Saturday, June 29, 2013

NBEA Save Our Schools Rally - City Hall - June 27, 2013

We’re here to ask the mayor, school committee and the City Council to support and properly fund all of our schools.

How can we as a school system, provide our students with the educational services they need and deserve when we are losing so many dedicated educators and support staff?
Educators have been subsidizing our school system’s budget for to long. Educators are spending hundreds, and some, thousands of dollars, of their own money buying supplies and technology for their classrooms.




$109 Million Dollars is not enough to operate New Bedford Public Schools.

How can we as a school system, provide our students with the educational services they need and deserve when we are losing so many dedicated educators and support staff?


Minimum Net School Spending is just THAT! It’s the minimum a school system gets to operate.  That isn’t enough.

Our school system needs more financial support from the City.



Many or our schools are using outdated books or do not have not enough books, and in some cases, have no books.

Why are we spending millions of dollars on a Charter School that hasn’t produced any results – but instead siphons our financial resources?


We need to support all of our schools, programs, and departments. 

The Innovation School will still be offering all the wonderful things they promised at the expense of every other child and teacher in the district.

Our children are depending on us.

How is it fair that every other school in the district is facing drastic cuts – that people across our district are losing their jobs but the innovation school is hiring?

We shouldn’t be creating new schools when just two days ago we were talking about the possibility closing 3 small schools.

Where is the United Interfaith Political Action Group?

Where is the Education Roundtable?

Why aren’t they writing letters to the Standard Times asking the School Committee and the City Council to properly fund our Schools?



We thank the City Council for restoring the $4 million that had originally been cut and hope that they will provide us with additional financial resources so that our students get the educational services they need.


We thank Mayor Mitchell, Dr. Larry Finnerty, Dr. John Fletcher, Mr. Bruce Oliveira, and Mr. Jack Nobrega, who voted in favor of allowing a committee of the City Council to meet at least quarterly with the School Committee Finance Committee to discuss the School Department budget throughout the year.

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

Is it my imagination, or are there a couple of school committee members who are not mentioned for being cooperative; maybe because they weren't!!

Anonymous said...

I don't want to sound divisive, but does anybody have the numbers on what class sizes are going to be at the 3 middle schools as a result of the cuts? I hear 8th grade at Normandin is going to be ridiculous.

Anonymous said...

That is what happens when you cut core academic teachers on a team, instead of the phoney intervention classes with 10 kids.

The Normandin principal and the outgoing Roosevelt administration are clueless. The Keith principal and his top assistant are the only ones who know how to run a successful middle school.

Anonymous said...

Pollock and her puppet were not thanked because they have done nothing but harm NBPS. I was at the school committee meeting the other night and I personally witnessed those two tapeworms make fools of themselves.

Anonymous said...

Pollock has disgraced herself. I don't understand how she can be part of a group that calls itself a coalition for social justice.

Anonymous said...

The standard fish-wrap took another shot at New Bedford teachers once again when they chose to ignore their rally. As a parent who attended the rally, I was dismayed by the lack of media coverage. There must have been several hundred people there but not 1 word in the paper. Makes me wonder about their motives.

Anonymous said...

There were several city councilors at the rally. Where was the education mayor?

Anonymous said...

Maybe, the education mayor was washing bob Unger's car and polishing his chrome.

Anonymous said...

Easy on bob unger. He has a bad heart.

Anonymous said...

About the middle schools, I would like to see the staff/student numbers for each. Anyone have those?

Anonymous said...

Roosevelt: 783 students/ 68 teachers.
Keith: 818 students/ 80 teachers.
Normandin: 1059 students/ 84 teachers.

Form the DOE website

Anonymous said...

I hear they cut an entire 8th grade pod at Normandin. Is that true?

Anonymous said...

I'm confused. If nearly the entire school department's budget comes from state Chapter 70 funding, then how does the city council have the power to withhold money that did not come from the city. Here is a link to the 2013 Chapter 70 funding: http://www.mass.gov/bb/h1/fy13h1/os_13/h3.htm The FY 2014 budget calls for New Bedford to receive $120 mill from the state, even if that ends up being lower it will almost definitely be above the $113 mill of Chapter 70 funding the city received last year. http://www.mass.gov/bb/h1/fy14h1/os_14/h32.htm
Also, why does the temporary Business Manager have the authority to move the percentage of the budget dedicated to salaries from 81% of the budget to 76% of the budget in one year. This 5% of the budget is equal to $5.5 million dollar. So, he believes the students of this city will be better off with 200 fewer teachers so that the money can instead be used to purchase more paper clips and erasers. Why not a gradual approach if the goal is to get to 76% of the budget to be dedicated to salaries, why couldn't this be done over the next few years? Why not year 1 go from 81% to 79%? That $4 mill in salaries would allow the district to keep some of the young teaching talent in the classroom.

Anonymous said...

I heard the same about grade 8 at Normandin. Class sizes are going to be insane! Good luck to my friends there.

Anonymous said...

Those DOE numbers don't reflect the recent cuts. It was around 15-20 per middle school I think.

Anonymous said...

How did Keith and Roosevelt deal with the cuts?

Anonymous said...

The Normandin cut was ill-advised and unsustainable. This year's 8th grade is big and the class behind it is larger. If positions needed to go, they should have been math lab or intervention.

One Who Knows said...

Roosevelt Cuts :

2 clerks
1 custodian
1 librarian
2 computer teachers
1 adjustment counselor
1 assistant principal (retirement)
1 grade 6 (retirement)
1 sped teacher (retirement)
1 SEI teacher
1 grade 6 (resignation)
2 social studies teachers
3 paras

Anonymous said...

Intervention classes are for special education services.

Anonymous said...

Intervention is not only for special education! The term math lab and math intervention and read 180/ literacy intervention are for ALL students in middle school!

Anonymous said...

It just seems wrong that one grade's classes in middle school will be so much larger than the others. What is the principal saying?

Anonymous said...

With the clarification on the intervention and math lab and that it is for ALL students, why would it be considered "phony"? It takes an entire school and all of its teachers to teach the whole child. No one is happy about the cuts. Ask any teacher from any discipline who received a pink slip. But to suggest that certain classes should be cut rather than others ; not good. If students are learning in a smaller setting (with or without special ed services), why question it? I would think that is what the student needs; ALL students.

Anonymous said...

I agree that all classes are important. I however did not see anyone mention intervention classes being "phony" so I am not sure where that came from. What I do know is that too many teachers were cut and New Bedford is not going to be able to offer students the education they deserve!

Anonymous said...

I don't know what the principal at Normandin is saying, but I do have a couple of friends there who teach 8th grade and they are really worried about the class sizes.

Anonymous said...

Don't worry this happens every year and then a mirical happens and they find the money and everyone is saved and then some...it's been like this for years just ask the older teachers..they went through this also year after year so this is not new..stop whining..