FY 25 Lynn Public Schools Budget Summary
The FY25 LPS Budget Increase is $14.3million: There is $16.6 million of additional spending which is balanced with a ($2.2 million) of unfunded vacant positions.
- $5.9 million contractual increases
- $4.8 million raises
- $1.1 million step increases and lane changes
- $7.8 million ESSER salaries plus fringes
- Social Workers 60.5 FTE’s: $4.9 million
- Clinical Supervisors 26 FTE’s: $3.0 million
- $2.9 million increased spending
- $1.5 million: 25 positions for expanding Special Education programs.
- $1.3 million: Contractual increases (non-personnel, e.g., transportation, translations)
- ($2.2 million) unfunded vacant positions
- Priority will be given to funding the four Special Education positions through other sources (e.g., circuit breaker)
- Currently and until we can fill the positions:
- For secondary schools- teachers are using their administrative block to service students whose services need to be covered.
- For elementary schools- teachers who are willing to take on the additional service if they agree and the district in collaboration with LTU have an MOA to provide compliable daily rate to provide these services.
This budget continues to make progress in special education.
MEMBER ANDREA SATTERWHITE’S BUDGET QUESTIONS
FY24-25
Aborn has two new positions, Sped Integrated K (teacher and para). What was behind this addition? Aborn has 2 kindergarten classrooms. One of the classrooms is being changed to an Integrated Kindergarten class. This class had to be reposted to reflect this change. The new class will have 1 general education teacher and para, 1 special education teacher and 1 additional paraprofessional to support the special education students placed into this integrated program.
Callahan has one less 5th-grade teacher. What are the class sizes there?
Callahan currently only has two Grade 4 classes. These students will be moving forward to Grade 5 next year. Therefore, we will only need two Grade 5 classes.
Cobbet has two vacant positions in Reading and ESL. This is concerning to me. Have we considered looking at other schools, higher-performing schools for staffing?
Cobbet has 2.5 reading teacher positions open and 4 currently in the position. We have had many open reading positions across the district. It is a position that we struggle to fill. The Assistant Director will evaluate the reading team in August and place reading specialists accordingly and with data & status in mind. Likewise, Cobbet also has 2 ESL positions open. ESL positions at all grade levels have been enormously difficult to fill.
Drewicz has one less math teacher and a 4th-grade teacher. What are the class sizes and justification for eliminating a math teacher?
A fourth-grade class was closed due to enrollment numbers. And the math teacher position was closed and re-opened as a generalist CIT.
All SPED positions are created or dissolved based on student enrollment and review of the IEP (Individualized Education Plan) which drives the need for staffing and services. See below:
Hood added a Sped Coach grade 2-5. What is behind this addition?
This is based on expansion of the Coach Programming and obviously the need for more classrooms.
Lincoln Thomson removed a third-grade teacher
and added a Sped DD K-2 and two paras for Sped DD. What is behind this change? Lincoln currently only has one Grade 2 class. These students will be moving forward to Grade 3 next year. Therefore, we will only need one Grade 3 class. This change opens up classroom space. Adding the Sped DD K-2 is needed due to an increase in special education enrollment. To support and service these students and the opening of the grade 3 classroom space this program is being placed at Lincoln Thomson
Sewell Anderson removed a 5th-grade teacher and added a Sped DD K-2 and two paras for Sped DD. What is behind this change?
A fifth-grade classroom was closed due to enrollment and Special Education has opened multiple classrooms due to need and enrollment.
Shoemaker removed one COACH Pre-K-3 teacher but added 3 paras to this class. What is behind this change? We are unclear on what this question is referring to. Can you please clarify? We are not aware of a closed position at Shoemaker.
Breed added Sped Tasc and a para and eliminated a Sped SLD. What is behind this change? As you know, we have the elementary Tasc program at Callahan and the elementary Therapeutic Day School at Fallon. We currently do not have the extension for these two programs at the middle school level and as a result we often need to put students into outside placements or place them within the general education population before they are ready for this step. Adding Tasc at Breed is an effort to correct this problem and to keep as many of our LPS student within our schools.
Pickering added a Sped Coach and three paras. What is behind this change?
Shoemaker Elementary is a feeder school to Pickering and students that will be joining the school will need services provided by these positions.
LVTI has important positions vacant. School social worker and Sped English. What is being done to staff these? The SPED English position was not staffed due to low student enrollment. The SEL (Social and Emotional Learning) team is currently compiling data to determine the actual student to social worker ratios at each school. Both reviewing contact hours spent in service of a student’s needs and by student to identify how to refine the current LPS model.
Fine Arts, do we have a director for this department? There are two Assistant directors who work in the curriculum department and report to the Chief Academic Officer.
Innovation and grants have the title for the executive director also as Social Emotional. Is this correct? This was an error and has been corrected on page 91.
DEI has no proposed positions except for Executive Director, why? There was no proposed expansion for this department. DEI Professional Development will be offered for leadership and teachers over the next two years.
Could you tell me why food services have no proposed positions except for Supervisor? All the Food Service workers are listed on each school’s budget page. The supervisor oversees all food service workers.
It seems like we are addressing our obligations regarding offering the required services to our Special Needs Students and I appreciate that. Just confirming the changes are a positive for the schools.
Member Sean Reid’s Budget Questions
It seems like we are addressing our obligations regarding offering the required services to our Special Needs Students and I appreciate that. Just confirming the c Is there a way to compile an easy-to-read list of all items funded by ESSER that LPS is now absorbing into our budget? I've seen it throughout the budget, but it is hard to track? A list of positions will be provided at Thursday’s School committee meeting.
How many new teaching positions are being created? How does this net, if you include the positions being frozen, etc.? The Net effect of opening new positions and closing positions is 25Fte’s. Please see the Budget & Staffing Adjustment sheet located in the Spending summary Section of the Budget Book for a breakdown by school/location.
As discussed previously, supplies will be largely level-funded. With inflation, are there concerns that the amount of supplies that we will be able to obtain is significantly less? Totally understand the need to level fund, just want to be prepared.
We understand the concern, however, most of our schools have a small unspent balance as we approach the end of the school year. Principals are encouraged to purchase supplies from competitive vendors.
Were there any items that were lowered for positive reasons (e.g. negotiated better contracts, found better vendors, etc.)?
Fredrick Douglass Lease with NSCC, Power Schools (Student Information System), and our Transportation Department negotiated a zero increase on one of the contracts for FY25. Additionally, Camp Fire will have reduced services, and LEAP will be supported by an external funding source not LPS.
As discussed in a previous meeting, were there other specific line items that were looked at to slash before some of the freezes?
Every line item was reviewed by the Superintendent and the Budget Administrator with each department to reduce or eliminate costs.
Why such a sharp decrease in technology platforms under curriculum?
The platforms have moved to Data Assessment and Accountability Team (DAAT) budget.
Why did the employee physicals line increase $40k? Increased cost from the vendor. Human Resources will continue to search for competitive vendors, as necessary.
New question - What is being done in this budget to reduce class size, particularly in the large study hall and gym classes? Specifically at secondary schools, it is important to note that class size looks different on paper as a ratio of students to teachers. The spaces that students and teachers are utilizing are not always appropriate. In a large room, there may be two teachers lowering the class size, but it is not an ideal setting for the purpose of learning. To lower the class size at the high schools and middle schools, the design team continues to work on the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) Academy which will have grades 6-12, expansion of vocational programs at LVTI for Cosmetology-Biotechnology-Construction/Craft Laborers. The new Pickering Middle will also support the balancing of student enrollment in SY 26-27. In addition, the following are concurrent efforts to reduce the number of students on campus at our comprehensive high schools:
- Sliding-day schedule for students in grade 11 and 12 who are employed or in a fellowships/internship for high school credit.
- Attending Early College course on our partner college campus.
- Reducing enrollment limit age from 20 to 18.
We will continue study halls for students in multiple AP courses, that are recovering credits to graduate on-time through credit recovery, and MCAS preparation/supports for those that have not passed one or more of the exams.
MEMBER SEAN REID BUDGET QUESTIONS (June 4,2024)
FY24-25
At Cobbett, it is showing 1 integrated PreK teacher. There was a meeting last week where the PreK model was changed, and they were told they were adding a second integrated PreK at Cobbett. When will this be reflected in the budget? Where in the budget is this money coming from for additional one (CPPI grant?)?
The city received funding from the CFCP Grant, this funding will allow us to expand preschool programming by changing 4 half-day integrated classrooms into full-day sessions as well as add 7 additional classrooms (Bennett and Cobbet) in January. 120 students who were in half-day sessions will now have full-day preschool. In addition, by opening the 7 classrooms in January, we will expand preschool by 118 seats.
Under the special education budget, “Teacher Sped PreK (Open class in January)” where is this housed? Why isn’t it under a specific school?
This has historically been listed here so that it can be determined what school has the space to accommodate the additional class. Some years space has been leased to support this need, other times, there are available classrooms in schools. This year, 3 additional preschool classrooms were opened in January/February (1 at Fallon, 1 at Harrington, 1 at Gregg House-across from Hood)
Page 83
The Dual Language Coach is listed under Harrington and the MLE dept. Are we adding a second one? There is currently only one DL Coach that splits her time between Harrington and Connery.
There is only one Dual Language Coach position. It was mistakenly listed in the teacher organization twice and thus placed in the budget at both locations.
The 8 PreK’s that are opening at Bennet St. are not listed on the budget. Will they be added? Where in the budget is this money coming from? Are we adding an admin, nurse, social worker, BCBA, etc. on site for these rooms?
Factored into the budget for the new preschools are: 1 Program Specialist (split between Bennett and Bessom, 1 nurse, 1 Family and Community Coordinator, 2 specialists (art/PE/music), 1 inclusion teacher, 1 RSP (Speech), The SEL department will be looking to redistribute support for the new PreK at Bennet.
School Committee Member Lorraine Gately
School Year 24-25 Budget questions
- Breed has department heads in the subjects of English, Math, Science and SPED, but at Marshall they have department heads in the subjects of English, Math and SPED but none for science. The science classroom numbers are higher at Marshall than Breed. I would think they need a department head for science as well. I know they have a lead teacher for science, but as a former lead science teacher at Pickering with a much smaller staff, I would think it would be nearly impossible for that lead science teacher at Marshall to sit in 15 science classes for evaluation and support to all those teachers as needed.The principals determine which departments would have a department head. Lead teachers do not evaluate. Another administrator would be assigned Supervising Evaluator for the Science teachers.
- The consumer supplies are the same at both Breed and Marshall. Why did I receive concerns from students at Marshall that there are not enough consumer supplies for their cooking class? Both Breed and Marshall still have funds available in the non-salary accounts. They mentioned that their teacher was paying out of pocket. This is another example of why we need to be more transparent in our budget. The needs for each school may be different. Could we consider using a real school-based budget next year. We will be using a School site based budgeting program in developing the FY26 school department budget.
- Textbooks are allotted $6000 in all three middle schools even though the student numbers vary greatly. Please explain why? Breed and Marsheel have double the amount of Non-salary funds than Pickering.If the school does not use all the textbook funds, they can be used to purchase additional supplies.
- At Classical there are 17 science teachers. The science supply budget is $2,414 again this year, why? This allows the science teacher in this department only $142.00/teacher/year for supplies. At English, there are 19 science teachers. They only receive $2,062 yearly. Each would receive $108.00/teacher/year. Some science teachers are paying quite a bit of their own money for supplies. Why? Just think, at English they placed first in the North Shore Science League, shouldn’t we be supporting them with more supplies? Most of the Science supplies for all the schools are purchased through the Curriculum budget. If they still need additional funds, they can use the school’s supply account to purchase them.
- At FDCA (Frederick Douglas Collegiate Academy) the teacher numbers are staying the same for 2025. My question is, are we adding another grade? Do we have enough teachers as in the 2024 budget for SY 2025-2026? There is one additional Math teacher added to their budget.There is enough staffing between our teachers and the college professors to handle the number of students attending this fall.
- MLE Ex. Director position has not been filled. Do you think we should cut this position and have the Chief Officer of Academics oversee the MLE Deputy Director?
Districts over a certain number of ELs (English Learner) are required to have a director of English Learner Education that holds the appropriate licensure to oversee English Learner programming.
- What are bilingual stipends? Why the increase to $222,000? Please explain.
These Stipends are for staff who can speak a different language. They were required to pass a fluency test to receive this stipend of $1,000. Article III Compensation E, LTU Local 1037, AFT AFL-CIO (page 4) Bilingual / Biliterate Stipend.
- MLE dual language consumables is $76,000.00? Please explain.
This expense was previously under curriculum and moved to MLE’s page for greater clarity and transparency. The same amount is used each year ($5,000 per classroom) to purchase consumables for SLA, ELA, mathematics, etc.
- In curriculum line 1113, stipends were $230,206 in the SY 24 budget to $499,000 in SY 25. Why? Some of these Stipends were previously paid by ESSER funds.
- In Compliance, on line item 3000, Easy IEP/504’/Virtual Tutoring increase from $50,000 to $110,000.Please explain. Increased number of students who require virtual tutoring.
- On line item 3001Translation/Contracting Services, there was an increase from $540,000 to $700,000.Please explain. Increased in the number of IEP’s (meetings and documents) that require translation. Supporting use of Easy IEP translation module which provides families with documents within the legally required timeframe.
- In Innovation and Grants line item 5101B, please explain what the curriculum and instruction cost of $581,295 is used for. Please give specifics. These funds are for students who attend the Salem State Program (tuition, books, computers, etc.) and the summer program held at Endicott college (supplies and materials, etc.). It also pays for the Naviance and EdGenuity software licenses.
- In Network/Technology, how are we keeping track of the computers? Yes.The Technology Department maintains a document.This will be needed for audit purposes. Do we have technicians assigned to most of our buildings? All the secondary Schools have a person assigned to the building every day.In line item 7102, how many people are traveling for 82,800? 28 Staff members receive the contractual travel allowance.
- In Security line 1111, SRO’s # is 6 for both SY24 and SY 25. Why haven’t we increased this to 7 for SY 25? The Police department is only budgeted for six, and they have had staffing issues which they hope to be resolved this year.
- In Transportation the problem seems to be the need of a Asst. Database Manager to continue to provide quality performance as our district grows? This will be reviewed to determine the transportation staffing needs each year. The SPED department is currently reviewing IEPs to ensure the accuracy of transportation needs for all students.
- In Finance, we should have a list of all Federal and Foundational Grants. How they are spent? Why don’t we have one? A list will be put together and provided.
- In Personnel line 3022, there was a drastic increase from $20,000 in FY 24 to $100,000 in FY 25. Will we be able to maintain that in the future?
- In Personnel, please explain line 7800 monitor uniform allowance? The uniform allowance is contractual.
- In Deputy Superintendent’s budget, why isn’t there a confidential secretary listed? The salary listed for this position in the budget book is correct.The budget book position will be changes from Clerical Salary to Confidential Salary.
School Committee Member Eric Dugan Budget Questions
- The principal salary at Shoemaker, Is that actual with the new principal or was that projected with the previous principal? Projected for the previous principal. Base pay by school remains the same.
- Same question as above but at Sisson? Projected for the previous principal. Base pay by school remains the same.
- I have noticed “Data Assessment Program Specialist” listed in a few schools. I do not recall seeing this title in the past. However, there were salaries budgeted in the previous year and the 25 school year. Was this an old position that was re-named or have they always existed? These positions have been in place since 2011.
- Also is this position funded by Title 1 at English? What evidence, as required by TITLE ONE funding, are we using to say that this should be funded by TITLE ONE Grant money? These positions have been paid through Title One in previous years. Title One guidelines state that expenditures that 1. Strengthen the core program in schools and provide academic and/or support services to low-achieving students at the preschool, elementary, middle, and high school levels are allowed.
https://www.doe.mass.edu/federalgrants/titlei-a/default.html
- Why does the “DATA Assessment Program Specialist” not exist in every school? Does this have something to do with accountability (MCAS) needs? Breed, Marshall, Pickering, Classical, English, and LVTI currently have a Data Program Specialist.
- An Art Teacher was cut at Frederick Douglas. What was the reasoning behind that? The art position was converted to a mathematics position.
- We added a COACh teacher at Pickering. How many new COACh students are[AE1] coming up to Pickering? Is this teacher coming from another building, or is this a new hire? There are currently 16 students for the 2 COACh classes at Pickering. This COACh class is a curriculum-based class which differs from the classes at Marshall. We will be hiring a new teacher for this class.
- There are 5 PE teachers at English and only 3 at Classical. I do understand that the enrollment is larger at English, however is it large enough to need 2 extra PE teachers or could we transfer one to Classical giving both schools 4? Classical in a prior year, the principal added a Dance Teacher and a Theater Arts teacher and reduced the number of PE teachers.
- Both English and Classical have 2 Art teachers. Given the need four 5 PE teachers at English, why does Art have the same at both schools?[AE2] Art is an elective and the staffing is based upon the number of students who select this class, Also there are a fixed number of classrooms that are available to schedule these classes as well as all other subjects.
- Both English and Classical staffing numbers are budgeted to stay the same. Are we confident that we will meet the new graduation requirements adopted? The new graduation requirements for math (4 years) will be applicable for Class of 2026. Each school schedules staff and students for the courses needed to meet graduation requirements, this process is informed by the Department Heads.
The graduation requirements are different for 2024 and 2025. The class of 2026 to 2030 has different requirements:
https://www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/graduation.html
- There is a line at English for athletic supplies with $0 funding. I did not see an athletic supply line at Classical or Tech. Did I miss it at these schools? Also, why are we not funding any athletic supplies? The Athletic Supply funds are listed on the Athletics Budget page and the English School supply funds are also available.
- How long will TEAMS continue to be funded by a LVTI budget? Will TEAMS have its own budget after the move to Pondview? Once the Teams Program has moved to their new location, they will have their own budget for FY26.
- Fecteau - Leary added 2 positions for SPED El Gr. 6-8. Why was that done? These classrooms are to support students coming from Fallon and TASC that have been placed in less restrictive settings but have not been successful. The classes were originally planned for FL, but Marshall determined a space for the classroom, so we will open it there instead, allowing students to stay in their neighborhood school with inclusion opportunities. [AE3] [CC4]
- Sped Travel reimbursements is a line item. What does the SPED department use travel reimbursements for? This is for any Special education Staff required to travel between schools and out-of-district placements. These are contractual stipends. Why did it go up $10,000 for the FY25 budget? Increase in the number of Staff that are required to Travel.
- RAW ARTS has a $120,000 line item. Could you summarize how that money is spent? Contractual agreement for services at Fallon and Fecteau Leary
- In DEI budget, the Contracted Services went from (approx.) $35,000 to $82,000. What is the need for this jump? Added Affinity and DEI Training for FY25. What type of services are being contracted for our DEI department? Latinos for Education Fellowships, Affinity Training, and Professional Development for DEIB: Personal and Team Equity Culture and Equity Cycles of Improvement
- $25,000 for stipends are budgeted into the technology department’s budget that did not exist before. What is that for? Managing the New Lynn School Department Website and Social Media platforms. This replaced the communications position and the webmaster LPS position.
- We budgeted for 6 SRO’s. Will they be fully staffed? Chief Reddy is collaborating with LPS to hire all SRO’s in the budget.
MEMBER BRIAN CASTELLANOS
BUDGET QUESTIONS FY-24-25
Questions regarding Rosetta Stone:
Could you please provide the cost breakdown for each user account for the Rosetta Stone program? What is the total annual cost ? FY25 $448,300, FY26 $218,750, FY27 $218,750. These are per school site licenses not per user. The contract amount would not change if we removed staff and parents. The program is owned by IXL Learning which is already an LPS vendor for core curriculum.
The primary reason this step was taken is to support students who are building their English language acquisition and provide a platform for after-school practice of these English language skills. A bonus to the access to the Rosetta Stone program is the availability for staff to learn Spanish language which they have been asking for over the past few years as well as parents having access to also build language skills.
What other platforms did we explore before selecting this option? Did we explore cost effective options like Duolingo, Babel, Pilsner which all have free features etc.? Free programs are not aligned with the Data Security Agreements. LPS requires a DSA from the vendors or contractual language, if not specifically stated. Student information of minors cannot be provided without a DSA since it can be sold to unknown third parties. These agreements protect the privacy of students. http://studentprivacy.ed.gov/data-security-k-12-and-higher-education
How do we justify an annual 448k investment when we will be experiencing financial difficulties in the next fiscal budget? With the need for more staff, student experience and other needs, these funds could be repurposed into more effective ways. The graduation percentage in high school among Latino students at LPS is 56.6% as compared to 83.7% of ALL students.
The data reflects a population for grades K-2 of 77% English Language Learners, grades 3 – 8 of 44% English Language Learners, and grades 9-12 of 29% English Language Learners. The proficiency of Els to their peers is as follows:
Reading EL: 34% ALL: 59%
Language Writing EL: 13% ALL: 38%
Language EL: 37% ALL: 59%
Research-based programs such as Rosetta Stone support increased student achievement and the closing of the academic achievement gap with student populations grades 6 – 8 in a randomized controlled study of students in Arizona with over 8,000 students. The study from 2021 shows that students in the treatment group and non-treatment were over 90% Latino and Spanish speaking. The analysis of effect sizes indicates that those receiving language instruction through technology were significantly higher and therefore statistically significant according to What Works Clearinghouse. Additionally, there were social and emotional impacts which included social confidence, decreased anxiety in speaking another language, and acquisition of ‘buildable usable knowledge’ since Els lack context in English.
Harper, D., Bowles, A. R., Amer, L., Pandža, N. B., & Linck, J. A. (2021). Improving Outcomes for English Learners Through Technology: A Randomized Controlled Trial. AERA Open, 7.
The EL student experience is vastly different than that of an English-speaking student. The online technology provides students with differentiation at their own pace to learn the English language in the classroom or outside of the classroom. Not providing access to supplemental materials to learn language creates inequities in learning content across the K-12 curriculum. This is seen as an accommodation for non-English speakers to access their education. Dictionaries or translations are not sufficient. When students must take ELD courses in grades 6-12, this creates an inequitable academic environment. ELs cannot take advanced academics courses.
English is ranked as a Group 1 language according to the Foreign Service Institute, US Department of State. This means that the language requires between 600 to 750 hours of instruction. Full fluency begins after 1,100 hours of learning. Elementary students need language to fully engage in learning of content. Secondary students need language proficiency and mastery of language to be successful in all pathways.
LPS has utilized the following data to support this inclusive program:
The Departments of DAT, DEI, & SEL School Climate Survey Pilot 2023-2024
3 Elementary & 2 Middle Schools
Key Findings:
•Roughly 60% of elementary students feel a sense of belonging, compared to about 40% of middle schoolers.
•Approximately 46% of elementary students feel connected to adults in their school, while only about 23% of middle school students report the same.
SBIRT Surveys 2023-2024
Harvard Medical School/MGH/LPS Nursing Department administered SBIRT (Screening, Brief Intervention, Referral to Treatment) surveys in our secondary schools
Section 5 looked at discrimination based on race/ethnicity:
•Between 20-30% of students, dependent on school, who identify as anything other than white, non-Hispanic reported being called racially insulting names, people assuming their English was poor, and people expecting more of them than others their age. This is not restricted to experiences in school.
•Our sexually diverse and gender diverse students reported higher levels of anxiety, depression, psychotic experiences, and suicidal thoughts and behaviors than their peers. They also had higher usage of substances.
• The effects of race on these factors varied by school. However, students who identified as multiracial reported higher rates of substance use.
LPS will prioritize the frozen positions first but will add the necessary positions as the student population has continued to increase according to the data trends over the past three years.
Why not explore doing a pilot program with some interested students to see how they like it before buying it for the entire school system? Maybe that way you could do surveys before and after about their learning. Also, maybe you could survey students, teachers, and parents to find out how many would use it. The platform was purchased for students. The vendor has provided free licenses for staff and parents which supports the DEI metrics for belonging and cultural competency. There is urgency for students to access language acquisition since we are identified as a district in turnaround by DESE, in the bottom 10% of all school districts. According to the research conducted by The Annenberg Institute at Brown University, English and Classical are among the schools that receive the most newcomers in the State of Massachusetts. These students average 15% of each school's population. https://annenberg.brown.edu/edopportunity/rising-numbers-unmet-needs
Additionally, according to the walkthroughs conducted by the Curriculum and Instruction department we found the presence of appropriate supports and scaffolds to sustain rigor in Tier 1 in 60% of the observed classes. The questions teachers posed tended to be from the lower levels of Bloom’s taxonomy. Students will not meet the assessment metrics without the language skills needed to pass required assessments. Lynn Public Schools currently services 45% English learners who would benefit from additional language development to access the grade level standards and materials. [AE5]
Could you please provide some more information around how the district will be budgeting for future contract and staff retention capacity needs? Each year we start with the goal of maintaining all existing staff. We then meet with all our Principals and Directors to discuss and review their budgets with the goal of ensuring that we address any compliance needs (Special Education & MLS) first. Then we develop a list of additional requests in a priority order. Onc e we receive our Chapter 70 allocation, we then finalize the budget.
We currently have vacant and frozen positions. What is the district’s budget strategy to alleviate this situation? There are 25 instructional positions that are frozen (put on hold). LPS will re-evaluate these positions and post those positions as needed. They can be funded from other personnel salary savings. It is important to note that these positions have been vacant for 2 years.
Human Resources has developed a plan to address recruitment and retention of personnel.
Lynn Public Schools is implementing multiple initiatives to enhance pathways to increase educator diversity, recruitment, and retention.
In the Spring of 2023, the district contracted with Educators Thriving to attain educator voice related to workplace well-being. There were 1,430 participants, and data was disaggregated by gender, years of experience, job, race/ethnicity, and grade level. Educators Thriving’s report included highlights, such as: “When asked what they love about working for LPS, educators shared a deep commitment to making a difference and appreciation for the diversity of the student body across the district”, and “Staff reported a strong desire for input on decisions that most impact their roles and their students- curriculum, scheduling, and discipline.” Relatedly, educators reported varied levels of support from the district. Just 15% of staff agreed or strongly agreed that “The district integrates others’ input on meaningful issues.” Regarding the categories "District Leadership and Culture,” “Acceptance,” and “Supports,” BIPOC respondents reported more favorably than White respondents. BIPOC respondents included 10% of the total respondents. In using this data to move forward with our educator diversity goals, we are pleased that our racially diverse staff in general, reported at least as favorably as other groups in critical areas of the climate at LPS. However, overall numbers, including with BIPOC respondents, in the key categories such as "Depletion" and "Supports" were not nearly as well rated as other areas, demonstrating a low overall favorability. While these results may not be surprising, and are reflected in the current teacher shortage and high percentages of educators leaving the profession across the country, we must use these indicators to ensure that we are continuing our diligent efforts not only to recruit, which had been much of the focus of our earliest years with this grant program, but also to uplift, support, and retain our diverse staff. As with so much of our work at LPS, we take pride in our accomplishments in the areas of diversity, acceptance, and belonging that have for years been strategic areas of our district plan, but we also look forward to the work ahead in areas where improvement is most certainly needed. We welcome the coming year's challenges to bolster our initiatives and recommit ourselves to the goals of this grant program detailed herein for next steps.
High School Education Pathway
Students in grades 9 through 12 have been able to participate in different components of this high school pathway which we aim to continue and expand upon this year. In grade 9, diverse students interested in a career in education are identified and able to join an Educators Rising club. They will gain exposure to the field of education and college campuses through field trips to campuses and after school programs, as well as support through the college application process. In grades 10 through 12, students can participate in the early college education pathway. In 11th and 12th grade, we will provide MTEL prep courses and vouchers to take the Communication and Literacy MTEL for interested students, as well as materials and supplies to support them in the MTEL process. Post-secondary, students remain connected with the Lynn Public Schools and receive support in the transition to college and provide opportunities for field placements, pre-practicums, and practicums within the Lynn Public Schools.
As Lynn continues to honor our students’ linguistic assets, as well as the opportunities that multilingualism brings, the Seal of Biliteracy provides validation for our emerging bilinguals and their families that bilingualism is valued in the Lynn Public Schools and demonstrates the economic value and job opportunities for students who graduate bilingual and biliterate, especially in the field of education. An analysis of our data from the past four years of awarding the Seal of Biliteracy shows that the vast majority of students who have earned the Seal are racially and ethnically diverse, as well as linguistically diverse, and have developed proficiency in the partner language at home.
In past years, we have used STAMP language proficiency data to identify students in 8th to 12th grade. This year, we have also added this assessment at the 5th grade level, providing an additional opportunity to identify bilingual students. This data allows us to identify students with high levels of proficiency in two or more languages, and work with each student to discuss their interests and potential career paths. By taking advantage of these opportunities for language proficiency assessment, in addition to follow up conversations with guidance counselors, we will continue to ensure that our linguistically and ethnically diverse students who are interested in becoming future bilingual educators are identified early and provided access to this pathway.
The LPS Early College program contains an important career pathway in education. Through the education pathway, we will continue to foster future Lynn educators in close partnership with Salem State University. Students in the education pathway will take a combination of core courses like Foundations of Writing, electives like Oral Communication for Civics Engagement, and career courses like Exploring Education and Psychology: Child Growth and Development. LPS holds a vision that our own talented high school students will return to our LPS campuses as successful, first-year teachers. We anticipate expanding access to coursework opportunities as this program expands to serve more students to provide diverse options catering to unique student interests such as grade level, subject matter, or language of instruction. This past year, this has included a partnership with Educators Rising, providing access to their curriculum which supports future educators. This coursework was reviewed by staff members who began to implement various components. This year, we seek to pilot this curriculum in at least one of our high schools as part of our Educators Rising club with hopes to expand it to the school day as a course in future years.
For our students interested in teaching in bilingual programs, their Seal of Biliteracy data will be used to place students in World Language programming that most closely aligns with their language proficiency levels.
The Lynn Public Schools is proud to partner with Salem State University in two key areas: opportunities for current high school students to earn college credits through our Early College program, and current Salem State students enrolled in their 4+1 combined bachelor’s and master’s degree programs to complete practicums and fellowships within our public school classrooms. For the 23-24 school year, we had 14 4 +1 student teachers as well as 7 Interventionist Fellows and 4 Teacher of Record Fellows.
In addition, LPS partners with North Shore Community College to provide early college pathways and an early college high school.
A key partnership in our high school pathway is with Educators Rising, who has facilitated professional learning for staff members supporting this work. They also have conferences for students and curriculum to support students’ growth as future educators. We will continue this partnership with additional funding by sending staff and students to conferences and professional learning and funding
Throughout the budget, I have seen staff positions displaying 1$, could you elaborate further please? These are the Frozen Positions. There is a total of 25 positions. Doing this just notes that we are not looking to cut the positions but rather just put them on hold until we have funding and personnel to fill them.
Please break down what the coordinator of private partnerships does? This position was interviewed for and works with all district administration as well as School based administrators on the writing of grants throughout the year. She comes with grant experience around how to navigate the grant components and the language needed for a strong grant submission. She has worked with the Magnet School Grant 15 mil, Capital Skills Grant 4.2 million, DESE English Learner Programming Grant 2 mil. Other grants she has worked on are GLEAM, CS Engage and School Security.
Is the 32k a fee, stipend, or salary? She receives a salary through a contract
Who do you consider private partners? Private partners are considered companies, philanthropists, and non-profit organizations who use private funding sources to support specific areas of programming some examples are Smith Family Foundation, Barr Foundation, Lubin Foundation (Community Schools), Seimer Foundation.
We have discussed potential fiscal deficits caused by our recent ranking status. Please explain or elaborate the district’s financial debt management strategy that is going to alleviate potential losses? How will the district prioritize savings, spending and allocation of funds for key areas of our operational budget? Every line item was reviewed by the Superintendent and the Budget Administrator with each department and school principal / deputies to reduce or eliminate costs. Overall, SY25 has an expense reduction of approximately $3.2M which will support the SY26 budget as well.
What are we doing to address staff retention issues? Does this budget reflect our staff’s priorities please share further details?
Retention:
- Reimagining the induction/mentoring program
- Revitalize and support new approach for affinity groups
- Create HR drop-in Q and A sessions for staff during the school year
- Strengthen instruction and paths to licensure
- MTEL prep courses and vouchers (high school, pre-service, and current teachers)
- Professional development
Teacher Diversification Pilot Program Grant provides MTEL vouchers and retention bonus.
What are we doing to ensure we are prioritizing mental health and SEL budget priorities? The district has shown a strong commitment to our students' mental health needs via the development of the new student model, which is concluding its second year. In the past our services were siloed between SPED and SEL yet now under the new model all our students are serviced based on need assessment and service delivery via the MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Supports) format. Currently the department consists of 3 SEL (Exec Director/2 Asst Directors of SEL) district administrators, 27 school based Clinical Supervisors and 70 Clinicians. The department reviews grant opportunities to provide clinical professional development and beginning this SY was able to partner with Alliance for Inclusion and Prevention, Inc. for a 5-year SAMSHA grant to support ta number of clinical concerns as well as targeting trauma and grief. SEL has worked to create school and district safety protocols to respond to students struggling with suicidal thoughts/feelings. This protocol is noted in the new LPS staff handbook, so all staff have access to the safety process and procedures.
Due to recent ESSR funding changes, we have seen after school programming be reduced. What are the district’s plans to improve this issue?
We still have many summer programs in place such as Project Yes, All Stars, Seaforth Movement, Inclusivity groups, and College Express. We will be looking for more DESE, federal and private grants to offset the impact from the loss of ESSER. For instance, knowing we did not have the same funding level for summer programming, we wrote and received a grant of $286,000 for summer acceleration academies. LVTI also received a summer grant to continue CTE summer programming of $25,000. We will continue to pursue opportunities to bolster our programming.