HADLEY – The Hadley School Committee discussed statistics, updates and new programs at its Jan. 23 meeting. District Superintendent Anne McKenzie presented a report on the fiscal year 2023 (FY23) budget and school enrollment numbers. She also introduced a position of internship coordinator for the district.

McKenzie said that financially nothing has changed between the committee’s December meeting as far as spending and budget requests.

“Nothing has changed in terms of the requests that I presented to you at our meeting in December. We’re still looking at a 1.66 percent increase from FY22 to total expenditures and requesting a 2 percent increase from the town to local contribution,” McKenzie said.

McKenzie also noted a discrepancy in the number of school choice students and the number of school age children that live in Hadley.

“Our choice numbers remain very strong. That’s really saying something, particularly with them remaining high during COVID [-19] and post-COVID [-19]. This is particularly important because you’ll see there are some data also in this document that demonstrate that resident member enrollment [people who live in Hadley, for whom the town is fiscally responsible] is declining overall. The number of school-age resident children is declining,” McKenzie said.

However, the decline of the school-aged population is projected to reverse at the end of this decade, according to recent projections.

“The New England School Development Council in their projections anticipates that we’ll see an increase in resident enrollment around 2028 to 2029, that it will rebound, but it’s particularly important that our school choice numbers stay strong, and I’m pleased to report that they are staying quite strong,” McKenzie said.

McKenzie said that she was pleased by the diversity of Hadley’s schools, particularly in terms of its growing reputation as a good destination for students with disabilities. She said that the incoming flow of students with Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) from other districts is double the amount within the district that leave to go elsewhere.

“The census data in Hadley demonstrates that the schools are more diverse than the town itself, so school choice clearly is an effective way for us to diversify our student body. What I’m really happy about and proud of is that I’ve always said that I want Hadley to be the destination district for families with children who are disabled; as you see in our choice-out students with IEPs, it’s two to one. For every one student with an IEP who’s choiced out of the district, two have come in from other districts, and that just makes my heart sing,” McKenzie said.

Charter school enrollment is more or less the same as it has been in recent years; however, though the district anticipates a reduction in overall charter school enrollment over the coming years, tuitions will increase. The district anticipates 16 career and technical education students in FY23, sometimes known as “vocational” students.

McKenzie was most pleased by the fact that more students are coming in to the district than leaving. This year was the first time such a feat was accomplished in Hadley Public Schools.

“This is what I’m most thrilled about…There is one path in [to the Hadley school district] if you don’t live here: choice. There are three paths out: Career and Tech. Ed. AKA vocational schools, charter schools or choice-out. So it is really hard for the total ‘in’ to exceed the ‘out.’ This year is our first time [having the in exceed the out]…I’m thrilled about that. It’s a big deal and I hope we keep it up,” McKenzie said.
McKenzie made a point to praise the town’s generosity toward the district, acknowledging the fact that the town gives them more than it is legally required to.

“We don’t take that lightly and I want the town to know that we are honored by that generosity and work very hard to be good stewards with those investments,” McKenzie said.

She did point out that the town of Hadley spends 39 percent of its operating budget on its schools. This is considered low for the region, with Amherst spending 53 percent of its operating budget on its schools, South Hadley at 49 percent and Northampton at 43 percent. However, she also noted that Hadley’s per-pupil expenditure is the third highest in the region at $22,302.

In addition to the report, McKenzie announced that she would be using surplus state funding to hire a coordinator for the district’s Innovation Pathways program, which provides students with paid internships in STEM fields.

“This year we were given additional funds from the state for our Pathways programs. As you know, we have funding to provide students with paid internships in STEM fields, we have several students now who are in various internships, and we want to provide opportunities for internships for our Innovation Pathways students. The state has offered additional money this year, and I would like to use some of that funding to pay someone to help us identify and coordinate internships,” McKenzie said.

The position would end at the end of this fiscal year on June 30, unless a continuation is granted. The position will be a one-off gig, to be paid for hours worked.