February 8, 2022 By Carol Britton Meyer
The School Committee had a full agenda Monday night, including a public hearing on the proposed $62.7 million Fiscal 2023 school budget and an update on the proposed Foster School project (see related story), with as many as 150 participants in the longer than four-hour remote meeting at one point.
The Fiscal 2023 budget reflects a 1.43 percent -- or $885,054 -- increase over the Fiscal 2022 budget and includes several proposed new positions. These include a data analyst and a fine arts director.
"The budget will look different next year after the strategic plan is completed, because it will identify needs that might not be in this budget," Interim Supt. of Schools Gary Maestas said. "The plan will be taken into consideration for future budget years."
Maestas said the budget process has been "somewhat challenging" due to COVID-19's impact on the economy; the fact that the proposed Foster renovation/new school is on the horizon; and that the School Department would like to maintain the roughly 32 staff members who were added in the Fiscal 2022 budget to help address the learning gap experienced by students as a result of the pandemic and associated social-emotional issues. All of those positions except the contracted counselors are included in the FY2023 proposed budget.
Asst. Supt. Jamie LaBillois, who presented a student progress report -- "Post Pandemic Recovery & Academic Acceleration," aimed at addressing the needs of all HPS students -- said he expects these positions will continue post-COVID.
"I think this is an incredibly reasonable budget, while also giving us the tools and resources needed to move the district forward," School Committee member Michelle Ayer said.
The budget is based on an estimated enrollment of 3,805 students, according to Director of Business and Support Services John Ferris, who said the expectation is that some of the students who left the HPS system during COVID will return for the next school year.
A few parents expressed concern about how the goal of attracting students back to the HPS will be attained. In response, Maestas said there will be a targeted campaign highlighting in part evidence of why students are succeeding in the HPS, among other points. He also said it's important to understand why parents have decided to send their children to private schools.
Parent Lauren Davalla said while it's good to remain positive about the potential for returning students, "we need to make sure that students' everyday experience is positive. That's what parents want right now. They're not thinking about Harvard but their children's day-to-day experience [in the HPS]."
School Committee Chair Kerry Ni noted that "a lot of parents thought there would be greater in-person learning opportunities in private schools," among other reasons.
The Select Board, School Committee, and the Advisory Committee met remotely Tuesday night to discuss the proposed school budget -- which the School Committee recommended unanimously Monday night. The proposed budget is posted on the HPS website.
In other business at the meeting, Maestas reported that he filed a request for a face mask waiver from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for Hingham High School -- which has reached the 80 percent threshold of vaccinated staff and students -- on Feb. 1 and that the Middle School is nearing that threshold. He expects a response by next week.
The school committee will meet on Friday to further the mask discussion.