Pinching Pennies Sends a Signal About How We Value Education

The Hartford Board of Education Friday voted 7-1 to back Superintendent Leslie Torres-Rodriguez’s amended Fiscal 2018 budget, which goes forward without a City increase for the ninth consecutive year.  The minus-$12.6 million, or 3 percent decrease from the past year takes into account the State’s day-by-day budget uncertainties (as to whether even further cuts are coming).  The process this year casts doubt on whether the State values its capital city – and whether the State and City value Hartford education.

In a grim special meeting this past Friday, the Board lamented its $3 million in cuts from the art, behavior technician, central office (of school improvement), family resource aide, library/media, music, reading, school nurse, and special education positions.  On the other hand, school-based amendments focused on supporting comprehensive intervention, English, health, kindergarten, math, and science, netting a $1 million increase.  All told, the Fiscal 2018 budget reflects a rather remarkable juggling act; it decreased central office costs by $1 million and used the co-location of the Culinary Arts and Journalism Media Academies to save another half-million dollars.

Here is the superintendent’s detailed discussion from last Friday.

A $2 million “asterisked” placeholder credit is pending adoption of the State budget, which means … it ain’t over until the legislature sings.

The Hartford Parent University (HPU) graduation of 49 parents at The Lyceum Monday brought forward eight newly trained facilitators, coaches, mentors and college students along with City leaders to exhort them to take stands, stick to their goals, and never give up.  It was a significant step forward for Hartford parent engagement.

HPU Executive Director Milly Arciniegas emphasized that since 2012, when HPU launched, no one knew how big it might become.  The theme of engaging parents evolved into empowering parents – and now is gravitating toward mobilizing parents.  City Councilwoman (and HPU Board Member) Cynthia Jennings demarcated parents as the most important part of the school system.  “The parents need to run the school system on behalf of their children,” she said.  “Understand that you own the street.”

Here is the video of the graduation program.

A sampling of the event’s highlights includes:

• Be the Change.  Parent Jane Russell’s commentary was about how she raised her three sons – and received encouragement from Ms. Arciniegas to run for the PTO at Burns and later get involved in HPU.  These experiences taught her about parent rights and the ways to be involved in her children’s schools (at the 23:30 mark of the video).  “Be a part of the change in your child’s school,” she urged the graduates.
• Engage.  Her son, CT State University Junior Joshua Rosario, offered advice on how parents can engage in their children’s learning – and the difference it can make for children feeling worthless – at times of considering dropping out … or being bullied or homeless (at the 33:09 mark of the video).
• Mentor.  His mentor, Achieve Hartford! Lead Writer Kent Ashworth, urged parents and siblings to not be totally self-sacrificial of themselves for their family, and to finish post-secondary school (at the 29:55 mark of the video).
• Keep an Open Mind.  “Imagine being homeless but still encouraging your children,” Councilwoman Jennings said.  HPU Facilitator Richard Afaawua offered views on “Race and Understanding,” (at the 39:13 mark of the video).  Calm down, put yourself in others’ shoes, find, look around, be where they are at, research, then you can understand it better, he recommended.  “We need to understand each other, no matter where we are coming from, no matter the race,” he implored.

The Bottom Line

Hartford Parent University has exceeded the expectations of its founders by opening up an avenue (now a boulevard and headed to become a super-highway), with an on-ramp for parents hard-pressed but determined.  We recognize – and Hartford needs – their success.

Still Up in the Air

The District’s annual celebratory School Governance Council (SGC) forum Tuesday evening was coupled with a suddenly-called Board of Education Finance Committee meeting immediately afterward.  At both sessions, un-finalized school and District budgets were still up in the air at this late date … just like those of the City and State.  It’s a very unusual (not to say nerve-wracking) year.

For nearly a decade, the District’s annual SGC forum has presented an opportunity for parent, school, and community leaders, school by school, to relay their best practices, detail their deepest experiences, and convey their most careful caveats about the cuts that annually come to their budgets.  But in this fraught year, dollars remain a mystery and SGC discussion this week was minimalized.

At Tuesday’s SGC forum at the old and new Barbour School site – the Journalism and Media Academy on Tower Avenue – the program had to be shortened due to time constraints, as the Board’s Finance Committee needed a piggy-back meeting to catch up to the fact that the Fiscal 2018 budget at all levels is still in limbo at this late date.  The committee meeting shortened the annual SGC showcase (at which many more District officials were on hand and on the mic than were SGC members).

Budget Emergency Kidnaps Forum

The Courant’s editorial yesterday, exploring – and advocating – State fiscal oversight in return for the extraordinary fiscal support Hartford requires – made it plain that past, weak pension and benefits investments statewide and in the city have caught up with us.  This is not only a local problem; it reverberates across our cities, our state and our nation, perhaps most prominently evident in the debate over health care.  Credit Mayor Luke Bronin: Unlike many public officials, he refused to ignore this cost crisis as a voice in the suburban wilderness.

The Courant today further illuminates the uncertainty of both the State budget outcome and possible Hartford bankruptcy.

Hartford’s school budget is up in the air.  Possible variations vary by millions of dollars right now.

Asterisks *** will have to be used, Board members concluded after a long meeting Tuesday night, as they could not resolve the various gap mitigation strategies, multi-million dollar additional reductions, continuously ambiguous Sheff-related seat availabilities, and ongoing budget amendments, yet to be finally adjusted.  Some 150 more Hartford-host magnet seats may be made available, but no one can say for sure.

HPS has brought costs down by $23 million through cuts in salaries/staff changes, contracts, maintenance, transportation, benefits, and computer and printing, but these cuts may not cut the mustard.  Nor may the State pass its budget this week.

The District is looking to further save $1 million just by eliminating its offices of academics and school improvement; streamlining the office of academics, and setting up offices of elementary and middle grades and secondary education, respectively.  That’s 10 positions.

District Superintendent Leslie Torres-Rodriguez emphasized in an interview that a realignment of the offices was in the works long before the fiscal crunch this year.  “As a systemic thinker and practitioner,” she reflected, “one of the first things I noticed when I came here as an assistant superintendent was that the central office structure did not lend well to implementation of inter-related strategies.  That’s what we’re now designing, to ensure operational effectiveness, alignment, and coherence.  The new Office of Academics, for example, will be purposeful and efficient in our support to schools.”

Uncertainty is the watch word at all levels, but at least some version of next year’s HPS budget will be adopted tomorrow at a special meeting of the Board of Education at 12:30 pm at 960 Main Street.