1 School District Efficiency Study Morrisville-Eaton Central School District Advisory Committee Meeting April 23, 2014 Castallo and Silky Education Consultants Jessica Cohen & Alan Pole, Consultants

Why Conduct This Study?  Since , 31 positions have been eliminated (staff reduced from 169 to 138)  Employees have agreed to reduce benefit levels of health insurance  50% of student extra-curricular activities have been eliminated  Merger voted down by Hamilton even though 67% of M-E voters voted YES  Fund balance/reserves have been spent down considerably leaving the district vulnerable for the future  Student enrollment has been declining 2

Why Closing a School May be Difficult  Loss of school presence in the village  Uncertainty of what will happen to the building  Elementary students should not be mixed with secondary students  Less personal attention for students  Busing time for some students may be increased  Fear of losing job security by employees  Natural resistance to change 3

Purpose of the Efficiency Study From an instructional and financial perspective, should the board of education consider creating a Pre-K-12 grade program in the Morrisville-Eaton Middle/High School and closing the Edward R. Andrews Elementary School, and What does the school community desire in an educational program that will successfully prepare all students for their future and what strategic initiatives should be implemented to achieve these goals? 4

Expectations of Committee Members  Attend all committee meetings  Freely express their points of view  Be a key communicator with stakeholder groups  Be respectful of the committee and and the study process  Be a positive contributing member in other related committee activities 5

The Consultants  Bring an outside, unbiased perspective  Have no local stake in the outcome  Will conduct the study in a fair manner  Will ensure that the process is open  Will produce meeting notes after each committee meeting  Will be responsible for the final report 6

Recommendations in the Report  Will benefit student learning  Will be sensitive to the unique cultural contexts of the school districts  Will be independent of special interest groups  Will be educationally sound  Will be fiscally responsible and realistic 7

Common Reactions About the Study Process  The consultants are here to close the elementary school  This is all happening too quickly  There is not enough information on which to make a decision  The advisory committee meetings are too long…..or too short 8

Committee Meeting Schedule (6:00 meetings; 5:15 tours*)  April 23, 2014-Overview & Enrollments (HIGH)  May 15-Program (ELEM)*  June 11-Facilities (HIGH)*  July 23-Transportation (ELEM)  August 20-Staffing (HIGH)  September 17-Finances (ELEM)  October 1-Review Draft Report (HIGH)  October 15-Report to Board of Education 9

Informing the Public  District newsletters  Newspaper articles  District web sites  Notes from advisory committee meetings  PowerPoint presentations from advisory committee meetings  Open advisory committee meetings-for observation and limited comment 10

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Enrollment History and Projections 12

Enrollment Drives Decisions  Number of teachers/other staff  Size of classes  Number of rooms needed  Curriculum offerings  Facilities  Transportation  Finances 13

Enrollment History 14

Predicting Future Enrollment  Uses the Cohort Survival Projection method & begins with live birth information  Calculates the patterns of enrollments  Survival ratio tracks how cohort changes through the grades  Based on consistent and predictable conditions 15

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Questions About Live Birth Information  What are the reasons that live births in the school district are increasing?  Will this be a continuing trend? 17

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Questions about Enrollment Projections  Why are there more 5 year olds entering school than live births five years previously?  Will the number of births continue to increase, level off, or decrease?  Are there other enrollment trends that should be considered? 19

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Enrollment “Take Aways” 23  Enrollment has decreased by 32% (343 students) since the 1998 – 1999 school year  Over the past 10 years, enrollment has decreased by 19% (162 students)  Projections indicate a slight increase in enrollment

Discussion Question  What principles must we address as we consider reorganizing the Pre-K to 12 th grade school programs in Morrisville-Eaton  What do we want to maintain?  What do we want to improve?  What can be eliminated or decreased? 24

Questions???? 25