HFCS Board Meeting

by Alex Brooks
The Hoosick Falls School Board held a public hearing on their proposed budget on May 12, which included a review of some of the benchmark indicators of school performance recently released in the “school report card from the State Education Department.
The budget proposed is less than half a percent larger than last year’s budget, 0.46% to be exact. It anticipates no increase at all in the property tax levy.
The presentation included pie charts showing where the money comes from, and where it goes. State aid pays 50% of the budget, the local tax levy pays 41%, rolling over the fund balance (surplus funds left over from last year) pays 7%, and miscellaneous sources of revenue pay 2%. 51% of the budget goes to pay teachers’ salaries, and 28% more to benefits for teachers and staff. 10% goes to “General Support” which includes administration and keeping the physical plant going. 6% is debt service, and 5% is pupil transportation.
School District Superintendent Ken Facin then reviewed some of the District’s salient statistics as reported on the School report card.
Enrollment seems to be declining. This year’s kindergarten class and next year’s have been lower numbers than those of earlier years. Average class sizes have been fairly stable over the three years reported, varying from 18 to 21. Facin said this is a good size for classes and he aims to keep these numbers stable. He said eligibility for free or reduced-price lunch has been rising slightly, going up about a percent each of the three years reported, from 05-06 to 07-08, and he added that it’s higher now.
Attendance for all three years reported was 95%, which Facin declared to be excellent. Student suspensions more than doubled in the 06-07 year, which Facin said was the result of the administration taking an initiative to get the discipline situation under control. He said “there was a lot of chaos here” a few years ago. “I almost got knocked down twice when I was coming in here for interviews,” said Facin. He credited Rick Potter for his work turning the tide and restoring discipline in the school.
Facin highlighted the turnover rate among teachers with five years experience or less as a key indicator. That rate was 10% in 04-05, and spiked to 28% in 05-06 and 26% in 06-07. He said that rate is way down in recent years. Young teachers are happy working in the District and are staying. This is a key factor in building a strong school because committed, engaged teachers are more effective than teachers looking for a new place, and the stability and increased experience among the teachers is a great asset for the school.
Regents exam results improved dramatically last year in several subjects, including Comprehensive English, Global History, and Living Environment. Not all subjects showed improvement, though, and Facin averred that there is more work to do in this area.
Facin noted that the number of students getting Regents Diplomas has declined over the last three years, from 84% to 80% to 71%. He said “this is not the way it should be,” and said his aim is to reverse this trend. The rate of Advanced Regents Diplomas showed a similar decline, from 51% to 40% to 30%. Facin said the District needs to do a better job with Guidance.
On a brighter note, the number of dropouts fell dramatically over the three years reported, from 21 in 05-06 to 18 in 06-07, to 5 on 07-08. Facin said “This is still five too many.” He also noted that the District has helped some of those dropouts from the earlier years by setting up the GED program and reaching out to them. “We’re 17 for 17 with GEDs,” he said.
Expenditures per pupil for General Education students were $6,972, well below the figures for “similar districts” and even more below average figures for the whole state. Facin said, “We’re where we should be in expenditures per pupil.” He repeated his belief, stated on several previous occasions, that more money does not necessarily equal better results.
The only comment from the audience was a resident urging the Board to try to get the word out that approving the bus proposition will have no effect on the tax levy. The wording of the proposition makes it sound as if an additional tax will be levied to pay for the buses, but in fact 85% of the cost of the new buses is paid by State aid, and the remaining 15% is paid by a reserve fund which already has sufficient funds in it to pay for this bus purchase.
Laurie Gormley urged the voters of the District to come out and vote, as passage of the budget “is not a given.”  Board President David Sutton said the main reason people don’t vote is that they think everything is going fine and they don’t need to come out, but he warned that this kind of attitude can result in a budget being defeated even if that is not the majority opinion in the District, because people who feel the budget is a good one just don’t show up. Voting Day is Tuesday, May 19.