Alan Ingram
Express correspondent
The Kingston School Committee grappled with a budget scenario Monday night that could lead to the loss of up to 18 teachers and 11.6 paraprofessionals if the town approves only a 4% budget increase for the upcoming fiscal year.
Committee members expressed deep concern over the potential impact on education quality and class sizes during a lengthy budget discussion at their Jan. 6 meeting.
“This budget we were presented was 4%. So, you know, we have to decide what we want to ask Dr. Proulx and Sarah to kind of bring to us the next time,” said Committee Chair Megan Cannon. “I mean, I will say, you know, all students are entitled to a free and appropriate education.”
The proposed 4% increase would require $1.7 million in cuts from what school officials say is needed just to maintain current services. Director of Finance Sarah Hickey presented three tiers of potential reductions to reach that target.
Tier 1 cuts of $57,950 have already been made, including reductions to supplies and equipment. Tier 2 would slash $799,000 through the elimination of 8.6 full-time and 3 part-time paraprofessionals, 2 custodians and 5 teachers.
The most severe Tier 3 cuts would eliminate an additional 13 teaching positions to reach the full $1.7 million reduction.
“Cumulatively, if we make it through Tier 3, we would be looking at an 18 teacher loss, and 11.6 paraprofessionals, and 2 custodians,” Cannon said. “Which, in my personal opinion, would cripple our schools, to say the least.”
Committee member Jeanne Coleman noted Kingston already spends about $4,000 less per student than the state average.
“We’ve been lucky that we are able to retain the staff that we have and we’ve been lucky that we’ve been able to provide the education that we have,” Coleman said. “But at some point, we need to really be honest that we’re not paying more for it. We’re just somehow getting charged a lot more.”
Officials said the cuts would lead to significantly larger class sizes and the loss of specialist positions. They also noted laying off staff would incur unemployment costs of potentially $850,000.
Superintendent Dr. Jill Proulx said the district worked to build consensus on the proposed reductions but acknowledged there are “things that I would step in or Tricia would step in or Sarah would step in if we think something is not appropriate or, you know, completely unsustainable or inappropriate.”
The committee took no formal action on the budget at the Jan 6 meeting. Members said they want to wait for public input at a Feb. 3 budget hearing before providing further direction to administrators.
“I’d like to wait until the public budget hearing on Feb. 3 before we give more direction to what tiers of those cuts we can actually stomach or that I’d be comfortable stomaching because I think that the public deserves to be able to weigh in,” Coleman said.
Additionally, Kingston schools are not meeting state-recommended minutes for English Language Learner (ELL) services, prompting district officials to suggest adding a full-time ELL teacher to address the growing need.
The Committee heard a presentation on ELL services, where Assistant Superintendent Dr. Tricia Clifford outlined the current shortfall and proposed solution.
According to Clifford, there are currently 55 ELL students at Kingston Elementary School and 51 at Kingston Intermediate School. Services are provided by two Kingston ELL teachers – one for grades K-2 and another for grades 3-6.
“EL instruction is required to be delivered by a licensed EL teacher,” Clifford explained. “Students become former ELs or FELs when they score at least a 4.2 on that access test that I just spoke about. They’re monitored for four more years.”
The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education recommends at least two to three 45-minute periods of daily ELL instruction for foundational students and at least one 45-minute period for transitional students.
“At KIS and KES, they’re not meeting the recommended minutes for students this school year ’24 and ’25,” Clifford said. “And this often is seen not only in the access testing, but it’s really seen in our MCAS scores for sure.”
To address the shortfall, district administrators proposed adding a 1.0 full-time equivalent ELL teacher position to be split between the two schools.
“Almost all students at KES are within the foundational category requiring more instructional periods,” Clifford said. “At KIS, almost all students are level three or below, which can be considered foundational or transitional as I spoke about. Most would be considered foundational, which again requires more instructional periods.”
In other business, the committee:
– Learned Kingston was approved for a Massachusetts School Building Authority grant to help fund a new roof at Kingston Elementary School. The exact grant amount is still to be determined.
– Heard the district received a $12,500 grant to support multilingual learners.
The committee’s next regular meeting is scheduled for Feb. 3, which will include the public budget hearing. Members urged residents to attend and provide input on the proposed cuts.
“I really hope that this room stays filled between now and town meeting because anyone that’s going to be requesting things at the budget, they’re going to want to stay involved,” Coleman said.