Monroe Public Schools

BUDGET UPDATE
2010-2011
 Adopted BOE Budget @ 6.87%

Salary Increases 2.13%

Health Benefits 2.89%
Special Education 1.09%
Decrease in Spec. Ed. Grant .61%
All Other .15%

Total 6.87%
 Savings in Proposed Budget

y Using 24 buses for daily transportation – 270K

y Reduced line items - 713K
y Rebid insurance – 800K
y Installed building monitoring systems – 35K
y Required student activity fee – 100K
y Increased risk in line items [salaries, energy] – 250K

Total savings included in 6.87% = 2.2M

 Significant Events Impacting Budget

y 6 of 7 contracts will be re-negotiated by July 2011 for

2011-2012 budget

y Medical claims ran more than 1M over estimated in

08-09, depleting all reserve funds in medical account

y Grant funding from state is decreasing; special

education costs increasing – Monroe still ranks at
lower end of percent of budget allocated to special
education in DRG and State
 If reduced, where do we go?

y Staff reductions

y Program eliminations

y Reduction of facilities
 Looking Ahead

y Enrollment will continue to decline – projected for each October

{ 2005 4459
{ 2006 4364
{ 2007 4221
{ 2008 4045
{ 2009 3900
{ 2010 3839
{ 2011 3679
{ 2012 3554
{ 2013 3443
{ 2014 3303
{ 2015 3178
{ 2016 3080
{ 2017 3011
{ 2018 2913
{ 2019 2859
 Accelerating the Closing of a School

y Determining which school is the greatest liability for

the district in terms of facility needs

y Determining how to manage the configuration of the

district with available facilities to meet student
educational needs
 Closing Chalk Hill

y Chalk Hill is 44 years old and has never received

necessary renovations: single pane windows, original
heating system, infrastructure obsolescence
y A multi-story building is less flexible space for
younger grades: kindergarten and grade 1 must be on
first floor – cannot access cafeteria, library media
center, and most of school; grade 2 cannot be above
second floor, limiting access of school
y All grades can be accommodated in 5 other schools
y Reduces expenditures 800K
School Within a School Map
 Closing Chalk Hill

y Scenario 1 - Move grade 8 to MHS

y The district would operate:

3 elementary K-5, JH Intermediate 6-7, and
MHS hosts 8th Grade Academy and 9-12 as two
separate schools
 8th Grade Academy

y Busing – same school day, ride with 9-12 as this year

y Lunch – designated lunch wave for 8th grade
y Clustered in 13-14 classrooms in new wing of MHS
y Lockers located near classrooms
y Designated restrooms
y Permit accelerated students to access freshman classes
y Permit access of extended facilities to 8th grade
curriculum
y Have its own entrance from the front of the school
y Academy would operate as independent school – its own
schedule, teachers, administration and home within
MHS
 Impact on Masuk 9-12

y Teachers in 9-12 would not have their own

classrooms; classrooms would be used 8 periods of
each day and shared
y Some classes would be scheduled when a room was
available versus best time for students
y Masuk would run its high school as an independent
school with its own schedule, teachers, and
administrators
y Accreditation visit in October may note facilities use
on report
 Closing Chalk Hill

y Scenario 2 – Create an Early Childhood

Learning Center at MHS

y The district would operate:

3 elementary 1-6, JH Middle 7-8, and
MHS hosts Early Childhood Learning Center and 9-
12 as two separate schools
 Early Childhood Learning Center [ECLC]
at MHS
y All pre-school, kindergarten, extended kindergarten, and
KinderAcademy would be housed together in the same
13-14 classrooms of MHS
y Designated restrooms with age-appropriate facilities;
step built for access to sinks
y ECLC would operate as independent school – its own
schedule, teachers, administration and home within
MHS
y Have its own entrance from the front of the school
y Consolidate all early childhood resources for efficiency
and effectiveness
y Provide greater flexibility in providing services to
youngest learners
 Early Childhood Learning Center [ECLC]

y Transportation
{ Choice A – pre-school bused directly to MHS, kindergarten
students bused to 3 elementary and then moved to 1 shuttle
bus from elementary to MHS at beginning of day and end of
day reverse order – mid-day runs would be door-to-door as
currently provided

{ Choice B – provide door-to-door service for all early learners

to MHS
Ù While this would be the preferred option of district, logistics and
costs are still being analyzed – could be prohibitive in cost
Ù District is meeting with national busing consultant tomorrow to
assess as an option
 Closing Chalk Hill

Pros: Cons:
y Saves 800K next year y If enrollment projections
and 1.1M following year shift dramatically and
and each year after the district needs
y Provides educationally additional space in the
sound options of future, re-opening Chalk
reconfiguration Hill as a school will mean
y Preserves teachers in the
bringing it up to code
classrooms and in all areas
educational programs y Creates reconfiguration
of district driven entirely
by facilities availability
 Challenges and Opportunities

y Creating sufficient planning time essential for a

smooth transition
y Determining transportation for district ASAP – each
scenario would result in different tiers of busing,
possibly different start times of schools
y Addressing questions/concerns of students, families,
and staff – providing open houses, etc.
y Maintaining the same high quality instruction and
educational programs with shared space
 2014-2015

y District would have the option of moving either 8th

grade or ECLC out of MHS:

{ Reconfigure to 3 elementary K-6, JH 7-8, and MHS 9-12

 Monroe Public Schools

Vision
The vision of Monroe Public Schools is to set the standard for
excellence in public education for the state of Connecticut.

Mission
The mission of Monroe Public Schools is to prepare students
to be citizens in a world where they can make positive
contributions to the diverse and global communities in
which they learn, live, and work.
 Roadmap for Success

Select MPS Core Beliefs

High academic achievement is a priority.

Utilization of creativity and innovation to support the

goal of achieving quality education within a
framework of fiscal accountability and efficiency.