Outdoor Time and Recess

The North Reading School Committee has a goal that states, "The School Committee will support the district in exploring opportunities for outdoor time for students and the Superintendent will prepare a presentation on this topic for the committee in the Spring of 2024." At this time we are forming a working group consisting of school employees, the Superintendent, a School Committee member, and interested parents, families, and caregivers to come together and discuss this topic and make a recommendation to the school committee at an upcoming meeting.

The first meeting of this working group will take place on May 8, 2024 at 4pm at the Middle/High School. If you are interested in participating and/or providing your thoughts and feedback, please complete this brief form and we will follow up with those registered with more details on the location.

https://forms.gle/jjEZBcR62NjAcajM9

Thank you,

Dr. Daly

Budget Update 4.23.24

 

Dear North Reading Public Schools Community,

This email is a reminder of the upcoming Community Informational Webinar on the Town Budget Process on Wednesday, April 24, 2024 8:00 p.m. The link for this virtual meeting will be posted here when available.

It is very important that all parents, caregivers, families, and staff attend either the Webinar or the in-person session on May 9, 2024 in the Distance Learning Lab at the North Reading Middle High School to learn more.

We will be discussing the budget gaps that are impacting not only this upcoming year (FY25) but also the following two years (FY26 and FY27). 

The current budget for next school year, voted last night by the North Reading School Committee, includes the following $1.2 million dollars in cuts:

• Meets all contractual salary and operational expense obligations;

• Elimination of 15.2 positions;

• Higher class sizes and student/teacher caseload at all levels;

• Less breadth and depth of curriculum at secondary level;

• Reduced ability to address student health issues and nursing coverage;

• Less digital learning and technology staff for instruction and tech support;

• Less ability to address students in need of academic support;

• Less funding for classroom supplies and technology

• Less Custodial staff for cleaning services and coverage needs;

• Higher coach to student athlete ratio’s

• Higher risk for budget overages and increased reliance on special revenue accounts (i.e. food service account);

• Increased user fees to families for the busing program.

Voters will have the opportunity to consider an override proposal that will allow us to continue with level services funding for these vital programs and opportunities for students as well as to continuously improve as a district. ​The two upcoming information sessions are meant to clarify questions about the budget process and to inform the public about the budgetary needs of the Town and the Schools in North Reading.

Date and time	Topic	Location	Presenters
Wednesday, April 24, 2024 8:00 p.m.	Community Informational Webinar	Virtual, link to be shared soon	Town Administrator, Town Finance Director, Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations
Thursday, May 9, 2024 7:30 p.m.	Community Informational In-person Session	In-person, North Reading Middle/High School Distance Learning Lab	Town Administrator, Town Finance Director, Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations
June 10, 2024 7:00 p.m.	Town Meeting	North Reading Middle/High School	Town Boards and Officials

Please also see the Town of North Reading’s page for additional information by visiting  FY25 Budget Central to see a list of recent and upcoming meetings, documents, and presentations.

​Thank you,

​Dr. Daly

End of Year Schedule

 

FY 25 Budget Update

 

Dear North Reading Public Schools Community,

As an update to our budget process for Fiscal Year 25 I would like to share this link to Monday’s Public Budget Hearing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LnIrTJJrXM

During the meeting the School Committee discussed the current budget gap of $1.2 million dollars for level services and $1.6 million dollars for our modified level services plan along with potential cuts that would need to be made in order to balance the budget for the upcoming fiscal year. 

Principals and Directors provided impact statements that addressed how these cuts would affect our students, programs, and buildings. I strongly recommend that everyone in our school community review this presentation and follow along with the updates in the North Reading Transcript and participate in our upcoming public presentations:

Date and time	Topic	Location	Presenters
Monday, April 22, 2024 6:30 p.m.	School Committee Budget Vote	Hybrid; J. Turner Hood Elementary School and virtual	North Reading School Committee, Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations
Wednesday, April 24, 2024 8:00 p.m.	Community Informational Webinar	Virtual, link to be shared soon	Town Administrator, Town Finance Director, Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations
Thursday, May 9, 2024 7:30 p.m.	Community Informational In-person Session	In-person, North Reading Middle/High School Distance Learning Lab	Town Administrator, Town Finance Director, Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations
June 10, 2024 7:00 p.m.	Town Meeting	North Reading Middle/High School	Town Boards and Officials

Please also see the Town of North Reading’s page for additional information by visiting  FY25 Budget Central to see a list of recent and upcoming meetings, documents, and presentations.

FY 25 Budget Update

 

Dear North Reading Public Schools Community,

Last evening, Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations, Michael Connelly, presented the preliminary budget for FY25. Similar to prior years we presented a modified level service budget, which includes all of the positions and spending that would provide the same level of services for students that we provided this year. In addition there are some new positions and initiatives that are included in the modified level services budget that are a part of our strategic plan, including our goal of eliminating the tuition associated with full day Kindergarten.

As Mr. Connelly states, "The fiscal year 2025 recommended budget for the school department is currently $40,679,524. This represents a 9% or $3,359,929 increase over fiscal year 2024 and is currently significantly greater than what the Town has available to fund both school and town budgets for fiscal year 2025. The budget gap to achieve the Superintendent’s proposed recommended budget presented on March 11 is $1,907,396. The budget gap to achieve a level services school budget is currently $1,200,507."

As described in his letter, which will also be published in this week's North Reading Transcript, we will be preparing both a budget that reconciles this gap and also one that includes an operating override and allows for the funding of our modified level services budget. It is important to note that although specific positions are listed in the budget documents for various purposes there have been no decisions made about specific cuts to programs or positions at this time. Over the next several weeks during the budget workshops and public hearing we will continue to discuss the cuts that need to be made to close the budget gaps and also communicate the importance of the positions and initiatives that are included in our modified level services budget.

If you have any questions about this process feel free to reach out to me via email at any time pdaly@nrpsk12.org.

Thank you,

Dr. Daly

Student Opportunity Act: Feedback Sought

 Dear Parents, Guardians, Caregivers, and Educators,

This spring the district will be creating a new three year Student Opportunity Act plan. As a part of this process we are hoping to engage all stakeholders and seek feedback to inform our plan. 

From the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education:

The Student Opportunity Act (Chapter 132 of the Acts of 2019) ushered in a new phase in the Commonwealth's commitment to ensuring that every student in the state experiences high-quality learning opportunities that lead to success in school and in postsecondary success.

Overall, Massachusetts leads the nation on many measures of student learning experiences, student achievement, and postsecondary success for its students. However, a closer look reveals inequitable gaps in experiences and outcomes across racial and ethnic groups, in economically disadvantaged communities compared to higher income communities, for students with disabilities relative to their non-disabled peers, and for English learners compared to students whose first language is English.

In order to provide us with feedback, please begin by reviewing the following:

• Our District's Strategic Plan NRPS 2025
• The Current Student Opportunity Act Plan for North Reading
• This tool for analyzing Student Outcomes

We then invite all parents, guardians, caregivers, and educators to complete this feedback survey no later than Wednesday, March 20, 2024.

During this collection window there will be two opportunities for a virtual overview on the Student Opportunity Act and the process for collecting feedback: 

Morning: Monday, March 11, 2024 (jointly with Superintendent's Parent Advisory Council)

Evening:  Monday, March 18, 2024 6:30 p.m. 

We thank you in advance for your support of our schools and the time to take our survey and provide us with your feedback, insights, and recommendations.

Sincerely yours, 

Dr. Daly