News&Notes from the Superintendent

"The capacity to learn is a gift; the ability to learn is a skill; the willingness to learn is a choice." — Brian Hebert

Welcome back to all! I hope you had time over the April Break to relax and recharge as we head towards the busy end of the 2023-2024 school year! Time flies when you are having fun – or at least it seems like it is going by so quickly these days!

Please find below this week’s updates & events happening in our District ~

The finishing touches are being put on the District-wide Newsletter – Budget Edition – by members of the Community Outreach & Advocacy Subcommittee which is due to the printer by the end of the week! A special thank you to Kari Giordano, who makes the publication a beautiful paper to read! The goal of this document is to reach every home in the District, regardless of whether there are school-age students or not residing there, to share with our school community how their investment in the District is being spent, prior to casting a vote at their respective town meetings!

According to state budget analysts, the revenues through April 15th are up $23 million from this time last April. However, for state revenue to meet the $5.291 billion benchmark set for the month, it needs to increase a total of $506 million by April 30th. There is much riding on revenue projections meeting the benchmarks!

This is also the time in the Budget Season where it is imperative that we advocate for the funding we need to achieve the goals we have set in our District’s Strategic Plan! There remain several areas of concern to note:

· There needs to be a recalculation of the low-income percentage of students’ Foundation Budget rate or the opportunity to be held harmless for a year to re-enroll students post-COVID per the resumed process.

· Chapter 70 funding per pupil is increased or will remain at the currently proposed $104 per pupil vs. the $30 per pupil that is the standard increase for hold harmless districts like SBRSD.

· The state is committed to fully funding the Student Opportunities Act (SOA) which is in year 4 of its projected 6-year implementation. The amount of funding associated with this implementation is $250m; however, this funding only applies to 108 Districts across the Commonwealth. The remaining 211 Districts, of which SBRSD is one, are in “hold harmless “status, and get $30 per student.

· And finally, there is Rural Aid Funding. There has been a significant increase in Rural Aid Funding from $1.5m to $15m over the last several years, but the estimated amount to fully fund this initiative annually is $61m. As of the HW&M Budget, it was cut in half to $7.5m. Rural Aid is not part of the Funding Formula resulting in an inability to plan and budget appropriately for this aid as District’s don’t know from year to year if they qualify for this funding.

There is still time to continue our advocacy efforts with the goal of ensuring our students, staff, faculty, and families receive our fair share of funding to continue to provide excellence in education for all students!

To review the documentation presented at the hearing, please see the District website at https://www.sbrsd.org/documents/district/budgets/fy25-budget/567699 .

The Superintendent Student Advisory Councils are resuming their meetings this week and next to collaborate with some community partners and to continue their efforts on school improvements, encouraging more student input and initiatives, and to find ways to give back to the community! I cannot wait to hear what they decide to do next!

The Community Team met and had a very lively and thoughtful conversation about what steps to take next! Members of the Core and Design Teams presented and gathered input and feedback from Community Team members.

It was decided that the Community Team was to submit their suggested ideas of what challenges or next moves need to be solved to my office, with the goal of forming subcommittees to address these specific concepts. Also, the members shared where they believe their experience or skill sets will be best be used on subcommittees to maximize our efforts. The teams are striving to have at least three subcommittee meetings before the end of the school year.

Our Transcend partners will be visiting the District on Friday, April 26th, to view our Early College program. We are in regular contact with Transcend about how our work will continue over the coming months and into next year!

More information about this incredible community focused initiative is here at https://www.sbrsd.org/page/transcend-partnership.

Congratulations to Evelyn Vollmer! Her sculpture was chosen as this year's publicity image for the Climate Art Exhibit put on by "Living the Change, Berkshires".

This week there are so many great things happening in our schools, and you are always welcome to join us and check them out!

This week’s events include spring sports games and matches, Animal Science Field Trip to Mayflower Farm, Grade 3-5 Writing Workshop, UME Garden Club, Prom Family Meeting, Pre-K Field Trip to Berkshire Botanical Gardens, Berkshire Art Center After School, and Girl Scouts just to name a few!

The Future Fair: On April 26th Mount Everett 10th-grade students are invited to attend a college field trip to Simon's Rock

Interested in learning more about our Early College program? Visit our website!

Innovation Pathways offers opportunities for students to explore cutting-edge technology and in-demand fields! The program emphasizes real-world skills through career-focused experiential learning. Participants connect with industry mentors, go on field trips, get set up with internships in their areas of interest, and more!

Mount Everett currently offers two technical pathways in Advanced Manufacturing and Information Technology.

To learn more about our Innovation Career Pathways please use the links below!

Please feel free to reach out with questions or concerns as I welcome the opportunity to hear from you.

Best,

~ Dr. Beth Regulbuto, Superintendent of Schools