School Committee Discusses Accepting Employee's Children from Out of State at No Charge
Interim Superintendent of Schools Thad King introduced a request from Murdock Middle School Principal Jessica Vezina at the Thursday, August 26 meeting of the School Committee. If approved, the request would allow Vezina, now a resident of Rindge, NH, to enroll her two children, who formerly attended the Winchendon Public Schools, under school choice as out of state residents in the WPS District where Vezina is employed.
The acceptance would potentially grant both of Vezina's children the right to attend the WPS District either free of charge, or with reimbursement of some sort to be decided by the School Committee. Re-wording Vezina's contract to list the costs as a "Benefit" were discussed as an option, along with other possibilities by the School Committee.
King explained that according to the Mass General Laws, there are seats available in the district's schools, and there are statutes which allow districts to accept students from across state lines, which he stated were also outlined in her application letter of request. King went on to say it would be legal according to council but would be a little separate from school choice. "We do have seats available and we are allowed to enter into an agreement with Vezina as an individual as opposed to a School Committee."
Under a current policy called School Admissions, King explained, "It basically states that all children of school age who reside in the town will be allowed to attend public schools, as will certain children who do not reside in the town but are admitted under School Committee policies related to non-resident students, or by specific action by the School Committee. The attorney said this policy as well certainly makes this request acceptable. My recommendation is to approve Vezina's request to school choice her children back into the Winchendon Public Schools, and I also suggest we amend her principal's contract and rewrite her contract that this would exist as a benefit, and that we would waive tuition as part of her contract to allow her children to come back into the Winchendon Public Schools."
Committee member Greg Vine said, "I would like to make a motion to accept the Superintendent's recommendation, and that I would just add to that the school district has nothing to lose by this and a couple of good students to gain in the process. The kids have been in our district for all their lives up to this point, and it's not going to cost the district either monetarily or put an extra strain on our personnel, so I would make the motion that we accept the superintendent's recommendation that the children of Jessica Vezina of Rindge, NH be allowed to attend classes in the Winchendon Public School District." The motion was seconded by member Shauna LaPointe.
Discussion began with member Ryan Forsythe commenting, "I support the motion to vote yes, but have just a couple of logistical questions. Will the WPS seek any reimbursement from the Rindge Public Schools or from any other entity for what would be a per-pupil compensation?"
King replied, "The attorney said we are allowed by statute to do a case by case basis, and in this particular case I am making the recommendation as since we don't have anything in place right now as to reimbursement, as part of the benefits package for Vezina that we would write this into the contract as part of the benefits package. We would waive any such tuition now or anything retroactive."
Forsythe then asked if the recommended benefit would be precedent-setting or should it be a benefit made available to other public school employees? King replied, "It's a great question and as we are about to enter into negotiations this year for a new contract with the [Winchendon Teachers' Association], it is also recommended that we enter this as possibly part of the negotiation with all of our employees as a part of the union contract."
Committee Chair Karen Kast then followed with, "I have no problem with this but I want to make sure we are not upsetting the balance with the school district receiving remunerations from other school districts somehow and losing money."
King replied to Kast, "I am making this recommendation today with the committee so if you would like to enter into an M.O.U. [Memorandum of Understanding] with another district out of state such as Rindge, you would have time to examine." King explained he had an existing M.O.U. with Amesbury Public Schools which is in an agreement with South Hampton, New Hampshire to study as an example, including how reimbursement expenses are handled. Vine then withdrew his original motion, and made a new motion for the committee to accept the children of Vezina as students in the Winchendon Public School system. That new motion was then seconded by Forsythe.
Discussing the new motion, LaPointe said she didn't want to set a precedent with the motion as worded, and felt that the terms needed to be clearly stated and that the wording not be either too broad or too tight. Vine and Kast both said they felt the motion could move forward as worded now, and they could work on the policy piece or pieces at a later date. Based on LaPointe's concerns, Forsythe asked if the motion should be expanded to mention the future talks of a benefits package without declaring what that benefit would be, so as not to disclose the benefits of Vezina's contract. King replied, "All contracts with public employees are public, this is not a private conversation."
Vine then again respectfully withdrew his motion, and informed LaPointe he would let her make the motion as he wasn't sure what she would want in it. Lapointe then said, "I make a motion to accept the students, and the contract will be discussed and made at a later date." Vine then seconded the motion by LaPointe. Kast then called for a roll call vote, with Vine, LaPointe, Forsythe, and Kast all voting yes with the motion passing 4-0. Committee member Lawrence Murphy was absent from the meeting.
In link provided by the WPS District Office to a Massachusetts Department of Education site titled, "FY2021 Final School Choice Tuition, June 2021," the Mass DOE in part says, regarding school choice costs, the following, "The regular day school choice tuition rate is $5,000 per student for school districts and $8,666 per student for Commonwealth virtual schools, including a $75 per student administrative fee. An incremental cost is also added to the tuition for each special education student reflecting the additional cost of the services that they are receiving. This amount is determined using the same methodology for specific services that is used for the special education circuit breaker program." It goes on to say, "The district summary workbook lists all receiving and sending districts' enrollment and tuition amounts for the year. This year there were 17,469 full-time equivalent pupils participating, including 13,915 school choice students and 3,553 students enrolled in one of the two Commonwealth virtual schools, with total tuition amounting to $118,815,112. After incorporating $28,542 in adjustments to FY20 tuition, the net tuition statewide is $118,786,570. There were 188 receiving school districts plus the two virtual schools and 319 sending districts."
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) website for the Town of Winchendon on its "School & District Profiles" page, under the Finance tab, lists "Total Pupil Expenditures" per student in the Winchendon Public Schools district at a total cost of $14,163.59 as of the 2019 most recent figures available. It should be noted such information is calculated including but not limited to everything from combined district employee salary and benefits costs, to heating oil, electricity, maintenance expenses, educational materials, and much more. The total cost figures can be seen online at School and District Profiles: Winchendon (03430000).
Principal Vezina's two children who were accepted by the School Committee back into the district, if no reimbursement of any kind is received from either Rindge, NH, where Vezina's family currently lives, or its district (the Jaffrey-Rindge Cooperative School District), would attend at a "Total Pupil Expenditures" expense to the Town of Winchendon of a combined sum of $28,327.18 according to DESE 2019 figures. At the time of this story, the WPS District has no mitigating financial agreements with any New Hampshire Public School Districts.
Mount Wachusett Community College Awarded Federal Grant to Help Displaced and Underemployed Adults Continue Path to Higher Education
GARDNER, MA - August 30, 2021 - The U.S. Department of Education announced that Mount Wachusett Community College will receive a federal Educational Opportunities Center (EOC) grant of $273,793 to help unemployed workers, low-wage workers, and returning high school and college students enter or continue a program of post-secondary education.
In operation since September 2002, The North Central Educational Opportunity Center at Mount Wachusett Community College annually assists over a thousand area adults to pursue their educational goals.
The North Central Educational Opportunity Center provides counseling and information on college admissions and services to improve participants' financial and economic literacy. Among comprehensive services are academic and personal counseling, tutoring and mentoring, career workshops, information on post-secondary education opportunities, student financial assistance, including FAFSA completion, and help in completing college applications. EOC programs offer services to a broad range of adult learners, including those who are limited English proficient, from groups that are traditionally underrepresented in postsecondary education, individuals with disabilities, homeless individuals, youth aging out of the foster care system, and other disconnected students.
"The renewal of this grant is evidence of the exemplary work our EOC staff does to support adult learners in our communities," stated James Vander Hooven, President of MWCC. "The TRIO programs exemplify our mission to be a lifelong learning community dedicated to excellence."
EOC began in 1972 and is part of a set of federal educational opportunity outreach programs known as "TRIO", which is authorized by the Higher Education Act to help low-income, first-generation students and students with disabilities succeed in higher education. In the 2020 Fiscal Year there were 139 Educational Opportunity Centers in America serving more than 192,000 adult learners nationwide.
"The North Central Educational Opportunity staff is excited to continue providing educational access services to the region's adult population," stated program director Valerie LaPorte.
"As systemic inequality and financial hardship discourage students from succeeding in college, TRIO programs like EOC take on new importance because they continue to help guide unemployed and underemployed workers and returning high school and college students towards earning a degree," said Maureen Hoyler, president of the D.C. based non-profit Council for Opportunity in Education (COE). The COE is dedicated to furthering the expansion of college opportunities for low-income, first-generation students, and students with disabilities nationwide.