The final school budget will be approved at the June 13 annual Town Meeting.
LUDLOW – The School Committee is taking the recommendation of its newly appointed interim school superintendent in approving $340,000 in cuts which the town says are needed to next year’s School Department budget.
The final school budget for fiscal 2012 which begins July 1 is to be approved at the annual Town Meeting on June 13.
The School Committee has appointed Kenneth J. Grew to take over as interim superintendent effective July 1. He will replace Theresa M. Kane who is resigning July 1 to take over as school superintendent in East Windsor, Conn.
School Committee member James P. “Chip” Harrington said Grew already has been spending most days in the school district meeting with teachers, administrators and parents about the priorities for the school system.
At its most recent School Committee meeting School Committee members approved Grew’s recommendation to move four academic “coaches” back into elementary classrooms.
The coaches, who are certified teachers, were hired to help teachers raise student test scores on MCAS tests.
Harrington argued last year that students would be better served by having the teachers in the classrooms.
By moving the academic coaches into classrooms, the School Department will be able to keep class size low and avoid layoffs, Harrington said.
Moving the academic coaches into classrooms will save the district $200,000 for the academic coach positions, Harrington said.
That change goes a long way to solving the shortfall for next year’s budget, he added.
Kane, who until July 1 is still superintendent of schools, said the School Committee is going in a different direction than she had advocated. Kane said hiring the coaches to help teachers with effective teaching techniques was an effective way to improve student test scores.
Grew, who attended the last School Committee meeting as a spectator, advocated cutting the coaches. “The classroom teachers should do what the coaches do. This is where the rubber meets the road.”
Grew added that the coaches will be kept on staff as teachers and can give advice to other classroom teachers who desire it.
“We are not abandoning professional development,” Harrington said. “We are making the classroom a priority.”
Other reductions recommended by Grew and approved by the School Committee include the reduction of a special education position and a nurse and the reduction of the budgets for legal services and consultants.
Grew said he is looking for available funds in the budget which are needed for textbooks and supplies.