WELCOME! Thursday, October 20, 2016 Wednesday, October 26, , 2016 - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

C OMMUNITY C ONVERSATION Future of Quabbin Regional School District WELCOME! Thursday, October 20, 2016 Wednesday, October 26, , 2016 Saturday, November 5, 2016

Why are We Here Today? • Difficult budget processes in recent years • Less state funding • Constrained town resources • Increased competition from other schools and districts How do we provide schools with the solid foundation needed to provide a quality education?

Plan for Today • Background data (10 minutes) • 4 rounds of conversation (10-15 min each) • Two report outs to whole group • Move around room 3x • Closing questions and feedback

BACKGROUND Summary: Cost of education is increasing faster than state aid and town revenues can handle.

State and Local Funding • 2.6% decrease in state funding • 31.8% increase in local funding • 11.4% increase in school spending

Town Contribution Rising Town Assessments (FY2012 - FY2017) Dollar Percent FY2012 FY2017 Change Change Barre 4,215,708 5,213,612 997,904 23.67% Hardwick 2,012,529 2,370,321 357,792 17.78% Hubbardston 3,488,762 4,332,544 843,782 24.19% New Braintree 1,043,905 1,213,526 169,622 16.25% Oakham 1,537,870 2,064,774 526,904 34.26% Total 12,298,774 15,194,778 2,896,004 23.55%

Youth Pop was Rising, but…

…Is Projected to Decline

School Choice

Where Students are Going

SCHOOL SPACE USE (30-67% of capacity)

Town Resources Changes in Total Assessed Valuation FY2007-FY2016 Dollar Percent FY2007 FY2016 Change Change Barre 474,526,461 400,479,913 -74,046,548 -15.60% Hardwick 263,380,887 226,213,700 -37,167,187 -14.11% Hubbardston 488,635,274 395,563,065 -93,072,209 -19.05% New Braintree 113,029,238 105,051,471 -7,977,767 -7.06% Oakham 213,378,581 190,647,859 -22,730,722 -10.65% Changes in State Aid: FY2009-FY2017 Dollar Percent FY2009 FY2017 Change Change Note: First table is value of Barre 1,158,319 1,052,998 -105,321 -9.09% property, not actual budget Hardwick 561,462 560,644 -818 -0.15% dollars. The local tax rate(s) influence the amount of Hubbardston 603,604 537,758 -65,846 -10.91% revenue generated. Second New Braintree 210,539 186,833 -23,706 -11.26% table is actual revenue . Oakham 377,927 281,590 -96,337 -25.49%

Town Resources Property Value Residential vs Commercial/Industrial Residential Commercial Barre 84.0% 16.0% Revenue from New Growth Hardwick 90.7% 9.3% (10-Year Average) Hubbardston 93.4% 6.6% Barre 130,547 New Braintree 94.3% 5.7% Hardwick 42,920 Oakham 92.8% 7.2% Hubbardston 86,691 New Braintree 24,782 Oakham 28,383 School Spending as Percent of 5-Town Total 313,322 FY2017 Town Budget Barre 50.65% Hardwick 54.11% Hubbardston 60.21% School spending figure New Braintree 60.98% includes assessment for vocational schools. Oakham 60.70%

COMMUNITY CONVERSATION How do we provide schools with the solid foundation needed to provide a quality education?

Guidelines • Choose a R ECORDER to capture ideas on Table Template • Everyone gets a chance to S PEAK • Be C URIOUS & C OURTEOUS • Practice Brevity – S HARE T HE A IR • Anyone use markers to write, doodle & draw!

Table Template Conversation Notes Harvest Notes

Conversation #1 • Name. Where do I live/work? What elementary school did I go to? (part 1) • What do I love about my community? What do I appreciate most about the Quabbin schools? What makes my school special? (part 2) 10 minutes Capture key responses in “PRESENT” section of Table Template

Move to New Tables • Travelers separate & go to new tables • Recorder stays  Welcome new Guests  Invite others to speak first during next conversation • Appoint new Recorder if desired

Conversation #2 • What caught my attention in the last conversation? During the presentation? What had real meaning for me? • Five years from now, Quabbin is known as one of the top districts in the state. What does it look like, sound like, feel like? How did QRSD become one of the top districts? 15 minutes Capture key responses in “FUTURE” section of Table Template

Move to New Tables • Travelers separate & go to new tables • Recorder stays  Welcome new Guests  Invite others to speak first during next conversation • Appoint new Recorder if desired

Conversation #3 • What possibilities do we want to embrace? • What about QRSD will be important in the future? What do we want to conserve? • What questions do I have? What concerns me? What is becoming clear to me? 15 minutes Capture key responses in “POSSIBILITIES & CONCERNS” section of Table Template

Harvest Capture 2 POSSIBILITIES and 2 QUESTIONS/CONCERNS in the Harvest 1 section of the Table Template to report out to group 5 minutes Also list on sticky notes.

Move to New Tables • Travelers separate & go to new tables • Recorder stays  Welcome new Guests  Invite others to speak first during next conversation • Appoint new Recorder if desired

Conversation #4 • Given the fact that hard decisions will have to be made, what do we Value? How might those values guide us? • What Creative Ideas do we have to strengthen the District financially and help students get a great education? 15 minutes Capture key responses in “VALUES & IDEAS” section of Table Template

Harvest Capture 2 VALUES and 2 CREATIVE IDEAS in the Harvest 2 section of the Table Template to report out to the group 5 minutes Also list on sticky notes.

Recap & Feedback • How did process work for you? • Any suggestions for future meetings? • Future Community Conversations: Wednesday, October 26 th – 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm • Saturday, November 5 th – 10:00 am – 12:00 pm •

Thank You!