MPS budget, superintendent's evaluation and more discussed at school board meeting
A second public hearing about Montgomery Public Schools' budget included a now-familiar message: Montgomery's school budget remains dependent on state funds that might not be there if the economy experiences a downturn, Chief School Financial Officer Arthur Watts warned.
More, stable money will come from local property taxes in the future, but for now, MPS relies far more on state funds and far less on local funds than similar districts Huntsville and Birmingham.
Here's the rundown of Montgomery school board's work session and regular meeting on Tuesday night.
1. Chief School Financial Officer presents second budget hearing
As he did a week before, Watts presented the budget for a second time during the board's work session. Under state law, the budget for the next school year must be presented twice.
Watts repeated his concerns about enrollment shifts and too much of the budget being reliant on state funds.
More:Montgomery schools gird for possible recession, enrollment shifts
Questions about the budget can be emailed to Watts at budgetquestions@mps.k12.al.us
Superintendent Melvin Brown, in his first months as superintendent, said that he is hoping to remove some economic barriers to extracurriculars. After the board meeting, he clarified that that goal would be prioritized even if a recession or other factors significantly affect the budget.
The full budget hearing presentation can be found here.
2. The Southern Regional Education Board
MPS is in its third year working with the Southern Regional Education Board to better address needs across the district, Davida Hill-Johnson from Curriculum and Instruction explained. That effort includes working to address disparities between magnet and traditional schools.
The partnership plan has goals of improving math and literacy instruction across middle and high schools in addition to having a "comprehensive school improvement effort" to support all middle and high schools over the course of three years.
The plan will use use different avenues to address the needs of the schools. Those include programs to support leaders, teachers and students, and the use of SREB curriculum tools. Students will receive counseling for career paths, and school administrators will receive further coaching, among other opportunities.
The program also includes on-site academic coaches for students and leadership coaches for staff.
The presentation prompted several questions from the board members. Arica Watkins-Smith, district 7, had concerns that the district would not get "the bang for the buck," as has happened in the past.
This presentation also prompted a discussion between Lesa Keith, district 1, and Brown about dual enrollment. Brown said that he hoped, over the next few years, to see high school seniors graduate with Associate's degree.
3. Superintendent's Evaluation Process
The evaluation process for the superintendent was laid out at the work session.
At this stage, Brown will be filling out his self-evaluation and then it will be discussed at the board later this fall.
The evaluation will be done on paper but there was talk of moving it toward a digital format.
4. Comments from the Public
Crystal Russell, CEO and founder of Destiny Driven Inc., asked the school board about implementing speech and debate in middle schools. On its website, Destiny Driven Inc., defines itself as facilitating leadership and academic growth through debate.
Russell had a student with her, and the student told the board that she would not be able to address the board in such a public setting without skills from debate.
Sonya Mills-McCall and Penni McClammy were both on the schedule to speak about Lanier, which is set to merge with Carver. A third speaker, LaShonda Fuller, was not on the released agenda, but board president Clare Weil of district 2 called on her. Fuller asked the board what it would cost to rebuild Robert E. Lee High School, how much it would cost to rebuild Lanier and whether Lanier was still on track to be a charter school.
She was told someone would reach out to her after the meeting. The following day, MPS spokesperson Jade Jones told the Advertiser that Lanier would require an estimated $70 million in repairs.
5. Several programs and job positions were approved
Quotes for special programs, such as special education, homebound and gifted programs, were approved by the board. Imagine Learning, which emphasizes individualized learning, is administering the programs.
District job descriptions were approved for the positions of director of intervention & strategic supports; director of strategy & innovation; graduation tracking system & college & career readiness specialist; and district literacy educational specialist.
Extra Credit
The school board approved Renaissance Learning, Inc., for several more tests within the district, such as social studies, math and science, to better evaluate where the district is at a given time, according to Bernard Mitchell, Chief Academic Officer.
Renaissance Learning's Star assessment is the assessment used for magnet schools.
After the meeting, when asked about the oversight given to Renaissance, Brown said: "I don't really know how to answer that question, because, maybe, perhaps we weren't providing that type of oversight in the past. We will be."
Jemma Stephenson is the children and education reporter for the Montgomery Advertiser. She can be reached at jstephenson@gannett.com or 334-261-1569.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: MPS school board meeting discusses budget, superintendent evaluation
