Published in the March 28, 2018 edition
By MARK SARDELLA
WAKEFIELD – The need for more in-district special education services was the dominant theme at last night’s public hearing on the School Department’s FY 2019 budget. Other issues raised included the need to increase the number of nurses at the Galvin Middle School and the high school and the need to improve or replace the baseball backstop at Walsh Field. Also raised was the question of why the School Department again this year exceeded the 4 percent limit at which it was expected to hold the line on budget increases.
The School Department is seeking an FY 2019 budget of $40,028,324 reflecting an increase of $2,100,059 (5.54 percent). Schools Superintendent Dr. Kim Smith presented her recommended budget at the Feb. 27 School Committee meeting.
Last night’s public hearing on the budget was originally scheduled for two weeks ago and the School Committee vote was set for last night. But winter storms pushed the timetable back. The vote on the budget is now scheduled for April 10.
Aimee Purcell of Eunice Circle led off the public hearing testimony by recounting the difficulty that parents face when their child has an individualized education plan (IEP). She said that such special education students, especially those with reading or language-based learning disabilities, “are in desperate need of in-district services” when possible, rather than being sent to out-of-district placements.
She urged the School Department to hire the needed professionals to allow more kids on IEPs to stay in-district. She maintained that it would not only bring more kids back home to Wakefield but would also save money over expensive out-of-district placements.
Patricia Gaffney of Bellevue Avenue said that kids with reading and language-based learning disabilities like dyslexia are marginalized and denied the right to reach their potential when appropriate services are not provided by the home school system. She called it “a civil rights issue.” She asked the School Department to increase the in-district intervention line item in the budget in order to provide the needed services.
Elena Corradino of Swansea Road said that she is the mother of a special needs student. She also said that more in-district services were needed if the Wakefield schools were to be truly inclusive. She argued that there should be adequate special education services in the local public schools and called for budgeting resources accordingly.
Beth Boudreau of Eunice Circle said that she was also a parent of a student with an IEP. She called the special education IEP process “frustrating.” She said that anxiety is a huge disability that is often overlooked. She also called for more local resources for students like her daughter.
Stephen Nardone of Whittier Road asked if an analysis had ever been done to see if money could be saved by hiring more SPED specialists locally and reducing the number of out-of-district placements.
Nardone also questioned the nearly 5.5 percent increase in the School Department’s proposed budget. He wanted to know why the schools were asking for that level of an increase when the expectation was that the increase would be limited to 4 percent.
Andrew Bray of Highland Avenue commended school officials on their proposed budget and for getting together early in the process with the Finance Committee to avoid any surprises. He did ask the School Committee to consider adding more resources for digital literacy.
Walton School nurse Kelly Qualey said that she was speaking on behalf of local school nurses in calling for an additional nurse position. She said that currently there is one nurse at the Galvin and one at the high school. She said there is also another nurse shared between the schools but she is often pulled to cover school field trips. She said that a letter had been sent to the superintendent alerting her that current staffing was inadequate and if the student to nurse ratio was not improved, the Department of Health might not certify the nursing staff’s medication delegation. She said that two nurses were needed at each of the two schools.
James Scott of Elm Street and his neighbor Bill Conley asked the School Department to consider doing something about the baseball backstop at Walsh Field.
Scott and Conley said that the current backstop is too short and too far back, allowing a lot of foul balls to land in the nearby Dobbins Tennis Courts as well as on Hemlock Road resulting in a hazard to tennis players, cars, pedestrians and fans. They said that a taller backstop that is closer to home plate would prevent most of those foul balls from escaping and landing where they could cause injury or damage.
The School Committee did not engage in a back and forth discussion during the public hearing but did address some of the issues later during their budget discussion.
Superintendent Dr. Kim Smith said that she understood the concerns over out-of-district SPED placements and that was the reason she had added more money for in-district intervention services in next year’s budget. She acknowledged that the amount was still insufficient and said that the goal was to keep adding in order to increase those services. She said that she was on the same page as the parents in wanting to keep as many kids as possible in Wakefield.
School Committee member Christopher Callanan said that he has had a lot of personal experience with IEPs but added that Wakefield has come a long way from where it was 20 years ago. He said that it was incorrect to suggest that school officials had not talked about ways to keep more kids in the district. He said that often it is the parent who requests an out-of-district placement and not the schools suggesting it.
Regarding the nurse staffing issues, Dr. Smith said that due to a teacher resignation and some other budget realigning she was able to cull together the $28,000 needed to bring nurse staffing up by one half-time equivalent position so that the Galvin and the High School could have two nurses each.
The School Committee asked Dr. Smith to pull together some data on special education and out out-of-district placements for their next meeting, when they are expected to vote on the FY 2019 budget.
