Belmont Schools Face ‘Significant, Negative Impact’ in Fiscal ’16 Budget; Loss of 22 Positions, Larger Class Sizes

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Photo: Teacher and staff represented by the Belmont Education Association listening to District Superintendent John Phelan present the fiscal 2016 school budget to the Belmont School Committee on Wednesday, Feb. 11.

Belmont students will face “significant and negative impacts” if the Belmont School Committee approves an available revenue budget for the next fiscal year leaving the town’s top-rated schools with an anticipated $1.7 million shortfall, according to Belmont District Superintendent John Phelan.

The current budget would force Phelan to eliminate up to 22 full-time positions including teachers and staff, allow classroom sizes in all grades to exceed the School Committee’s own benchmarks for effective teaching and increase the number of “frees” and study halls for middle and high school students.

“It would be problematic for the district to function as a Tier 1 district under this budget,” Phelan told the Belmontonian Thursday, Feb. 12.

Making the first public presentation of the fiscal 2016 budget before the School Committee and approximately 75 teachers and staff at the Chenery Middle School, Phelan presented an overview of its fiscal year 2016 budget in which the district would run on the best estimates of the available revenue from state and town sources.

Under the town’s estimates, the schools will receive $47.5 million in fiscal ’16 under the current Town Meeting approved 58/42 budget “split” in which the district receives 58 percent of total revenues.

Belmont is already doing a great deal of what it has, said Phelan. Where the average annual expenditure per student statewide is $14,571, Belmont has become an educational destination for homebuyers spending roughly $12,800 a year.

In the presentation, Phelan told the committee the district finds itself facing several “pressure points,” the most immediate is the skyrocketing increase in enrollment. In just the past five years – 2009 to 2014 – the student population in kindergarten to 12th grade has increased by 317 students to 4,222 in October, 2014.

And the forecast is that an additional 408 students will enter the district by 2019, a ten-year increase of 723 pupils. For comparison, the Wellington Elementary School has approximately 440 students.

Phelen said the increasing population has also bumped up the number of students requiring assistance in English Language learning by nearly double in two years, 117 in 2013 to 222 in 2015. Because about 80 of those students are not very proficient in English, the state requires Belmont to hire new staff to provide 2.5 hours of “small group instruction.”

Also in the overall population is a growing number special education students. The major component of the current year’s $500,000 school deficit is nearly $950,000 in unanticipated costs associated with special education. And those costs will increase in fiscal 2016 with the rising number of students entering the district.

When calculating the new costs required to the current “pressure points” and moving the current level of staff and teachers into the new year, the schools will need $49.2 million just to “stay current.”

But with rising costs and stagnate revenue, Phelan said schools will be unable to meet the demands of the residents and students for a top-tier education as it attempts to fill the $1.7 million gap.

“With enrollments going up, and the number of positions staying steady if not being reduced, I would be hard pressed to say we can continue what we are doing,” Phelan told the Belmontonian.

The cuts would be deep and substantial: 22 full-time positions from teaching, staff and aids would be cut, a further reduction in material and supplies, trimming professional development, forego building maintenance, increase the fees to rent school property and a large increase in student and family fees for sports, clubs and full-time kindergarten.

What isn’t seen in the cost cutting will be more students in each classroom, less programs and idle teens “sitting on benches in the high school and in study halls at the Chenery,” said Phelan.

“This can only negatively impact student learning.”

The solution in Phelan’s eye and, in previous discussions with the School Committee, is to enthusiastically support the proposal outlined last month by the Financial Task Force to request the Board of Selectmen to place a three-year, $4.5 million Proposition 2 1/2 override on the ballot to fund the enrollment issues facing the district.

“That is the solution,” he said.

John Sullivan, a Palfrey Road resident, Belmont teacher and president of the Belmont Education Association which represents district teachers in union negotiations, told the board that despite a highly trained and capable staff, class size impacts the day-to-day experience of students.

“If Belmont wants to maintain a high-quality student experience, one that puts Belmont High in the top 10 percent of high school state-wide, then the fiscal year ’16 budget, and future budgets, need to address the increase in enrollment,” said Sullivan.

Belmont’s League of Women Voters’ Candidate’s Night Set for March 26

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The nomination papers are not due into the Town Clerk’s Office until Tuesday, Feb. 17, but the Belmont League of Women Voters has selected the date for the League’s annual Candidate’s Night.
The highlight of the election season will take place on Thursday, March 26 at 7:30 p.m. at the Chenery Middle School, 95 Washington St.
The League will conduct the evening following its traditional order: those seeking Town Meeting membership are welcome to introduce themselves to the public – no speeches, thank you – then questions from a League panel for the unopposed town-wide candidates before ending the evening with a series of questions and some debating issues by those candidates in contested town-wide races.

 

Bursting Enrollment Makes Modular Classrooms Likely at Belmont Schools by 2016

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Photo: An example of modular classrooms in Needham, Massachusetts.

In the past two years, Belmont town and school officials have used the idiom that the school district has been “bursting at the seams” with the rapid increase in student enrollment – 330 more students – since 2009.

Now that figurative phrase is becoming literally true as the number of pupils continue rocketing upward will likely require the district to begin using modular classrooms – single-story prefabricated buildings most notably used in Belmont to house Wellington Elementary students as the new school was being built – to house the surge of children, according to Belmont Superintendent John Phelan.

Phelan made the observation at two recent meeting in January when the executive summary report of the Belmont Financial Task Force was presented to the public and the Belmont Board of Selectmen.

It doesn’t require a lengthy report to realize that with any increase in enrollment, “the need for increased classroom space is inevitable,” said Phelan.

The first steps to quantify the impact on school buildings began more than a year ago under former Superintendent Dr. Thomas Kingston who established a Space Task Force. One of the first actions taken was hiring a local architectural firm to project the district’s building requirements with the space it had and the estimated number of students coming into the system.

The study concluded for Belmont to keep within its appropriate class-size range, the elementary schools will require an additional class from kindergarten through 4th grade.

“This would result in the need for modular classrooms … by September 2016” for the elementary schools, said Phelan.

The report bluntly stated the Chenery Middle School “does not have enough space to support the current level of student enrollment” and won’t be able to fit the large classes funneling from the four elementary schools in the next five years.

The solution “will result in the need for modular classrooms” by the beginning of the 2016-17 school year.

Nor is the situation at the aging Belmont High School any better. The school is currently “out of space,” said the report, with 31 rooms shared by two teachers and four rooms by three teachers.

With the demand for additional class offerings and “the wave” of enrollment increases coming each year,” the need for space at the High School is becoming critical,” said Phelan.

The “wave” Phelan talked about is evident comparing the 260 students who graduated in 2014 with the 354 students who entered Kindergarten that same year. And those numbers are not seen dropping as “[h]istorical enrollment trends indicate there is little if any, net loss of enrollment over the grade spans.”

In its long-term plan to meet the sky-high enrollment issues facing Belmont, the school district will request hiring an additional 20 teachers over three years beginning in the 2015-16 school year, all dependent on the passage of a $4.5 million Proposition 2 1/2 override sometime in the spring.

A major new initiative by Phelan will be to target eight of the new teachers to reduce the chronic issue of student either sitting in large study halls in the middle school and having idle time at the high school known as “frees.”

The Board of Selectmen has yet to approve or set a date for the override as of Feb. 11.

Even with a successful override vote, space will continue to be a glaring handicap for the schools.

“If you want to increase the number of teachers at the middle or high school to reduce the amount of unstructured, non-educational time … the district will struggle with the ability to do so, without adding temporary space or building more permanent space,” warned Phelan.

 

Less Than a Week to Turn In Town Meeting, Town Wide Nomination Papers

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The good news, said Belmont Town Clerk Ellen Cushman, is the number of residents who took out nomination papers will result in competitive races in nearly all of Belmont’s eight precincts.

The bad news, see added, is that many potential candidates have yet to turn in those papers with the signature of 25 Belmontians to her.

“They’ve taken them out, and now I’m waiting for them to bring them back,” said Cushman today, Feb. 11.

And the deadline for the papers to be in and certified by Cushman is looming quite large.

“They only have six day, until Feb. 17 at 5 p.m. And when the bell rings, they’ll lose their chance,” said Cushman, pointing to a call bell next to the old-style time stamp machine on the Office’s front desk.

Belmont’s eight precincts will be electing 12 Town Meeting Members in addition to any partial-term seats. Cushman opened a folder for one of the precincts and showed the sign-out sheet with several names of residents who took out papers. Only one had  been turned in.

People should not wait until the last minute to return nomination papers for either Town Meeting or for those with intentions of running for town-wide office, said Cushman, reminding residents her and all town offices will be closed for the President’s Day Holiday on Monday, Feb. 16.

Water Main Break Halts Traffic on Brighton/Blanchard, Repair by 4 PM

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A major water main broke around 9 a.m., Tuesday, Feb. 10, on the north side of Brighton Street at the commuter rail tracks, causing the closure of an important cross town thoroughfare.

Belmont Police detoured traffic off of Blanchard Road from Concord Avenue to the commuter tracks and Brighton Street to Vale Road and the tracks to allow Department of Public Work crews to remove and repair the pipe that spewed water onto the roadway for a short time.

“We found a major crack in the pipe so it had to be removed and a new section cut at the DPW yard,” said Mark Mancuso, operations manager of the DPW’s Water Division.

There was some concern from the MBTA the water from the leak could freeze onto the commuter rail tracks, said Mancuso. That problem did not materialize, he added.

Mancuso said the pipe should be replaced and the road reopened by 4 p.m.

 

School Closed Tuesday; Full Parking Ban Ends 7AM Tuesday But Parking Limited to Odd Side

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Once again, the Belmont Public Schools will be closed on Tuesday, Feb. 10 due to the nearly 20 inches of snow that fell on Monday.

Also on Tuesday, the full Snow Emergency Parking Ban will be lifted at 7 a.m. Until that time, a full parking ban will be in effect, including on-street parking as well as municipal and school parking lots. Violators will be ticketed and towed.

After 7 a.m., the partial Snow Emergency Parking Rules will be in effect which limits parking on most streets to the odd-numbered side of the street.

Trash will be picked up on normal schedule

While the Beech Street Center will remain closed on Tuesday, Belmont’s two libraries, the Belmont Public and the Benton, will be open for regular hours.

Belmont Schools Closed Monday, Emergency Parking Ban In Effect 6 PM Sunday

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The instructions on shampoo bottles once had a familiar description: “Lather, rinse, repeat” which, if taken literally, would result in an endless loop of repeating the same steps.

In the past two weeks, it has appeared the Belmont has been in that endless loop as for the third time in two weeks, the town will effectively shut down due to yet another snow storm heading into eastern Massachusetts. 

  • The Belmont Public Schools will be closed on Monday, Feb. 9, due to the day-long  storm that is expected to drop up to a foot of snow on the town.
  • In addition, the Belmont Public Library and the Beech Street Center will be closed on Monday.
  • Beginning at 6 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 8, the town is declaring a snow emergency during which there will be a parking ban on on-street parking and in the three town municipal and six public school parking lots.
  • Trash and recycling pickup will occur on Monday despite the storm.

 

 

‘Active’ Bidding for Belmont Center Reconstruction Project

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It appears likely that Belmont Center will be quite busy beginning this spring.

Four construction firms have taken out the necessary paper work to bid on the $2.8 million Belmont Center Reconstruction Project since town opened the bidding on Jan. 30.

“This shows there’s interest in the project and that’s good because there will be competitive bidding,” said Andy Rojas, the chair of the Board of Selectmen, who spoke before the Warrant Committee on Wednesday, Feb. 4. 

The project, which is the calumniation of five years of planning and debate, is set to improve sidewalks, crosswalks, pavement repairs and add new lighting in the town’s main business hub.

The bidding period will close on Feb. 27 at 10 a.m. The work is expected to begin in March with expected completion on Oct. 31, 2015.

The reconstruction will also allow the town to install a new parking system that includes parking stations along Leonard Street.

The project was approved by a Special Town Meeting in November, using the town’s “free cash” account to fund the work.  

While businesses along Leonard Street have been supportive of the project, they are wary that the construction schedule will impact the Belmont Center Business Association’s annual Town Day celebration that takes place in mid-June.

“We will need to discuss this with the town so we can plan for it,” said Gerry Dickhaut of Champions Sporting Goods.

 

Talks on Possible Private/Public Partnership to Rebuild Skating Rink Underway

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Photo: Belmont’s ‘Skip’ Viglirolo Skating Rink.

First, the White Field House. Then, the new Underwood Pool. Next, the town’s skating rink?

After two successful public/private partnerships restored and saved a pair of town/school facilities in the past year, word is spreading that negotiations are underway for a possible collaboration between the town of Belmont and either an individual or a group to renovate the town-owned ‘Skip’ Viglirolo Skating Rink located adjacent to Harris Field at 297 Concord Ave.

“There are talks, but that’s all I know,” said Belmont Town Administrator David Kale after Wednesday’s meeting of the Warrant Committee, adding that he does not know who is the outside party who reached out to Belmont officials.

People in the sports community and town government have echoed Kale’s refrain: someone or a group has shown interest in renovating the rink, the condition of which is, at best, threadbare.

But other than acknowledging there are discussions, those in the know are keeping tight-lipped.

There is little debate the skating rink, owned by the town and run through the Recreation Department, is badly in need of a complete renovation.

Built in 1971 during the height of popularity of the Boston Bruins and their star, Bobby Orr, the nearly 29,000 sq.-ft. rink was originally an open air facility until the early 1980s when it was enclosed. The rink is home to the Belmont High School Marauders Hockey teams and Belmont Youth Hockey. The rink is also available to residents for recreational use.

 

The unheated rink is known for its steel panel walls with gaping openings that allow the frigid outdoor temperatures to seep inside. While many hockey players say the ice benefits from the blast of cold outdoor air making for improved skating, spectators are forewarned to bundle up before venturing inside. Several years ago, a visitor from Canada told the Belmontonian editor he attended games at outdoor rinks in Calgary which were warmer than the inside of the ‘Skip.’

It is unlikely the required work needed to upgrade the skating rink is on the horizon.

According to a recent study by the Capital Budget Committee, renovating the skating rink will cost an estimated $5 to $6 million. The committee also noted such a repair is not a current priority for the town; a new $20 million police station or a $28 million Department of Public Works Yard are higher on the list of needed capital projects.

For those reasons, a collaboration between the town and outside financing is the best chance for a renovated rink in the near future. In addition, Belmont is coming off two highly successful public/private ventures in 2014. A group of residents led by Frederick Jones contributed $100,000 and hours of sweat equity to extensively renovate the eight-decade old White Memorial Field House before the start of the 2014-15 fall sports season at Belmont High School.

Last fall, Belmont Savings Bank led the effort to raise $400,000 in public money by contributing half of the amount to save the construction of the new Underwood Pool after a low bidder withdrew its bid.

Belmont’s Snow/Ice Removal Budget ‘Burned Through’ in a Fortnight of Storms

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When calculating the snow and ice removal budget each year, the town looks at historical data and prices for raw material before determining that final figure.

This winter, the town’s determined it would likely clear about 45-inches of snow as well as sanding and salting the roads for approximately $600,000.

“You make your best estimate and go with it,” said Belmont Town Administrator David Kale last week.

“Some years, $600,000 is OK,” said Kale.

But with any prediction, sometimes you get it right and sometimes the odds get thrown out the window.

In the past two week, Mother Nature decided to throw a wooden shoe into the Belmont budget maker’s forecasting machinery, dumping nearly a season’s worth of snow – a whopping 40 inches – during the fortnight.

With Belmont’s Department of Public Works crews and approximately 40 private contractors worked around the clock attempting to clear the town’s streets and main sidewalks, the dual storms have busted the town’s snow removal budget, as well as making it more difficult for the school district to resolve its river of red ink.

“While we are still receiving bills from our vendors and calculating the costs, it’s likely true we’ve already burned through the $600,000 budgeted for removing snow,” said Kale after the Warrant Committee meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 4.

Fiscal 2015 will mark the second year running the snow and ice budget will end up in the red. Last fiscal year, Belmont spent $709,000 on snow removal, $142,000 over the budgeted amount.

And with still half of winter to come, Kale said the town is likely facing a significant hole to fill in the account by the end of the fiscal year on June 30.

But residents should not fear Belmont roads being left untouched until spring once the snow and ice account spends its final dollar. The annual town budget has a reserve funds account – a sort of rainy day fund – for just these sorts of incidents. The account, which has $400,000, can be tapped through a transfer of funds requiring Town Meeting approval.

While it appears the town will find the money for snow and ice removal, the same reserve account was being eyed by the Belmont School District as it currently sits in a $500,000 hole midway through its fiscal 2015 budget, according to Anne Lougee, the School Committee’s representative to the Warrant Committee.

With costs associated with the rapid increase in enrollment in Belmont schools, including nearly $1 million in added expenditures in the special education line item, the district had been counting on the reserve account to cut the deficit.