By Tom Beals
Introduction
An override vote is pending at the upcoming April 30, 2024 town election. If the override is passed, the town’s maximum taxation capacity (the “levy limit”) will be permanently raised. Here I discuss some background issues and raise unaddressed questions.
I. The seen and the unseen: If the override passes…
In an Acton Exchange article Mr. Greg Jarboe writes, “Reached for comment after the Acton Leadership Group meeting, Mike Balulescu, President of the teacher’s union, Acton Boxborough Education Association (ABEA) said, “If an override isn’t passed, it would be disastrous. The town would need to cut close to seventy teachers, increase class sizes well beyond any recommended limits, and possibly close an elementary school. Our teachers are anxious and scared about what could happen to our schools and our students without enough community support.”
In a classic phrase from economics, this is the seen – what is easily counted. And the unseen? Property taxes, and inflation, are regressive – lower-income and fixed-income residents, already struggling with the recent inflation, will be hit hardest. What happens to lower-income property owners or renters if the override succeeds? How many households are living paycheck to paycheck, people for whom the override’s tax increase will be the last straw?
A high property value is no indication of an ability to pay a substantial tax increase. Does Acton truly want to allow seniors to stay in town? Seniors who bought a modest property 50 years ago and who are now living on a fixed income may face more “disastrous” consequences than a young ABRSD employee, and a family leaving town may cause more stress to a child than a move to a new classroom.
The reality is that people are going to be hurt no matter which way the vote goes.
II. Some School Committee history
A local newspaper not only reports current news; by doing so it builds and records a communities’ history. The first incarnation of the Acton Forum brought bold investigative journalism to Acton. An advantage of electronic/non-physical media is that the barriers to entry are reduced, but electronic records are easily lost. But via the web archive, some Forum records were preserved.
On March 7, 2015 the Forum reported on the departure of Director of Pupil Services Liza Huber:
“Liza Huber, the school’s former Director of Pupil Services, has apparently left her position several months ago but continues to receive full salary, and the Acton-Boxborough Regional School District (ABRSD) administration refuses to say whether she is performing any duties for the school.”
On July 7, 2015 the Forum reported on its efforts to obtain more details concerning Ms. Huber’s departure and noted that that the town paid legal fees “… to attempt to hide the Huber documents and Executive Session minutes from public view.”
But Ms. Huber bounced back – on August 23, 2015 the Forum reported ‘Fantastic’ School administrator hired by Dedham. From the Dedham Transcript, “Elizabeth Huber-O’Connell … was selected as a finalist from the 24 initial applicants by a search committee of ten people representing parents, special educators, principals, administrators, and the Dedham School Committee.”
That pattern repeated: at the Acton-Boxborough Regional School Committee (ABRSC) meeting of May 18, 2017, Dr. Glenn Brand, then the superintendent of the Acton-Boxborough Regional School District (ABRSD), announced that he would resign as of June 30, 2017, with pay through the end of his contract on June 30, 2018.
And like Ms. Huber, Dr. Brand was highly praised by his next employer. On February 14, 2018 the Wilmington Apple reported that the Wilmington School Committee had named Dr. Brand as its next superintendent. That report quotes multiple comments highly praising Dr. Brand; this one is representative – ““All four candidates had something to give to Wilmington, but – by far – Dr. Brand has the most…”.
Neither Dr. Brand nor Committee members remarked further on the matter, but members of the public reacted strongly; and a meeting for further discussion was held on May 24, 2017. At the May 24 meeting, ‘reacted strongly’ would be an understatement, and the episode is worth viewing in its entirety. An on-line petition – “Rationale for the Resignation of [ABRSD]… Dr. Glenn Brand” – was begun, asking for an explanation. That petition is still on-line and reports greater than 1000 electronic signatures and over 150 written responses. Not only did the town pay for services not received, but the town also paid for legal services to fight the records release. After Watergate, the phrase “it’s not the crime, it’s the cover-up” became a staple of political reporting. Without alleging a crime, there has certainly been the appearance of a cover up.
Has the School Committee exercised good judgment? The case of the Colonial Mascot
At an October 15, 2020 meeting the School Committee (SC) voted unanimously to retire the AB Colonial mascot. Early in that meeting Superintendent Peter Light read from an ABRSD policy page. A portion of he policy is shown below; the words that the Superintendent read are bolded; a relevant sentence that the Superintendent did not read is italicized:
“The Acton Boxborough Regional School Committee believes naming or renaming a school building, structure, space, property, program or other District asset (hereafter referred to as a “Facility”) is a matter of significant importance, one that deserves the most thoughtful attention of the School Committee and the Administration, and one that is an unusual occurrence or event. Further, the Committee believes it should not be influenced in its decision by personal prejudice, favoritism, political pressure or temporary popularity.
“Any request to name a Facility must be brought before the School Committee for approval.
“If a suggestion or petition to name or to dedicate a Facility, is brought forth to the School Committee, the School Committee will first decide whether the naming or renaming of that Facility is necessary and/or appropriate. If the decision to move forward with the naming is made, the School Committee will convene a screening committee pursuant to procedure FF-R.”
One could argue that the ‘retirement’ of a name should not fall under the same policy guidelines as the adoption of a name. Nonetheless, the arguments presented during the meeting suggest that political pressure and temporary popularity were the dominant factors in the decision. Note also that, at the October 15, 2020 meeting, while some SC members were thoughtfully and earnestly engaging with the issue, other SC members were texting in vulgar, ‘mean-girl’ language.
The discussion continued at the Nov. 18, 2021 School Committee meeting. An AB student described a coercive and repressive environment (video; partial text AB Colonial Mascot Supporters Were Silenced.) Consider the student’s description of the school’s social environment and contrast nominal AB policy: from AB policy document “Teaching About Controversial Issues“
“the School Committee establishes the following guidelines…”
2. Teachers should present the issues selected without advocating their individual positions on such issues and are encouraged to facilitate a balanced discussion of such issues. Teachers should refrain from using their positions to express partisan points of view.
3. The discussion of these issues in the classroom should be objective and scholarly with emphasis on respectful analysis of differing points of view. Teachers are expected to encourage an environment that is supportive of all views.
The initial controversy over the mascot was overtaken by a “Zoom bombing” during a SC meeting when crude and insulting remarks were directed at School Committee members. In the aftermath of the event, the Zoom bombing was attributed to proponents of the Colonial mascot; later investigation showed that the Zoom bombing was done by an Arizona juvenile. As with the Huber and Brand incidents, the town has incurred legal fees for attempts to resist or delay Freedom of Information Act requests regarding the incident.
III. School finances
At the Acton Town Meeting, May 16, 2022 a amendment to Warrant Article 7 (funding the ABRSD) proposed to reduce the District assessment from $69,689,255 to $68,189,255 – that is, by $1,500,000 (one and a half million dollars, 2.15% of the assessment). In arguing for the assessment reduction, increasing costs despite decreasing enrollment was mentioned, and the likelihood of a future override was made explicit. Residents made both ‘pro’ and ‘con’ arguments to the amendment. Speaker after speaker argued for the reduction in the school budget; again and again the possibility of a future override was mentioned; and the risk of depleting the reserves was noted. The amendment was defeated; discussion before the vote on the school funding Warrant Article again anticipated likely upcoming fiscal difficulty.
The foreseen financial problems emerged, and the schools weren’t prepared. Early estimates of the shortfall varied but we have come to the point where an override will be on the ballot at the upcoming town election. On April 11, 2024 at a public forum to discuss the override, School Committee member Tori Campbell presented a graphic entitled “ABRSD Average Non-Discretionary Expense Growth Compared to Revenue Growth…” and notes that “Total Non-Discretionary Expenses” rise above predicted revenue growth roughly in the years 2028 to 2030 range. Ms. Campbell did not go into detail as to why those expenses were non-discretionary. Nearly every budget presentation made by the town or school notes that personnel costs – wages, salaries and benefits – are the largest part of the budget. Perhaps non-discretionary refers to expenses the Committee would rather not change than things the committee cannot change?
The School Committee and the unions agree on pay scales as set forth in the Agreement between the Acton-Boxborough Regional School Committee and the Acton Boxborough Education Association 2020 – 2023. That document also informs us that:
“The parties acknowledge that:
a) The Committee, elected by the citizens of the Towns of Acton and Boxborough, has complete authority over, and responsibility for, policies and administration of the schools which they exercise under law.”
It would seem straightforward, for a committee that can put together a “Budget Saturday” presentation, to construct a budget that, by controlling costs as they see fit, keeps their red-line total expenses at or below expected revenue growth. If the Acton Boxborough Education Association wants to save its members’ jobs, that revenue constraint might be a factor in the next contract negotiations.
IV. Conclusions
Although the override issue concerns both the Town of Acton and the ABRSD, I’ve focused on the schools. The town will suffer if the override fails, and I would regret that. Just as the municipal and ABRSD funding articles are voted separately at Town Meeting, Acton’s Select Board had the option to create separate override questions for the ABRSD and the Town – and chose not to do so. While there are aspects of the town’s spending that I disagree with, my impression after attending Select Board meetings and reporting on town governance for close to a year is that the town is effectively managed.
By contrast, the School Committee has a history of terminating well-qualified people (and paying off their generous contracted salaries) who quickly found similar positions where they were highly praised by their search committees. No details were given despite repeated requests; the Committee explained that the agreement they made allows them to remain silent. Legal issues involving withholding of court-ordered disclosures on other matters are ongoing.
The School Committee was warned of likely hazardous fiscal times ahead. Now those fiscal challenges have occurred, and we are asked for – not just a bailout – but a permanent increase in the levy limit. I understand that the SC and ABRSD face novel challenges – as do the town, the state, the nation and the world. Presentations by School Committee members at the override informational forum did not address the Committee’s failure to heed the warnings that were so clearly presented at Town Meeting.
A mistake is forgivable – but to learn from a mistake the mistake has to be acknowledged, and its antecedents considered and re-considered. “Those that fail to learn from history, are doomed to repeat it.”. Given the Committee’s history as outlined above, I will not vote for the override.
I thank Allen Nitschelm, Marty Benson, and Corinne Hogseth for helpful discussions.
I had a good laugh when a letter in the Action Unlimited claimed that a failed override would cause, among other calamities, the cancellation of the Fourth of July events at NARA Park. This highly popular event (where the fireworks were generously funded by Gould’s Clothing) was cancelled during the Pandemic year, and has not been held since. Pot of money sitting somewhere? Thank you.
The override should be opposed, because it will continue to force low-income and aged family, who have been enjoying Acton life, to move out. This is unfair. The override will also undermine the effort to control inflation from pandemic back to normal following Proposition 2 1/2. We should help to bring down inflation, rather than exacerbate. Acton residents wanting to help schools can help by voluntary donation based on their financial situation.
Excellent article. It points out a few of the costly priorities of the past. There are many more tales to tell, both in the town and the schools. Many will claim the B budget is too dire. I suppose they would wish for business as usual. Our leadership (ALG) will not adjust their spending habits until pressed to do so. Perhaps we have reached the breaking point.
We left Acton in 2015. I was not retired yet, but we saw the writing on the wall. And it was not good. We loved New England, the Boston area, and Acton. It’s a shame that sometimes one must make decisions that are not easy to make. Our taxes were nearly $10K on our house. So, in the 10 years since we left, we’ve saved nearly $100,000! What a sad commentary this is.
When we moved to Acton from Chicago in the 80s, taxes were high, but manageable. It seemed like each year the schools were demanding more and more, each time with the threat to diminished education if we didn’t pass the override. In those days, they didn’t ask every year. But the threats these days are omnipresent. It’s always firing teachers, increasing class sizes. Other means of cutting costs don’t seem to exist.
So, in our retirement, we now have more money tp spend, which is important to any retired persons. We don’t have the burden of paying exorbitant (my opinion) taxes that are constantly increasing. We have sacrificed being close to family, but we have our daily lives to occupy our thoughts. Economic security is very important.
interestingly, in Arizona (where we live), depending on age, we can sign up so that our taxes will never increase. I’m signing up today.
Tom, this is an excellent, well reasoned article. As for the “fascist” rocks, it ALWAYS seems to come from the side that proclaims “Hate Has No Home Here”. Scratch the surface of these folks, and you will find a fascist (for the record, most of them do not even know what fascist means – the way they use the word is proof of their ignorance).
Aside from voting No on the override, we truly need better SC members. Watching portions of some their meetings, one is struck by the utter incompetence of some of the members.
I hope people vote for Jason Fitzgerald for School Committee.
Thank you Nijan, and I agree 😉
Over and over again we have heard the Town Manager, Superintendent of Schools and Acton Finance Committee speak to the challenges of budgeting under the constraints of Proposition 2 1/2 exacerbated by high inflation. Every year they bring proposed cuts and identified efficiencies to their Boards. The Acton Finance Committee’s reports in the annual town meeting warrants have been warning of an upcoming need for an override every year since 2019. A failed override will result in an aggregate of well over 100 layoffs just on the school side (40 over the past 2 years, 25 more WITH an override and 80 in FY25 without an override) decimating both general education and special education programs and services that are critical to meeting student needs and to high performing schools. Mr. Nitschelm, Mr. Benson and Ms. Hogseth (through Mr. Beals) appear to want to make this about choices made 9-10 years ago and 5 years ago by now retired school committee members. I urge Acton Forum readers to make a better choice. The leadership teams of the Town and Schools have spent the last 19 years budgeting to keep assessments down and avoid operational overrides and will continue to do so in the future. Please support the override.
Tom researched and wrote this article on his own. I am not doing anything “through Mr. Beals”. I have no problem speaking for myself. Tom points out several instances where the School Committee’s actions were underhanded, expensive and contrary to community sentiment. It is likely for these reasons that the budgets are receiving more scrutiny than they otherwise would have.
Diane, you referenced high inflation at the 2022 Town Meeting when you SUPPORTED an amendment to reduce Acton’s school budget assessment. You knew then that the path they were on was “absolutely unsustainable”. You were right. If that amendment had passed in 2022, we might not be here today; we certainly wouldn’t be looking at a $6.6M override.
While “the Town and Schools have spent the last 19 years budgeting to keep assessments down and avoid operational overrides”, school enrollment has been declining nearly that entire time, since 2009. And while they may have been warning of an override since 2019, that was also around the time it was predicted that enrollment had nearly bottomed out and would start to increase again. Instead, enrollment dropped by another 469 students (~8%). Instead of using this as an opportunity to restore balance between the school and Town budgets, the School Committee continued to pursue a strategy that has resulted in smaller class sizes.
The Select Board, acting as an adjunct School Committee, has aided and abetted in this effort, so their cries for additional funds rings hollow. For years, they should have been pushing for spending restraint from the School District. Taxpayers need some constructive tension among their governing boards, to ensure that all interests are being served, or at least considered. That is not what we’ve been getting in Acton, where our boards all knuckle under to whatever the School District demands.
Corinne- I did NOT support Charlie K.’s budget amendment at Town Meeting in 2022. Go watch the video. PLEASE VET WHAT YOU PUT OUT THERE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN FOR ACCURACY. As for enrollment, the actual drop in the number of students (reported by the district) from 2019-2024 was 339 students with 57% of that decline during COVID (2019-20 to 2020-21) and 70% of that at the high school. The District has cut teachers at the high school over the past 3 budget cycles.
Diane — You were at a YES microphone. You started saying why you thought the school district couldn’t make any cuts and then said “so maybe I should have gone to the other side”, gesturing to a No microphone. You continued “Having said that, the budgets that you are coming with are absolutely unsustainable… That message cannot be driven home hard enough to this school committee” and then outlining 4 reasons why you thought there were cuts to be made, asking why should Town Meeting approve the budget before additional cuts were considered. “Why should Town Meeting vote this assessment when the SC never seriously considered the taxing constraint that Acton is under?” Then you were cut off due to time. Sure sounded like you were working yourself up to a Yes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RISwS-eVldI&t=5403s
According to the DESE website, we have 4,990 K-12 students in 2023/2024. There were 5,568 K-12 students in 2018/2019. 5,463 – 4,990 = 473
Also from DESE:
2020 HS enrollment = 1,809; total enrollment 5,406
2021 HS enrollment = 1,747; total enrollment 5,206
That’s a total decrease of 203 in the period you reference, of which 62 (30%) were at the high school. Not sure why that stat is important to you, but your data is incorrect.
The pro-override group likes to talk about cuts made since 2021, the year they added 22 teaching FTEs, to get us to an all time high of 405.1 FTES. For 2024, this number is 396.8 — only 8.3 teaching FTEs fewer than that peak three cycles ago. (All data from DESE.) In 2015 (first year of full regionalization), the district had 362 teaching FTEs and a student/teacher ratio of 15.6:1. That ratio is down to 12.9:1 in 2024.
I keep saying the same thing — as unpleasant as it will be to let good teachers go (some will lose their positions under either budget scenario), we cannot keep pursuing smaller class sizes. The district could have been — SHOULD have been — right-sized via attrition over the last several years. The district could have listened to concerns you, I and others raised at the 2022 Town Meeting. But their decision-making has not informed by budgetary/taxing constraints for years, and here we are.
Corinne – DESE’s #s are snapshots of enrollment on 10/1 (used to calculate revenue to local districts). You know this. I am intentionally using actual student headcounts, which is fluid throughout the year and tracked closely. No errors here, Corinne. Just different lenses. There are more students in AB that are reflected in DESE’s #s. I’m not arguing that enrollment has dropped, but you are not looking at the students showing up after 10/1 and to whom the District takes on the obligation to educate.
The 22 teaching FTE’s added in 2021 to which you refer were hired during COVID when the District opened a fully remote school. They were temporary and funded by the CARES Act. Meanwhile, you must have heard by now that the demographics continue to shift in the schools requiring the addition of staff certified to provide direct services. I’ll leave out the part about persistent, post-pandemic skill gaps that AB is have success closing because of programs that are on the chopping block with the “B” budget. And I won’t go into detail about mental health needs and chronic absenteeism – all urgent, national problems impacting teaching and learning right now. I’ve commented elsewhere about inflation. Yes, the schools needs to lower their base and build back reserves. There is work to be done to amp up what is done on a regular basis which is to make cuts and identify efficiencies.
As for ’22 Town Meeting, my initial comments were not well stated. Pulling $1.5M from a budget two months before the FY turns over is not good fiscal stewardship on the part of Acton Town Meeting, which is the Town’s legislature, but neither Charlie nor you wanted to talk about that. The losers in that scenario are ultimately the students. That put me at the wrong mic. I did, as you note, have a problem with the magnitude of the reserve use that year. I don’t think inflation had yet spiked until after budget season but, even so, the Committee on the school side that year gave little to no guidance to the Supt. This year was vastly improved.
Why am I Against the Proposed Override? The Acton school administrators have shown poor fiscal responsibility in managing the taxpayers’ funds. Now they want the taxpayers to hand over an additional $6.6 million dollars to cover their fiscal mismanagement. $1.2 million of that isn’t even needed this year! And they have shown little willingness to compromise. The citizens of Acton need to send a clear message that we will not be held responsible for their mistakes. Vote NO on the override. Ask yourself: Can you afford an extra $100 per month?
I’ll continue to use DESE numbers. They reflect a point in time, just as your numbers do. You seem to ignore the fact that regardless of the source, each year’s number is lower that the previous for all but one of the last 15 years (there was one tiny increase about 11-12 yrs ago).
I know the 22 FTEs hired in 2021 were for virtual school; so why weren’t they all gone the following year? The number of teachers went down by only 4 in 2022.
I’ll tell you why — because the district used federal Covid grants — one-time sources of funding — to add to the infrastructure, believing they would be permanent additions.
Override proponents are lying by omission when they say 60 positions have been cut in 3 years while leaving out the fact nearly all were replaced (net reduction in teachers is only 8). Forgive me and others for not taking them at their word.