School board discusses reductions; Strings position taken off the block

FARMINGTON – Directors debated a series of painful position reductions Tuesday evening, making three modifications in the first of two board meetings this week.

The most significant change, proposed by Director Keith Swett, of Wilton, and passed overwhelmingly by the board, deletes the proposed cut of a half-time Strings teaching position at the elementary level. Swett, who said he was responding to the requests of his constituents in Wilton, stipulated that the $30,889 to cover the position come out of contingency funds, board-related accounts or administration line items.

The board also discussed a memo, released by Music Department Director Carol Shumway, which noted that repair fees or other instrument-related fees were a possibility to help fund the department, which has absorbed three significant cuts in this proposed budget. Director Iris Silverstein, of Farmington, attempted to attach an amendment to Swett’s motion, disallowing the music department from ever charging fees, but that was voted down.

Shumway, who agreed that any sort of instrument-related or repair-related fees were undesirable, said that the memo had been drafted following her receiving board members’ requests to “think outside the box.” Directors, many of whom said they were voting against the amendment to avoid tying the department’s hands in the future, said they were also against fees relating to participation in the schools’ music programs.

Superintendent Michael Cormier said that the administration would generate suggestions regarding where the $30,000 to cover the half-time Strings position would come from for the next board meeting.

The general music teaching position, at Mt. Blue Middle School, was also covered by the school board and is still in line for a cut in the proposed budget. Director Robert Flick, of Farmington, made a motion to restore the position, funding it through the cutting of the American Sign Language program at Mt. Blue High School. This motion failed to pass overwhelmingly, after Principal Monique Poulin and Director Mark Prentiss, of Industry, pointed out that sign language was utilized by many students every year to fill the World Language requirement. Cormier also noted that only a half-time position was utilized to run that program, as opposed to the full-time, $58,461 position in general music.

Directors also noted that several options were still available for students interested in participating in music, including band, orchestra, chorus and extracurricular show choir, Franklin County Fiddlers and the jazz band.

“Only those who choose not to do music, won’t do music,” Director Angela LeClair, of Wilton, noted.

Two other changes, outside of the music department, were also approved by the board. A half-time health position, at MBMS, was reinstated, in exchange for a reduction of a half-time Family Consumer Sciences position. Cormier noted that the district had learned that not having a certified health teacher would result in a loss of grant funding. FACS teacher Betsy Brady, who is also a certified health teacher, said she had always incorporated health instruction into her FACS program, and that she intended to fold some aspects of her FACS program into a health curriculum.

“I’ve been teaching the health standards all along,” she said, “and it bothers me that this is all over a name.”

The third change involves tech integration throughout the district. Technology Director Angel Allen, piggybacking off of an idea first introduced by Integrator Barry Maguire, recommended that $10,000 be taken out of the Technology Professional Development line and used to fund stipends for district personnel in all schools except MBHS, which will maintain a half-time integrator position. The personnel who receive stipends will help other staff members in the use of technology.

Allen said that the system, which is used in MSAD 58, has proven successful in the past.

“It works out very nicely there,” she said. “It is something there is precedent for.”

The board also discussed, but declined to alter, proposed classroom teaching position cuts in Academy Hill School, Cascade Brook School and Cape Cod Hill School, as well as physical education teacher at MBMS, a science teacher at MBHS and a half of a math teaching position at MBHS.

The board spent some time deliberating the elementary foreign language program, which is scheduled to be cut in the proposed budget, and the reduction of the Chinese language teaching position. Cormier and Assistant Superintendent Susan Pratt did have some hopeful news, in that the district was applying for a five-year grant which would provide for an introduction of a comprehensive Chinese language program at the elementary and middle school level. The status of the grant, which can be applied to only a select group of languages, including Mandarin Chinese, will be known if a few weeks.

Directors will continue to debate other proposed reductions on Thursday.