Elwood BOE Approves Curriculum Changes

By a vote of 4-0, the Elwood Board of Ed approved curriculum changes at both Elwood Middle and Glenn High School at Thursday’s BOE meeting. The changes, which had been presented at the , seek to minimize staff reductions and preserve the quality of education while meeting the new two percent tax levy cap. Board VP Dan Ciccone was absent for the vote.

Principal Hugh Gigante sought to clarify some key points with regard to the changes in the accelerated math program at the middle school, which would include a heterogeneous lab period for all sixth graders. That amounts to an additional two and a half periods per week, which Gigante said would help those students who were struggling while not holding back other accelerated students.

Seventh and eighth grade students who are not taking accelerated labs or AIS services would participate in a monitored organizational period. Gigante said the number of students per class would be 17 or 18. Activities might include Castle Learning, a Drop Everything and Read (“Dear Time”) component, and rotating periods with subject-specific teaching staff.

Gigante confirmed that it would not be possible to move the Virtual High School program, which is meant for gifted and talented students, to the middle school. The only place it would fit into the curriculum would be during the organizational period, which is the same time that accelerated students will be taking the labs.

Seventh graders will no longer be taking art or family and consumer sciences but instead will be offered those subjects as a club during zero period.

Principal Vincent Mulieri addressed questions on the changes at the high school, where elective choices will be eliminated for tenth graders. Mulieri said it would be possible to add electives back in place of study hall, but the decision would mean adding more staff. He also said it isn’t possible to group study halls by subject because student interests diverge and become more individualized after ninth grade.

Trustee Andrew Kaplan said he was both “saddened and excited” by the proposals, which would mean the elimination of five teaching positions at the middle school and three at the high school.

Following the curriculum discussion, Superintendent Peter Scordo presented the 2012-2013 draft budget of $54,308,667 which reflects a tax levy increase of 1.98 percent and a budget-to-budget increase of $130,082. Taxpayers could expect to see a tax rate increase of 3.17 percent but Assistant Superintendent for Business Bill Pastore said after the meeting that the numbers are very preliminary and depend on assessed values, which are affected by the number of people who successfully grieve their taxes. The tax rate for the 2011-2012 budget was 9.12 percent.

Scordo said the draft budget, which takes into account the curriculum changes, meets all of the district’s contractual obligations. Clerical and custodial staff remain at their current levels, and music and athletic programs, as well as co-curricular activities, are intact. However, three teaching positions would be eliminated at .

Trustees were concerned that the budget doesn’t include any contingency funds in the event of unanticipated expenses such as extra snow removal, a new bus, or students moving into the district who require extra services. Board member Mike Lamena asked the administration to check historically to see what type of additional expenses typically come up during the school year so the Board could have an idea of possible “in flight adjustments” that might have to be made.

Scordo agreed, and said he too was concerned about possibly having to make changes in response to the need to re-allocate funds. Depending on the situation, those changes might include additional layoffs before the school year starts. Scordo said that in past years, he would have been declared an “incompetent manager” for making such decisions, but that the two percent tax cap has changed everything.

Another contingency option would be to tap into the unappropriated fund balance. While that would provide a short-term answer, Scordo said it would negatively impact future budgets.