technology that will be available in June at much cheaper rates. Ms. Frederick noted that there is an effort to get grant money for technology, but if a district doesn't show that it is putting money into technology, they do not look as appealing to grant committees. b. Preliminary Grand List Discussion for 1997-8: Mr. Hafter said the last 3 years have had very low increases. This year began with a 1.5 hole in the Grand List because of the elimination of the Machinery/Equipment Tax. It looks like it may end up with a 1.5 total increase. The city has issued $27,215,543 in building permits, all taxable property. Last year's taxable property building permits totalled only $15,935,239. 5. Report on Twilight Zone Program: Mr. Hubbard and Officers O'Day and Fraga reported on the program which offers safe activities for young people. The Friday night activity was run 5 times this fall, averaging 150 students per night, with as many as 220 on one night. The program used the gyms, cafeteria, weight room for athletics, dancing, and refreshments. The image lab was also used with student instructors. Donations were received from CASA, the Boosters, Police Youth Services, and in-kind donations from the community. Officer Fraga cited the excellent coordination among Police, Recreation Dept. and Student Services. He said the Justice System doesn't make a positive difference in kids' lives; what is needed is to deal appropriately with this age group. He noted that community members have said this is the best thing they've seen happen. Supt. Chattman thanked the Police Dept. for help with the new fingerprinting law. He, too, cited the excellent bond between the city and the schools. 7. Review Minutes of 19 September 1996: Mr. Condos moved to approve the Minutes of 19 September 1996 as written. Mr. Manazir seconded. Motion passed unanimously. As there was no further business to come before the Committee, the meeting adjourned at 9:50 p.m. Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.