Thank you, Shrewsbury!

I am so very grateful for the support our community is providing to town government, including our public schools, through the recent "Yes" vote for the operational override. Below is a version of the message of thanks I sent through email after the recent override vote:

Dear Shrewsbury Citizens,

The vote on June 3rd signaled the beginning of a new era for our town, because the Shrewsbury community said a resounding "Yes" to investing more money in town government in order to ensure that we have the resources needed to continue our tradition of excellence.  

I want to personally thank each and every one of you who voted to support the override and those of you who did such excellent work to promote its passage.  I cannot overemphasize how critical a “Yes” vote was for the quality of our school district.  Thanks to you, our students now have a brighter future and our outstanding educators can move forward with their work with the knowledge that they have the strong support of the community, which is a huge morale boost given the difficult situation we’ve faced over the past few years.

In addition, other Town departments will also benefit from more resources.  I feel so fortunate to work in a town that is so well run, and I am grateful for the support the School Department receives from the other Town departments, and that I receive from the other Department Heads.

We are indebted to many leaders in the community who made a successful vote possible.  While there isn't space to name all who made significant contributions, I do want to recognize the following groups and individuals:

• our School Committee (Chair, Dr. B. Dale Magee; Vice Chair, Jason Palitsch; Secretary, Erin Canzano; Sandy Fryc; and John Samia) for their tireless advocacy for Shrewsbury's students and educators and for their constant support of my work as superintendent;

• our Board of Selectmen (Chair, Jim Kane; Vice Chair, Moira Miller; Clerk, John Lebeaux; Moe DePalo; and Henry Fitzgerald), for placing the override question before the voters and advocating for it as the most responsible way forward in order to meet the needs of our community;

• our Finance Committee (Chair, John Masiello; Vice Chair, Bretta Karp; Gene Buddenhagen; John Campbell; John Cygielnik; Donna O'Connor; Patrick Pitney; Chris Rutigliano; and Judy Vedder), for their careful oversight of the Town's finances and advocacy for additional resources through the override;

• our Town Manager, Dan Morgado, for his articulation and support of the need for more resources and his ongoing superb leadership of our town;

• our State Representative, Matt Beaton, for his active support of the override and his ongoing support of our schools through advocacy at the State House, as well as for his support of our programs, especially our community service learning initiative;

• the Community Supporters for Shrewsbury, the ballot committee who ran an extraordinary campaign to convince the community that a "Yes" vote was in the best interest of our town.  Thank you to Campaign Co-Chairs Beth Casavant, Chris Coghlin, Joyce Danielson, Mel Gordon, Bob Holland, Ken Largess, and Clint Mills for their public support.  A special thank you to the following campaign coordinators who gave countless hours of their time to run an extremely professional campaign: Campaign Manager, Beth Casavant; Campaign Strategists, Hannah Kane and Jason Palitsch; Data Manager, Suzanne Remington; Treasurer, Kathleen Keohane; and to the literally hundreds of volunteers whose hard work and dedication made a "Yes" vote possible;

• former Superintendent of Schools, John P. Collins, whose passion for doing the right thing for our students was contagious and whose contributions to the effort went miles above and beyond for someone who is allegedly “retired”;

• our Central Office administrators and support staff, and our principals, for the hours upon hours of skillful work on the budget plan, reports, and presentations that helped demonstrate the facts of our situation to the community; and

• all of our School Department employees, whose professionalism, expertise, and dedication to the well being of our students inspire me every day.

I am so pleased that a significant majority of voters have signaled their confidence in us.  Regardless of how you voted, please know that we in the School Department will do our absolute best to be good stewards of the additional resources we are being provided through the override.  With the Town firmly behind us and with the resources we need, I am very confident that we will build on our past successes in order to provide a truly world class education to our students.  

As your superintendent, in the coming years I look forward to working with all of you to make our schools the very best they can be.   As your fellow resident, I look forward to raising my family in a great town with great people. I couldn’t be more pleased and proud to work and live in Shrewsbury.

With deep gratitude,

Joe Sawyer

Superintendent of Schools

Passing the Baton

At the recent Special Town Meeting, I had the opportunity to make some remarks regarding the School Department's supplemental budget request.  As some have asked me about them, I am posting a written version of them here.  You may also view a recording of my remarks at this link (starting at the 69 minute mark).
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As your superintendent and as a resident, I feel so fortunate to be part of this community.  In fact, I'm wearing my Shrewsbury blue and gold tie this evening as a demonstration of my pride.

This is my 17th year as a resident and school leader.  The benefit of having been here that long is having the opportunity to see students grow and blossom into successful young women and men.  My heart fills with pride when I see our young people graduate and go on to success in college, the military, and the workplace.

Recently, I received four separate unsolicited communications from former students or their parents, and I'd like to share them with you:

• The first is from an SHS alumna who is graduating from college this year.  In an email, she wrote: "...The school system allowed me to develop into the person I am today and gave me the opportunity to attend (my college).  My decision to become a teacher was greatly influenced by the many wonderful teachers and positive experiences I had during my years in the Shrewsbury Public Schools.  I would love to give back to the community that has given me so much."

• The second was from the parent of an SHS alumnus who is graduating from Carnegie Mellon University this year, where he received the top award in physics.  In an email, his mother wrote: "He will be going on to the University of Chicago for graduate school (where) he will get his degree in Computational Astrophysics....  He was extremely well served and inspired by so very many of his teachers, most notably (his physics teacher at SHS).  She told him about Carnegie Mellon, where she went to college herself, and I am sure her approach and kindness and humor and constant encouragement made (physics) friendly to him in the forming states.  He was also encouraged highly by several other teachers during his time in Shrewsbury Schools, for certain."

• The third was from the parent of an SHS graduate who enlisted in the Marine Corps.  She wrote that he recently graduated from Communications School second in his class, and he received an additional Merit Award for his conduct.  The parent wrote that he was one of many successful students from his SHS class, and she thanked the Shrewsbury schools for preparing him well for his success as a United States Marine.

• The fourth was from a former student of mine at Floral Street School, from the time when I was the assistant principal there.  If they gave frequent flyer miles for trips to the principal's office, this student could have flown around the world for free - twice.  He has been working as an investment banker and now for a venture capital firm in Silicon Valley, so now he can fly around the world on his credit card.  He wrote to me: "I wanted to thank you and the larger school community for providing the guidance and influence that helped form the person I am today....I'm sure (the community) could use a reminder that what (teachers) do is very meaningful to the students.  While the kids may not appreciate it at the time, many of us certainly do later in life."

These are communications that make me incredibly proud as your superintendent.

This community helped make these students' successes possible.  We should all be proud. All of us had a hand in their success.

But, my concern right now is whether our students right now are missing out on what these four students received, an education where their teachers had the time to make a meaningful, motivating connection with these students and the tools to ensure their academic skills were excellent.

I have here a relay baton that I borrowed from the SHS gym.  Many of you know that when a runner or a swimmer competes on a relay team, they typically outperform their times when they run or swim in an individual event.  This is because of their commitment to their team -- their strong desire not to let their teammates down -- compels them to perform at their best.

Every time Town Meeting convenes, every time a new cohort of students enters our schools, our community renews its commitment to the well being of its youth.  Every year, we pass the baton. In recent years, I think we've bobbled that baton a bit, and as a result we've fallen a few steps behind where we should be.  I believe that the allocation that you will vote on this evening will help us catch up.  I'd like to make that a clean hand off for the benefit of our students.  

I believe that we honor previous generations by continuing the high quality of life that has been handed down to us in this community.  I think we honor ourselves by ensuring that the next generation is given the same opportunity to succeed. 

How Do We Pay Our Teachers? Reasonably and Fairly.

The Shrewsbury Public Schools have a long track record of providing a high quality education for students at an extremely reasonable cost.  Given that the main factor in a school district's total cost is compensation for teachers, common sense shows that Shrewsbury's expenses for teacher compensation are also reasonable.  A specific comparison of salary rates for comparable districts shows that Shrewsbury does not pay teachers the most, and it does not pay the least. .  Despite these facts, some have alleged that the root of our town government's fiscal challenges is that our School Committee has made agreements with our teachers association that have resulted in teacher compensation rising at a rate that is unsustainable.  This is just not so. Like other town employees, Shrewsbury teachers are paid reasonably and fairly, within the district's geographic and demographic market.  For a detailed analysis comparing Shrewsbury to other school districts, see the report on our website here.  

That report also shows that the cost of living adjustments to which the School Committee and the teachers association have agreed in recent years are the lowest among our peers.  In fact, the average cost of living increase our teachers have received since Fiscal Year 2008 is 1.46%.

If Shrewsbury were overpaying its teachers, this would show up in the bottom line. Overall, in FY 2013 Shrewsbury spent $774 less per pupil in the category “classroom and specialist 
teachers”, which means that Shrewsbury spent $4.5 million less on teachers than an average Massachusetts district.

Those who suggest that Shrewsbury pays its teachers too much are using the average teacher salary statistic to justify their erroneous conclusion.  This is a misuse of that statistic, because using the average does not indicate the actual rate of pay, nor does it show how much teachers are actually paid, individually or in total.  For example, in Fiscal Year 2013, Shrewsbury teachers' average salary went up by 3.25%; however, the district made cuts to teaching positions that year, and there were actually 15 fewer teaching positions resulting in Shrewsbury paying almost half a million fewer dollars than the previous year.  The average salary increased because almost 20 teachers who retired were not replaced with new teachers earning a lower salary, skewing the average salary higher despite the fact that the district spent more than $450,000 less than the previous year.

So, are teacher salaries sustainable? There is no doubt that teacher salaries are the largest single part of the town's budget, which is mostly due to the fact that educating 6,000-plus students requires a large number of teachers. The reality is that other communities of Shrewsbury’s economic means are able to support an investment in public education that provides reasonable numbers of teachers without having to repeatedly increase their tax levy. The addition of more teachers in Shrewsbury to fix our class size problem is sustainable; for example, the 74.4 full time equivalent staff (most of whom are teachers) who would be added through a supplemental budget in FY15 will cost about $3.74 million to bring on board, but the incremental cost of step and cost of living salary adjustments to keep these staff the following year will only be about $166,000. While it is clear that our district needs to invest in more teachers, the cost of those teachers who will be added under the supplemental budget plan is sustainable. 

The graphic at the top of this post demonstrates that Shrewsbury's bottom line cost for teachers is far below the state average, and this will remain the case even if sorely needed additional teachers are hired if the operational override passes on June 3.  If someone tries to tell you that teacher salaries in Shrewsbury are too high or unaffordable, you know that the facts say otherwise.  Teachers in Shrewsbury are paid reasonably and fairly, and they provide tremendous value to our community.  

Don't Be Fooled: Know the Facts on Special Education Spending

We had a tough winter, and I'm sure that you, like me, paid a lot of attention to your home heating bill.  Imagine if you and your neighbors had the same size house, and you both were being responsible regarding your home heating costs by installing insulation, turning the thermostat down, etc., and both of you spend the same amount on your heating bill. However, your neighbors drive more expensive cars, eat out more than you do, and take at least one more vacation than you do each year.  Even though you are both spending the same amount on heating your homes, the percentage of your whole household budget that you are spending on heat is higher than your neighbors, because they spend more on other things. 

Now imagine if someone were to criticize your spending on heat based on that statistic, a statistic that actually highlights that you spend less than your neighbors on other parts of your household budget.  You would rightly dismiss that claim as inaccurate.  You need to know that those who claim that our school district is spending too much money on special education services are making this same kind of erroneous argument.

Some who say that Shrewsbury spends too much on special education are citing a particular statistic as supposed evidence for this inaccurate claim.  The statistic, reported by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, is the percentage of overall school spending allocated to special education costs.  For Fiscal Year 2013, this statistic shows that Shrewsbury spent about 25% of its total education budget on special education, while the state average is about 20%.  At first glance, someone might take this to mean that we are spending 5% more on special education than a typical district, but that is not what this shows.  What it actually shows is that Shrewsbury spends about the same as an average school district on mandated special education costs, but spends a whole lot less on other parts of its educational program, which makes the proportional share spent on special education higher.

The fact is that Shrewsbury spends millions of dollars below the state average on teachers, administrators, textbooks, and technology.  The fact is that Shrewsbury has been ranked in the bottom 11% of all Massachusetts school districts in overall per pupil spending, and in the bottom 2% for textbooks, instructional materials and technology.  The fact is that the percentage of students receiving special education services in Shrewsbury is slightly below the state average (15% vs. 17%).  The fact is that if Shrewsbury were spending at the state average for non-special education categories, special education costs would only be 20% of the whole, exactly in line with the state average.  The two pie charts above demonstrate that difference.

Years ago, before our district was forced to make drastic cuts in non-special education categories due to resource limitations, the ratio of spending for special education was more in line with the sate average.  Over time, as relative spending on non-special education costs has shrunk, it only makes sense that the share of the whole represented by special education costs has grown.  The truth is that our school district has done a cost effective job of providing special education programming (please see my budget message to Town Meeting here for more details).

If someone tries to tell you that Shrewsbury spends too much on special education because it spends a larger percentage of its total budget on that category, you can explain how the facts show that this claim is bogus.  I am confident that our community has enough common sense to recognize a false argument like this one.

Textbook Backlog

The yearly budget for textbooks and instructional materials for our school district was about $430,000 in FY 2008, which was already modest for a district of our size (as a comparison, our neighbor Westborough budgeted over $500,000 this year for curriculum supplies and textbooks, and they have about 2,400 fewer students than we do).  For the past five years, student learning materials have been severely underfunded due to our resource limitations, averaging about $57,000 per year, or 87% lower than FY 2008.  

One consequence of this lack of investment is that our math textbooks and instructional materials have been out of alignment with the state's updated curriculum frameworks, on which our students started being tested last year through the MCAS.  Next year's budget will require about $343,000 towards the purchase of updated math curriculum resources.  Without the additional funding from a supplemental budget that will be available through a successful override, we will need to cut other personnel and programming from our current program to fund this critical need.  For more information on our curriculum needs, click here.

Appreciating Our Teachers

Since my first ever blog post is on National Teacher Appreciation Day, I think it’s appropriate to state my appreciation for the extraordinary work that our teachers do.  Shrewsbury has a long history of employing superb educators who do outstanding work teaching our students in the classroom or supporting them as psychologists, counselors, or other specialist professional roles.

In my almost 17 years in the school district as assistant principal, principal, and district level administrator, I am aware of countless examples of Shrewsbury teachers going far beyond the call of duty in order to make a difference in the lives of their students.   There are few, if any, districts in the state where the overall level of skill and dedication among educators is as high as it is in Shrewsbury.  Research indicates that the quality of a student’s teachers is the most important school-based factor in his or her success, and it is no coincidence that our schools’ results have been so strong over the decades despite spending far below what most districts do.  Simply put, Shrewsbury has great educators.

Over the past several years, I have also had the benefit of viewing our schools through a different lens – that of parent.  While I always knew professionally how important it was for a student to feel that their teachers care about them and are committed to helping them succeed, I have now personally seen how my own daughters’ education has been positively influenced in this way.  Their teachers have done their best to take the time to get to know them and build strong relationships with them, which in turn motivates them to strive to do their best to meet the high expectations set for Shrewsbury students.  My wife and I know that we are forever indebted to our girls’ teachers for helping to shape them into who they are now, and who they will become in the future.

Our teachers have superb technical teaching skills, but they also provide that human touch where students know that their teacher truly cares for them and believes in them, and that sometimes that makes all the difference.  On this Teacher Appreciation Day, I hope you’ll join me in thanking our educators and supporting the hard work that they do to improve the lives of our students and the quality of our town.