Haverhill District Parent Council asks candidates questions

The Haverhill District Parent Council asked candidates questions and here are the answers of those who responded:

SCHOOL COMMITTEE

Joseph Bevilacqua

1. Other than MCAS performance, how would you measure and define the success of a school district?: Although the state requires MCAS, other than MCAS, I would suggest that other indicators of performance are: grades, graduation rate, dropout rate, scholarship receipt, band, music, sports, club and other volunteer and civic student activity; community participation in activities of the schools are just a few indicators of a successful school system and student success.

2. In light of recent budget cuts and expected budget shortfalls, our school system has lost most of the support staff that gave students the extra help they needed to pass the MCAS. What innovation do you have to offer the school department to boost scores without breaking the bank?: A better delineation of the availability of funding is necessary at the beginning of the budget process to truly understand the available funds, and not the midyear budget additions that have taken place; The use of volunteers having had experience in math, sciences, English, etc.; mentor programs with the use of both high school and college students as has been done in other districts; the most important element is returning the teachers to the classroom and having a cohesive, comprehensive city-wide approach to learning as I have suggested is needed.

3. Conflict of Interest laws require officials to abstain from discussing and voting on issues where a personal or professional relationship could affect their judgment. Do you have any potential conflicts, and how would they affect your ability to do your job as a school committee member?: No answer

4. One of the best ways to get a feel for a school system is to visit its buildings. Which school were you in most recently, and what did you do when you were there?: Most recently, I attended a parents meeting at Hunking School (Your question asked for the one school.

Krystine Hetel

1. Other than MCAS performance, how would you measure and define the success of a school district?: School culture. How motivated are the students and how well-supported are the teachers. Student portfolios of best work. How many seniors accepted into their first-choice college? Growth of Classical Academy and AP classes. Drop-out rate

2. In light of recent budget cuts and expected budget shortfalls, our school system has lost most of the support staff that gave students the extra help they needed to pass the MCAS. What innovation do you have to offer the school department to boost scores without breaking the bank?: Offer a stipend (no benefits) to retired teachers and out-of-work teachers to teach remedial sessions after school or Sat mornings. Start share program with Whittier Tech to use their MCAS study software during off-hours. This software has helped Whittier Tech to large increases in their MCAS results. Track data and respond quickly. How many students take high-level classes, increasing or decreasing? How many students drop-out or school-choice or private school out of district. How many students identified as low-performing? Partner with Harvard/MIT/UMass Lowell, etc. students to define Haverhill's needs and design program using student community/research hours.

4. One of the best ways to get a feel for a school system is to visit its buildings. Which school were you in most recently, and what did you do when you were there?: Most recently I was at Haverhill High on Monday for a debate with student moderators and to talk to Principle Nangle. Previously I was a substitute teacher for several years so I have taught in all the schools. I was also on site councils for Golden Hill and the high school.

It would be nice to invite the public in to visit schools on more occasions than just PTO's and Christmas shows. Maybe demonstration classes in the new high school science labs, etc. I'd like to work on this.

Paul Magliocchetti

1. Other than MCAS performance, how would you measure and define the success of a school district?: The success of a school district should be measured and defined by the following:

1. Parent, teacher and student cooperation is critical for all students throughout their education. All students should achieve academic and personal goals established in cooperation with their parents and teachers. These goals should include reading, writing and math at grade level or above by the 3rd grade, and at every level thereafter all students should be required to meet or exceed goals predetermined by the parent, teacher and student, which include criteria beyond the MCAS frameworks;

2. All students need to be prepared to either enter college or the work force after graduation. College may not be for everyone, but the opportunity to go on to college should be available to everyone. For those who choose not to attend college, they need to be educated and trained for immediate employment after graduation;

3. Students should feel that they received a quality education in the City of Haverhill and should be able to excel in their job or in their college studies. Whether at a job or in college our students should be able to compete and succeed after graduating from Haverhill Schools; and

4. Although student success is the primary goal and accomplishment, outside investment in the City of Haverhill because of the quality of the education in the City is a major compliment. Haverhill is a large City with unlimited potential for new high tech industries and jobs. The executives of these companies research the education and quality of a potential workforce before locating a facility. This is a truly quantifiable measure of our success in education and how our focus and commitment to education pays back the entire community.

2. In light of the recent budget cuts and expected budget shortfalls, our school system has lost most of the support staff that gave students the extra help they needed to pass the MCAS. What innovation do you have to offer the School Department to boost scores without breaking the bank?: To boost scores and fill voids left by budget cuts I recommend the following:

1. Capitalize on new funding and grants as soon as they become available. Ideally new legislation such as the "race to the top" grants will provide for long term funding to put more teachers in the classrooms without any cost to the local tax payers. The School Committee needs to be proactive and assist the administration with finding out about grants and then applying for them. The funding and grants are not only offered by the government but also by corporations such as IBM, Microsoft and Apple who are offering new free computers and software for classrooms (see the IBM Kid Smart early learning program);

2. One of the most effective programs eliminated by the budget problems has been the summer school program, a solution to this problem is to get volunteers such as local teachers or teaching students from the Boston area colleges to tutor and teach the students over the summer, and to get cooperation from local colleges to sponsor or offer classes;

3. Start a mentoring program at each middle school and the High School. We should not underestimate the ability of our children tutoring and helping out their peers. Students that score well at MCAS and demonstrate to their teachers a clear understanding of the core subjects should be recruited to mentor and tutor other students for an hour after school or before school; and

4. Multi-tracking is being used in struggling states such as Florida and California. It involves spreading the school year out longer, while still only teaching 180 days. In a nut shell, by dividing the students into tracks and rotating the tracks throughout a longer year the student population in the classrooms is reduced by 25-30%, thereby offering the additional support and extra help needed while not adding any teachers. There are pros and cons to this, and it warrants discussion and review.

4. One of the best ways to get a feel for a school system is to visit its buildings. Which school were you in most recently, and what did you do when you were there?: Last week I visited the JG Whittier Middle School and the Haverhill High School. I was at the JG Whittier Middle School for the spaghetti dinner. I also took the time to have conferences with teachers and the principal of the school, Beth Kitsos.I am in touch with the teachers and principals there regularly and I have volunteered there for the past two years as the director of their mock trial program.

Also, last week I participated at the student debate at the Haverhill High School library. After the debate I took some time to talk to some of the students, teachers and administrators. I also got a tour of the High School and visited a Latin class in progress.

CITY COUNCIL

Michael Hart

1. How do you view the idea of the city spending more on education than required by the state, in order to keep Haverhill on track and competitive with other school districts?:

It is essential that the school department continue to be provided with funding above the net minimum required. The city council has supported additional funding for education since I have been on the council. Even with the additional funding, the school department is straining to maintain quality educational standards. I will continue to support additional educational funding.

2. When people decide to invest in a community, the quality of the school system is an important part of their decision. What will you do to improve funding for the schools so our property values increase?: The goal of educational funding is to provide a quality education to every student in our community. We still have a responsibility to maintain public safety and all quality of life services to our residents. It has been my experience that the city council has supported as much additional funding for the school department as can be afforded each year. I will do all I can to see that this continues.

Robert Scatamacchia

2. When people decide to invest in a community, the quality of the school system is an important part of their decision. What will you do to improve funding for the schools so our property values increase?: I don't agree property values are commensurate with the quality of the school system. I think people consider all aspects of the quality of life when deciding to move to a community. The City Council has a limited role in school funding. However, as stated in my answer for question 1, If the money is available I will continue to support spending more than the state requires.

John Curtin Jr.

1. How do you view the idea of the city spending more on education than required by the state, in order to keep Haverhill on track and competitive with other school districts?: You are not going to like this answer. The city of Haverhill has been contributing about 70-80 cents out of every dollar of the revenue the city receives. It is my firm belief that with these large amounts of money it is my opinion that everybody has to tighten their belt. There has been mediocre results relative to the MCAS tests. I believe that there should be more scrutiny as to where are our tax dollars are going, and maybe an audit of spending by the school department would be in the best interest of the citizens of Haverhill.

2. When people decide to invest in a community, the quality of the school system is an important part of their decision. What will you do to improve funding for the schools so our property values increase?: In my opinion we are in a depression not a recession. I have heard stories from my father and father-in-law of what happened in the depression era. I have never in my 65 years of age seen banks and financial institutions fail. I project a conservative approach with a total stop in spending until we come out of this depression. I am sorry to say everyone has to tighten their belts and save the city from financial disaster.

Michael McGonagle

1. How do you view the idea of the city spending more on education than required by the state, in order to keep Haverhill on track and competitive with other school districts?: I am in support of the cities consistent approach of exceeding the states formula for chapter 70 spending. The presence of a well funded public school system sends a clear message to the community about the importance of investing in our children as our future. The ability to retain and attract talented teaching professionals is the foundation of every successful school system.

2. When people decide to invest in a community, the quality of the school system is an important part of their decision. What will you do to improve funding for the schools so our property values increase?: The general public surely knows that school spending and finance is the responsibility of the School committee. In my first term as a city councilor I supported the attempts to allocate more money than the chapter 70 mandates. I will also continue to focus on the adoption of best practices from other communities and insist that consolidation be applied so that redundancies be eliminated so that we may use the savings to impact teaching opportunities rather than administration.

Malcom Kimball Jr.

1. How do you view the idea of the city spending more on education than required by the state, in order to keep Haverhill on track and competitive with other school districts?: Spending more money per Student does NOT necessarily keep Haverhill on track or competitive. ... Coming from a Teaching Family the basic fundamentals come from good teachers with less Administrators ... Pay increases should be given from the bottom up not from the top down. We need to get back to teaching the fundaments of Math, Science, Reading and problem solving through intuitive thinking. At the end of the day if your child can't teach the learned subject then they do not understand it and have not mastered or comprehended it. The student needs to master the learning process with the guidance

and knowledge imparted by the teacher with support from the parents at home, yes every day!

2. When people decide to invest in a community, the quality of the school system is an important part of their decision. What will you do to improve funding for the schools so our property values increase?: Both of these questions are more applicable to the School Committee candidates but I enjoy the opportunity to respond in kind. Funding is not the only issue ... I feel the communication between the Teacher, Student and the Parent is more important. The Parent needs to reinforce the lesson plan brought forth by the Teacher every night. Parents need to be able to see ( on line ) what homework was given each night, when is the next quiz or test and on what chapters or section. Notwithstanding, defining where the child's strengths and weaknesses are, so those needs can be developed further at home. If children spent less time playing video games, on their cell phone, watching TV and committed the same time at the kitchen table doing Homework, our MCAS would be up another 25 % percent. Education is a partnership with the Teacher, the Student and their Parents. The School System is there only to facilitate the tripartite learning partnership between the same.

William Ryan

1. How do you view the idea of the city spending more on education than required by the state, in order to keep Haverhill on track and competitive with other school districts?: We should make are schools priority #1 when any additional revenue is available to the city. A class with 25-30 students and underfunded arts, music, sports and language programs is unacceptable.

2. When people decide to invest in a community, the quality of the school system is an important part of their decision. What will you do to improve funding for the schools so our property values increase?: Well funded schools and high property values are the standard in many area communities like Andover & North Andover. Although our demographics are different we can and must do better. I would like to see everyone elected on November 3rd commit to putting post recession new dollars into Haverhill schools.

William Macek

1. How do you view the idea of the city spending more on education than required by the state, in order to keep Haverhill on track and competitive with other school districts?: I have never voted to cut a single dime of education funding in any of the 14 Haverhill Budgets I have voted on. I have also supported additional supplemental funding¬’on various occasions. I am in favor of additional school spending over the state's minimum funding requirement and have always voted that way. The quality of the Haverhill School system is not only important to our children's future, it is important to the future of our City. The strength and reputation of our education department is a key ingredient to our continued¬’success and growth.¬’

2. When people decide to invest in a community, the quality of the school system is an important part of their decision. What will you do to improve funding for the schools so our property values increase?:¬’I fully agree, as I stated in Answer #1, the quality and reputation of our school system is an important part of our future. I will continue to support Mayoral funding appropriations and additional supplemental school¬’funding. I will align and advocate for school improvements, and by improving our educational perspective and standing, the net result will be better stability and prosperity for our city residents and¬’their property. Please keep in mind that the City Council can not appropriate funding. That is an exclusive power of the Mayor. The Council can only vote to support, cut or deny Mayoral funding requests. I will always vote to support and improve our schools and the overall quality of¬’education we provide.

Mary Ellen Daly O'Brien

1. How do you view the idea of the city spending more on education than required by the state, in order to keep Haverhill on track and competitive with other school districts?: I support providing the schools with any extra finding whenever possible, but not to the detriment of any other city services.

2. When people decide to invest in a community, the quality of the school system is an important part of their decision. What will you do to improve funding for the schools so our property values increase?: I will continue to support the completion of the high school renovation, the combining of the city and school administrative departments whenever feasible and additional funding for the school system when available.

Michael Young

1. How do you view the idea of the city spending more on education than required by the state, in order to keep Haverhill on track and competitive with other school districts?: I believe we need to prepare our students with the necessary skills to be competitive and successful in an ever changing world. I am very open to the recommendation of the Superintendent and the School Board with regards to adequately funding programs in order to meet these needs.

2. When people decide to invest in a community, the quality of the school system is an important part of their decision. What will you do to improve funding for the schools so our property values increase?: Based on the recommendations of the Superintendent and the School Board, my goal would be to improve funding for our schools so that all our students receive the best education we can provide to ensure each learner meets or exceeds the rigorous academic standards we have set forth.

Colin LePage

1. How do you view the idea of the city spending more on education than required by the state, in order to keep Haverhill on track and competitive with other school districts?: I would support it, and I realize that the amount of administrators has been cut almost in half. I also understand that 20% of Haverhill students have programs that we provide that are mandated by the state. But the current budget shortfalls are hindering what can be spent on education above state mandates. Until Haverhill can get it's fiscal house in order, it will be difficult to justify spending more when the State is set to enact more 9C local aid cuts.

2. When people decide to invest in a community, the quality of the school system is an important part of their decision. What will you do to improve funding for the schools so our property values increase?: We must change our way of thinking from being reactive to proactive. Our schools need our support and dedication. It's not always about money. Some systems spend well over $10K per student and still struggle to get adequate test scores. It's about doing things differently by allowing teachers and administrators the flexibility to use other more successful methods of teaching children.

Christian Miller

1. How do you view the idea of the city spending more on education than required by the state, in order to keep Haverhill on track and competitive with other school districts?: We must do what is necessary to keep our school system at least on par with other districts. Many people feel this is an area that can constantly be cut. If we allow our school system to fail we will not be able to attract new people to the city. Our property values and much to do with the city will suffer greatly from this.¬’It is imperative that we have a strong school system.¬’With that said, Haverhill's budget situation is not going to get any better in the near future. We will have to be very creative going forward in how we educate our children.

2. When people decide to invest in a community, the quality of the school system is an important part of their decision. What will you do to improve funding for the schools so our property values increase?:¬’If we more than adequately fund our schools, reduce classroom sizes, reduce the dropout rate, and reduce crime in our city, our property values as well as the willingness for people to invest in our community will take care of itself.

Anastasia Papaefthemiou

1. How do you view the idea of the city spending more on education than required by the state, in order to keep Haverhill on track and competitive with other school districts?: ¬’I view the idea of the city spending more on education than required by the state in order to keep Haverhill on track and competitive with other school districts as something to strive for in the future. Until we get Haverhill out of the red and back in the black we need to economize every penny.

2. When people decide to invest in a community, the quality of the school system is an important part of their decision. What will you do to improve funding for the schools so our property values increase?: To improve funding for the schools I would bring more business into Haverhill to create jobs and increase revenue. If we can't get shoes manufactured in Haverhill we should seek alternative manufacturing such as solar panel companies or other Green companies that will benefit the community monetarily and energy wise. It seems that there are many grants for this type of manufacturing from the federal government.

On a smaller scale I would be willing to work with the school department, the school committee, the teachers, the parents and the students to create fund-raisers to bring middle school and high school band back into our educational system. "Music makes you free!"

Len Russo

1. Money is just a tool, not the answer!
Our local citizenry has consistently provided ample funding for education. We are on track and competitive. Provide me with another city of this size that has the up to date and modern facilities that we are currently providing our students. Where we have fallen somewhat short is on our deal making with the Whittier Regional Vo-Tech - we're paying more than our "fair" share, which immediately put us at a disadvantage when comparison shopping.
I don't believe anyone ever remembers the monies spent, their desks, room colors, etc., throughout their school years. What they will always remember is that teacher that could reach them. Educators who are there to make a difference, and not just to collect a paycheck. In order to insure we have more teachers wanting to make a difference, we need to invest in "quality" people. We do that by insisting our school department scrutinize with probationary periods, any new hires, and eliminate the current policy of nepotism that is prevalent in all city departments. After they pass that testing period, all neophytes will become eligible for various incentive packages that are set up for them, including substantial salary increases because they will have worked and earned their spoils. This judging process should also include the taxpayer that wants to be included. Compassion, communication, civility, and earned compensation could make a huge difference in obtaining "keepers" for our children. Tenure should only be obtainable after 10 years of fitting performance.

2. First and foremost, why would anyone want to improve funding for the schools simply for the sole purpose of increasing their property values. Any sincere person would stay clear of a city with those ulterior motives. Prior to making an attempt at improving funding, I will attack the doubt and secrecy that has enveloped all our city departments by insisting on transparency, accountability, and integrity. For instance a $300,000 utility bill emerges from nowhere & funding becomes available at the last minute to prevent teacher layoffs - our DPW "super" needs to be replaced because of improprieties - our police chief goes in front of the city council to rewrite state law so his buddy can keep illegal funds.
Those are issues that play on people deciding whether the investment into a community is worth it - if they can get past that, then they would have to contend with the thought that we are only funding our schools to increase our property values.
My attempt to want to improve funding for the schools is selfless and comes from the realization that, and I quote Ben Franklin, "An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest". With that said, our rate of return to our community in social, moral and financial obligations from our future generations will be more than covered, just in the interest accrued, by what is being spent now.
Since most us know we don't know everything and most of us know everybody knows something, we should all now know - there is no money - period.
If hired, I can only encourage grant writing, more after school programs, volunteerism, and conservation and recycling efforts.

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