I haven’t been publishing any posts to this blog for a while, but I haven’t disappeared – much, I’m sure, to the dismay of our illustrious School Committee and our fine Superintendent [sarcasm intended]. But I’m not so big a person that I can readily walk away from a golden opportunity to scream, “I told you so!” to the aforementioned individuals and their minions.
To what, specifically, do I refer? See my earlier post of April 28, 2011, entitled “We All Deserve Better.”
Now that this school year is in full swing, the disturbing and disappointing numbers are coming in. Our district has lost even more students this year (charter and choice), which will cost the taxpayers some $600,000 more than last year in out-of-district choice and charter tuition.
We will not win any awards for our MCAS performance in the state, but we may be in the running for the district paying the highest amount in out-of-school sending tuition. Last year we came in sixth in the state. This year we have climbed to fifth. Never let it be said that we aren’t “racing to the top” of some list in this state. It would be nice if it weren’t for being the worst at something.
Yet again, Carol Woodbury put her own twisted spin on the MCAS scores, and blamed it all on our “churn rate” (that’s a new one – another “Carolism” perhaps?) and all the low-income families in Yarmouth and Dennis. Because let’s face it, if we’ve heard it from her once, we’ve heard it from her a thousand times, poor families have under-performing children who are not capable of learning.
In 2011, the DESE shows 139 students having elected to attend charter schools at a tuition cost of approximately $1.39 million. Then Sturgis opened a temporary expansion facility and that number climbed dramatically this year to 197 students at a tuition cost of approximately $2.26 million. The number of students wait-listed for next year at Sturgis is 79 students and Sturgis expects to expand further by next year. A conservative projection for next year is another, say, 50 students more than this year (let’s round the total number off to 250). Using this year’s per pupil tuition amount of $11,486 means that we might expect to pay as much as (or more than) $2.87 million per year in charter tuition!
The School Committee thumbed their noses at the taxpayers by signing a six-year contract [death sentence] with Carol Woodbury. So, let’s take a look at the consequences of that decision. If we average the trend over the last five years and project the trend – until 2017 (through Woodbury’s contract) – in enrollment numbers, here’s what we can expect:
2008: 171 choice students @ $1.63 million
2009: 222 choice students @ $1.43 million
2010: 257 choice students @ $1.6 million
2011: 306 choice students @ $1.92 million
2012: 324 choice students @ $2.04 million
Five years of numbers average out to an increase of 37 students per year choosing other schools for an average increase of $234,950 per year (the average per pupil tuition cost over the past five years is approximately $6,350). This is only an average per year, so the number may likely be higher each year given the very obvious trend and the impact that trend will have on parents electing to place their children in better districts [districts which are not dying on the vine]. That factor and the reality that Harwich is opening a new high school next year will definitely make have profound impact beyond what I’m projecting below.
2013: 361 choice students @ $2.29 million (add approximation of charter tuition of $2.87 for a total of $5.16 million)
2014: 398 choice students @ $2.53 million (add approximation of charter tuition of $2.87 for a total of $5.4 million)
2015: 435 choice students @ $2.73 million (add approximation of charter tuition of $2.87 for a total of $5.6 million)
2016: 472 choice students @ 3 million (add approximation of charter tuition of $2.87 for a total of $5.87 million)
2017: 509 choice students @ $3.23 million (add approximation of charter tuition of $2.87 for a total of $6.1 million)
Is it possible to change these numbers and turn this trend around? Sure. Is it probable, or even likely, if those in positions to do so refuse to acknowledge there is a worsening trend? Absolutely not.
During the election in May of 2011, the Superintendent and her band of merry minions flooded the media and preached at every public microphone that the DY district is phenomenal, great and wonderful and that the very best plan of action is to stay the current course. They believe this to be so true that they made a loud and clear statement to the taxpayers by signing Woodbury in for another six years – unprecedented.
Well, my fellow taxpayers, the above is the staid course/plan/trend to which they have committed our school district.
Carol Woodbury has assured that if any facilities are closed, the staff of those facilities will be absorbed into the other schools. As our student numbers decline, our staff numbers stay reasonably stagnant. She cut the librarians last year, added some reading teachers and is suggesting that we add back the librarians next year!
If Dennis splits from Yarmouth and develops their own K-8 district, what would we have to offer them to take Carol Woodbury with them? I’m sorry Dennis, you are my neighbor and I am very fond of you, but oh, how I’d love throw that particular baby out with the bath water. Our two towns are condemned to death. Dead district walking. Walking the last mile. Resident of the condemned cell.
Dennis, take our Superintendent. Please.
DY Voice of Reason 
Very well said! It is about time that the taxpayers of both Dennis and Yarmouth hold the administration accountable. In the real world the buck stops at the top and the President holds the ultimate responsibility. In the case of the school, it is the Superintendent who is responsible. The SC are elected to oversee and hold the Superintendent accountable (in theory anyways). It is time that the SC, our respective BOS hold the Superintendent accountable and replace her for her utter failure. As she herself has said countless times…it is all about the Children. Maybe if she really cared about the Children and not her pension and salary she would do the honorable thing and resign. No notice necessary, we the taxpayers would accept it.
Over the last several years the Towns have disagreed over funding. I honestly think that if the product that is being produced was of high quality we would not be having these financial arguements.
It is time we truly put the children, our future first and it begins by replacing the Captain of this sinking ship!
No question about it. This SC has no credibility with the taxpayers (they lost whatever minute amount of credibility they still had when they signed the district’s death sentence by renewing Woodbury’s contract for an unprecedented six years!).
We wouldn’t have ANY budget issues if we weren’t paying other schools some $4 million of OUR tax dollars every year.
How is it that no one seems to care about that? It’s absolutely abhorrent.
How could the SC have any credibility? They’ve been saying the same thing for years, and things keep getting worse. When they are confronted with the facts, the fact-presenter is bullied until quiet, and then the SC goes on with the dog-and-pony show about how great everything is.
In addition, the parents pulling their kids out of the system don’t seem to get that they are further debilitating the district. As you said, Susan, if the district had the $4 million that’s going out to other districts and charter schools, we wouldn’t have fiscal problems and would able to concentrate on excellent programs FOR THE CHILDREN! We should probably be mandating that the parents go to school so THEY can be educated.
I don’t blame the parents who leave. They are voting with their feet because the idiots they voted onto the School Committee (besides John Henderson) wont properly represent their wishes and hold this failed Superintendent accountable.
I don’t expect them to sacrifice their children’s educations. I did and I regret it.
We need total turn-around and it starts at the top.
Agreed. You can’t fix a problem by just throwing the money at it!
Especially when the money being thrown at it is being used to pay tuition to other town’s schools and to maintain staff levels that keep class sizes smaller than state average (when there is no evidence of this being advantageous).
Right on again, Susan ! But you forget… “IT’S ALL ABOUT THE KIDS” ! Like hell it is, it’s all about the unions and bilking the taxpayers. Woodburner & her cohorts are backing themselves into a corner tha will eventually rise up to bite them in the ____! Go Girl, Go ! Dave Mac
They won’t have a district to run into the ground much longer. It’s dying a [not so] slow death.