Pentucket parent looks closer at budget trends
May 10—WEST NEWBURY — A Pentucket Regional School District parent raised concerns about district budget trends at a School Committee meeting Tuesday and wants others to take a closer look, too.
Kristen Smith of Merrimac has a child at Helen R. Donaghue School, a child at Pentucket Regional Middle School and a daughter who graduated from Pentucket Regional High School in 2018.
As a financial planner and the child of two educators, Smith decided to look deeper into how the district is funded.
In her research, Smith said she discovered that school districts in the state are required to spend an amount equal to the Chapter 70 aid that they receive, plus the required district minimum. Most districts, including Pentucket, spend more than the required minimum so they can properly fund their schools, she said.
Pentucket is projected to spend just under $5 million per year above the minimum state requirement, but those contributions are less than some of the neighboring school districts, Smith said. She addressed the School Committee during the public comment portion of its meeting Tuesday.
The Triton Regional School District, for example, is projected to spend $8 million above the required state minimum, she said. These projections were reported by the Massachusetts Teachers Association.
Pentucket also spends less per pupil compared to other districts with about $16,300 per pupil — 2,510 total — in fiscal 2020, according to data from the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
But Triton spent about $18,600 per pupil — 14% more than Pentucket — with 2,558 total students in fiscal 2020.
Smith also learned that teachers spend their own money on a majority of the books, supplies and other materials in their classrooms. Those same teachers have been offered a 2% total salary increase over the next three years, she said.
Members of the Pentucket Association of Teachers have been vocal about such a small salary increase, attending recent committee meetings with signs and asking for the district to reconsider.
"The morale in our district has continued to decline as teachers do not feel valued," Kathy Terceiro, a third-grade teacher at Donaghue, told the School Committee at a meeting March 16.
"We give and give and give and yet, we are not fairly compensated for what we do," the third-generation Pentucket teacher said. "I'm tried of hearing that there's no money."
Smith cited concerns there is no districtwide curriculum for reading, writing and science for elementary school students and that there are no librarians or library aides in the elementary schools.
"I do not have the answers but what is clear is that the math problem does not work," Smith said. "It is time to bring meaningful and lasting solutions — not just Band-Aids — to our school community."
She encouraged parents to band together like they did when the new middle-high school was identified as a need.
"A beautiful new school means nothing unless it is funded properly with a fair compensation structure for the educators, as well as the resources needed to make sure our kids are receiving the quality education that they deserve," Smith said.
The School Committee does not directly respond to anything said during the public comment session of meetings.
In addition to speaking at the meeting Tuesday, Smith also posted a video to share her full statement with the community at https://youtu.be/A9dO1rB_l30.
Smith is a member of Pentucket Educators and Community United, a group of community members calling for fair contracts for district educators.
To learn more, email PECU4KIDS@gmail.com or visit www.facebook.com/Pentucket-Educators-and-Community-United-106550258214684.
