House Docket #4651 and also Senator Tarr’s co-sponsorship of a separate bill

• HS Doc.4651 of $1.1m vs. Sen. Tarr’s bill that would use $150 million of the stabilization fund to support local communities. 

Chapter 70 school funding increases

• North Andover is assigned to the wrong NECTA/wage adjustment factor category; how do we get this corrected?
• Underlying assumptions underestimate the cost of education

Sped funding

• Change in Circuit-Breaker Foundation Formula to factor of 3, not 4
• Inclusion of transportation under Circuit Breaker formula
• Additional funding for transportation separate from Circuit Breaker funding

GIC 70% Union approval

Governor’s Proposed budget

• Casinos
• proposed FY09 budget balanced on permits revenue that may not exist
• Promising increase local funding tied to casino rev. vs. guaranteed lottery aid
• return of future casino profits as tax rebates vs. municipal aid
• Closing tax loopholes, but freezing unemployment ins. and reducing corp. taxes
• Education funding of expanded days and full-day kindergarten not beneficial to North Andover (no space, can’t afford what will surely become new mandates)
• Closing loopholes in telecommunications taxes

MMA 40/60 phased-in Revenue Sharing Plan

IDEA funding

• needs to be mandatory and increased from the present 17.2% to the promised 40%.  How can state legislators and local officials/citizens influence federal legislators?

Ballot question to eliminate state income taxes

Stand for Children rally in April

Town Meeting Issues Affecting Municipal Services

Capital Improvement Plans -  Pre-K Building, Police Station, Fire Station

Do we need and can we afford the proposed buildings?

• Are our cost estimates current and reliable?
• Will the tradeoffs be layoffs in 2010 and beyond?
• Are there other ways to meet these capital needs?
• What will the new buildings cost, in terms of added maintenance costs, custodial wage costs, utility costs?
• Should they be funded with a Debt Exclusion override?
  

Impacts of new residential units on both municipal and schools' infrastructure and operationg budgets

Should we move the scheduled for Town Meeting?

Why continue annual Municipal/School budget guessing of projected State funding, when we’d have actual numbers to work with if we scheduled Town meeting in June?  ACCURATE BUDGETS REQUIRE ACCURATE INFORMATION.

Budget and Management Issues

• Need to work collaboratively with fellow board members, School Committee and Fincom.
• Need for thorough, short and long-range costs/benefits analysis whenever we make decisions involving fees and major operating and capital improvement budget decisions.
• Inadequate input/debate at BOS meetings regarding Town Managers’ Budget; need same level of budget transparency, discussion and reports from department heads that is now provided at School Committee budget-related meetings.
• Need in-depth assessment of  DPW - BOS and Town Manager need to examine this department with our new department head, from the ground up, to determine job descriptions, where we could be more efficient, where we could save money, particularly in trash/recycling areas, snowplowing and overtime, and where or if we need to expand facilities, equipment and personnel.
• Need a thorough Master Building Plan, to address our long-term infrastructure needs.  
• Need to evaluate creating a combined Municipal Plant Manager position to tend to infrastructure and maintenance needs for both the municipal and school-side buildings in a cost-effective manner.
• Future Commercial Development negotiations need to include discussions of contributions to the Town infrastructure.
• Need thorough discussion of the pros and cons to changing residential/commercial tax rate split.
• BOS and Town Manager need to communicate on a regular basis with state legislators.
• Need to negotiate affordable contracts with unions that recognize employees’ valued services
• Need to demonstrate good faith effort to persuade unions to join the "GIC" (state health plan).
• Need to work toward improved union employee health insurance premium contributions.
• Since customer/citizen service is our highest municipal priority, how can we improve access to those services?
• Lack of sufficient personnel in key areas, like the Clerk’s office.
• Lack of technical support - increasingly important to improve our web data management and internal data management.
• Need to actively participate in the Suburban Coalition, to advocate for improved local funding.

The following are issues (nonprioritized) that affect our schools.   You may want to consider these while listening to school committee candidates as you make your decision on who to vote for.

Town Meeting Issues Affecting Schools

Capital Improvement Plans -  Pre-K Building, Police Station, Fire Station

Do we need and can we afford the proposed buildings?

• Are our cost estimates current and reliable?
• Will the tradeoffs be layoffs in 2010 and beyond?
• Are there other ways to meet these capital needs?
• What will the new buildings cost, in terms of added maintenance costs, custodial wage costs, utility costs?
• Should they be funded with a Debt Exclusion override?

What is the impact of new residential units on both municpal and schools' infrastructure and operating budgets?

Academic Issues:

High School Level

• Continued Risk to HS accreditation status due to lack of academic and related arts electives at HS
• Lack of budget support for athletics

Middle School

• Preservation of restored related arts [music/world language/tech ed/family &consumer science]
• MCAS scores
• Curriculum standards and assessment

Elementary Schools

• Lack of space (classrooms in music/art/library spaces)
• No curriculum in Language Arts and Social Studies
• Class size
• Need to implement system-wide equitable curriculum instruction standards
• MCAS scores
• Elementary Libraries need qualified librarians to function effectively as an educational resource

Administration Concerns

• Need to find highly qualified permanent Superintendent
• Need to find highly qualified business manager and /or evaluate combining this position into a Municipal Plant Manager to tend to infrastructure needs for entire town.
• Need to find affordable space for central office; town-owned space vs. leased space.
• Need to support aggressive professional development for teaching staff as well as administration.
• Need to address short and long-term building maintenance needs
• Need to provide thorough short and long-range costs/benefits analysis whenever we discuss options involving fees and non-academic budget decisions (ex:  facilities use policy now under revision and pre-k building proposal).
• Need to balance needs of special interest groups with available resources

School Committee Concerns:

• Need to work collaboratively with fellow board members, Board of Selectmen and Fincom.
• Need to communicate on a regular basis with state legislators
• Need to negotiate affordable contracts with unions that recognize employees’ valued services
• Need to demonstrate good faith effort to persuade unions to join the "GIC" (state health plan).
• Need to work toward improved union employee health insurance premium contributions
• Need to clearly understand the role and responsibilities of a School Committee Member:  to support the Superintendent both academically and financially by setting reasonable, attainable goals.   Agenda-driven micromanagement distracts him/her from that process.