HAMPDEN/WILBRAHAM – Reporting on the financial situation within the Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District (HWRSD) at its meeting Feb. 4, Director of Finance and Operations Aaron Osborne to the School Committee, “things are trending well,” and the district had spent its grant funding “wisely.”

He said that the incoming stimulus package from the federal government will be “significant,” and a smaller grant from the state will also help the district’s financial situation. However, Osborne cautioned that the district needs to plan how to spread the new funds out over the next couple years.

Chair Sherrill Caruana asked about budget cuts for fiscal year 2022. Osborne said the budget is still being worked out and the budget subcommittee is looking at “every single option we can exhaust” to avoid cuts.

During the finance and operations subcommittee report, committee member Bill Bontempi said that the Chapter 70 state reimbursement funding is shrinking. He explained that the state arrives at a minimum local contribution by multiplying the total income in both towns by a percentage, but that percentage has been dropping year over year. This has the effect of lowering Chapter 70 state aid. Bontempi estimated the aid would be about $250,000 less for the upcoming fiscal year.

On Feb. 17, Superintendent Al Ganem and Osborne will present the budget to the Wilbraham Finance Committee. A date to present to the Hampden Advisory Board has not yet been set. An in-person budget roundtable is scheduled for March 11 with the School Committee, leaders from both towns, state Sen. Eric Lesser, and state Reps. Angelo Puppolo and Brian Ashe.

Cohort Changes

Ganem went over the changes to cohorts at the secondary level. A total of 125 students switched from the hybrid model to remote – three from Green Meadows School, 33 from Wilbraham Middle School (WMS) and 89 from Minnechaug Regional High School (MRHS). By contrast, only 30 students transferred from remote studies to hybrid schooling – one from Green Meadows, seven at WMS and 22 from MRHS.

Committee member Patrick Kiernan noted that the change is the opposite trend that was seen at the elementary level, while Caruana expressed concern that the numbers represented roughly three classrooms worth of students.

Ganem suggested that the difference at the secondary level is that the changes reflect student preferences more than the parent preferences seen at the elementary level.

Committee member Sean Kennedy took a different view of the cohort changes. He said that it is a success for synchronous learning that students feel they can receive the same quality of instruction whether they work from home or on their Chromebooks in class.

On the topic of remote learning, the superintendent praised the “remote snow day” on Feb. 2, in which students simply learned remotely due to the storm, rather than taking a traditional snow day. Ganem said that he was able to keep track of any potential widespread power outages and any individual families with storm related power troubles could speak with their child’s teacher to avoid the absence being held against them.

Ganem then addressed an issue that Kennedy had broached at the previous meeting. He said that when a hybrid student is out sick, but attends classes remotely that day, they are receiving the instruction and therefore the absence will not count against them, however it needs to be sent to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, which tracks how many students are receiving in-person learning at any given time. Ganem noted that if a student is quarantined their “instructional modality” is automatically switched to being a remote learner.

Kindergarten Classrooms

Director of Student Services Gina Roy reported that 48 Mile Tree students and 10 from Green Meadows have gone to four days per week of in-person learning. Additionally, one more classroom at each school will be opening.

Kiernan asked about moving to 3-foot distancing instead of 6 feet to get all kindergarteners back into existing classrooms. He asked if two kindergarten teachers is where the district wants to spend its money when Ganem is also requesting more interventionists. Roy said she thinks they would have to both shrink the distancing and open new classes to accommodate all kindergarten students.

While the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends 6 feet of distance between students, DESE’s guidance gives a range of 3 to 6 feet.

Bontempi weighed in, saying, “If the CDC is saying 6 feet, it’s hard to convince parents that 3 feet is safe.”

Kennedy asked if there are bigger rooms at other schools in the district so that all students can remain 6 feet apart. Ganem noted that the idea would make it difficult for students to have art and music and that transportation would be a challenge.

Kiernan said the “youngest and most vulnerable” students need more from the district. Ganem agreed and grades k-2 need to be in person and emphasized that the administration is looking at every space in the school buildings. Bontempi noted that other districts are all going through the same struggle.

Equity Audit and Strategic Plan

Caruana reported that the curriculum subcommittee had compared two or three firms in its goal of conducting an equity audit of the district. She praised Mass Insight, which she said “looked at all of the ways in which you want equity for all of your learners.” Caruana is looking at options to combine the equity audit with the district’s creation of a strategic plan, in hopes that the ecost of the projects can be combined. No matter what, Caruana said the audit has to be done. “This is a promise we made back in June,” she said.

Superintendent’s Mid-Cycle Review

Ganem presented his Superintendent’s Mid-Cycle Review and noted that although the goals set for himself at the beginning of the year are important, the safe learning environment for students has been the most important goal to him.

One goal that Ganem admitted he has not been able to keep up with is touring classrooms, which he said wasn’t acceptable. Instead, the committee suggested that he sit in on remote classes with an eye toward the levels of engagement from remote students.

In regard to improving communication, Vice Chair Maura Ryan and Caruana stated that the district website needs to be fixed to make it easier to access information. Ryan said people need to be able to go to the website for information, rather than turning to social media as a primary source. Bontempi recommended tapping technology-related student groups to update the website, which would provide real-world experience.

Caruana and Ryan asked Ganem about the creation of a dashboard with data various assessments that the public can access. This is not the first time that Ryan and others on the committee have asked for a dashboard of assessment data and Ryan pushed back against a perceived lack of assessment transparency.

“It’s the second year and it’s the same time of year and we’re asking for data,” Ryan said. She noted that Newsweek will be putting out their ranking of American schools in a few months and that people want to see what areas HWRSD excels in and where works needs to be done.

Ganem asked what kind of data the committee would like to see and insisted that assessments are ongoing at every level. “It’s not just the MCAS (Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System) and the BASS (Basic Academic Skills Samples).” He said in-class assessments are also important.

Kennedy told Ganem that a standard metric needs to be created for use from year to year. Caruana said that the school committee needs to be able to get a picture of the district’s progress “from the 30,000-feet level.”

Ganem agreed to work on getting the data curated and again assured the committee that assessments are happening all the time. He also noted that the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has a data dashboard on its website with data similar to what the committee was requesting.

Kennedy asked Ganem about the proposed gifted and talented program that the pandemic had derailed and wondered when it could be picked up again. Ganem responded by urging the district to hire interventionists who can work with kids on both ends of the achievement spectrum.

Director of Curriculum Tom Mazza spoke about the push by art teachers Julia Max, Alyson Smith and Reena Allen to adopt two new programs, “Flex Curriculum” and “Pro Learning,” both from the Art of Education university. He praised them for embracing new teaching programs and platforms during the pandemic, when teaching is already difficult.

Roy told the committee and those watching remotely that the transitional program is running a clothing drive, collecting new or gently used coats, towels, blankets and clothes. The drive benefits St. Jude’s Clothing Center in Holyoke. Donations can be dropped off Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Thornton W Burgess School through Feb. 12.