News&Notes from the Superintendent

"The purpose of learning is growth, and our minds, unlike our bodies, can continue growing as we continue to live." — Mortimer Adler

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

The Budget Hearing was held last Thursday, March 7, 2024 at 5:00 pm.

I am pleased to share that the District is proposing a 2.97% increase over the FY24 Budget or just over $570k. This Budget continues to align with our fiscal philosophy and our commitment remains unchanged - to be as effective and efficient with our resources and to align these resources with student need, while working hard to keep assessments to the towns manageable. Since 2017, the District’s overall budget increases on average have been 2.75%, and with the addition of the FY25 proposal, the average increase since 2017 is 2.78%. The overall assessment increase to the towns is a very modest 2.18% or just under $333k.

The District strives to maintain our facilities and proposes an increase of $10k in the investment in the Capital Projects Budget with a recommendation to fund projects totaling $332,000 next year. The District also continues to pay down the debt associated with the roof and boiler project, as FY25 will mark the halfway point on the debt schedule. Also, this plan recommends the addition of three staff positions: a Data Management Specialist, a Behavioral Specialist, and an Elementary Science Specialist Grades 2-5.

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

This week, on Thursday, March 14, 2024, at 6:00 pm, there will be a School Committee meeting at which there will be a vote taken on the FY25 Proposed Budget. In anticipation of a vote in favor of the proposed budget, the next step will be to send the Proposed FY25 Assessments to member towns to be included in the warrant for approval at their annual town meetings this spring.

As previously shared, the next meetings of the Superintendent’s Advisory Councils for the month of March are happening over the next week, and the main topic is the SBRSD Food Service Program. Our Director of Food Service, Jonathan Duerr, will be joining us to hear ideas and to answer questions with the hope of engaging students and families in improving and enhancing the program where possible.

The students are currently working on their presentations to the School Committee with some recommendations for improvements or needs they would like to see as part of the FY25 Budget Proposal prior to the School Committee’s vote that is slated to be taken at the March 14th meeting.

We will also have our student representatives who are members of our Transcend Design Team with us at the next meeting tomorrow evening to share their experiences with our first pilot program, and to gather their ideas on how to involve more students in a student-led Community Team Subcommittee opportunity.

The Design Team will meet tomorrow evening and has a full agenda to tackle! The Community Team is slated to meet on April 9, where they will be charged with moving to the next phase of the work that will include the formation of subcommittees to drive the initiatives forward.

I am also working with the Transcend Team to see how our work with the organization can continue and grow into next year as this partnership has been invaluable to our school community.

For more information about this incredible community focused initiative click on the link below!

I wanted to give a special thank you to Representative Smitty Pignatelli for coming to visit SBRSD on Friday, March 8th! Representative Pignatelli stopped by Mt. Everett’s Drone Team Practice to wish the team good luck in the upcoming New England Regional Championship scheduled for March 16th in Cromwell, CT, and of course, to get some flying time in himself!

Mt. Everett Middle School students, Alea Trail and Tonia Maynard, gave Smitty a refresher on how to fly a drone. Once acclimated to the controls, Smitty proved himself very adept at tackling the drone challenge course.

We are so lucky to have a representative that is truly invested in our school community and shows up in our schools as a member on teams like our Transcend Innovative School Redesign Initiative or to get into the action with our robotics and drone teams! We cherish Representative Pignatelli’s commitment to SBRSD!

This week there are so many great things happening in our schools, and we hope to see you here!

This week’s events include Vex Robotics, Elementary Robotics, Berkshire Art Center After School, Drama Rehearsals, Poetry Workshop Grades 4 & 5, UME Talent Show, UME Garden Club, Flying Cloud After School Program, and Girl Scouts just to name of few things!

Please check the event calendar regularly as it will keep you up to date as will the weekly notes from the Principals!

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

Mt. Everett's Innovation Pathway in Advanced Manufacturing focuses on building hands-on 21st-century skills in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). Students work out of the school's Makerspace Lab to build robots, rockets, and more! Learn more through our website.

Information Technology is a growing field! The Information Technology pathway at Mount Everett will allow students to earn several industry-recognized certifications, as well as provide them with a hands-on internship experience tailored to their growing skills during their Senior year. Learn more through our website!

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