Section I - The Primary Drivers of the FY 2021 Budget
Budget Overview **DRAFT**
The FY2021 budget request is driven by three primary forces:
- The Public Schools of Brookline’s five core values;
- Maintaining the quality of the education, programs, services, and staff in the face of ongoing structural deficits and lower revenue than anticipated from
the 2018 operating override approved by Brookline voters; and
3. The need to renew Brookline’s past practice of seeking savings through efficiencies within existing programming and/or staffing before seeking
additional revenue provided any necessary adjustments preserve the integrity of support and programs for students.
Driver #1 Five Core Values Guide the Public Schools of Brookline
The public schools five Core Values inform our work: from budget decisions to each building’s School Improvement Plan. The aspirations underlying each of the Public Schools of Brookline’s five Core Values are defined below. Pursuit of these values help guide how we allocate funding, people and time and are reflected in the FY 2021 budget.
High Achievement for All
The Public Schools of Brookline inspires our students to develop a passion for learning. We support students through strong relationships to become invested in their learning, develop the confidence and persistence to grow as learners, and meet their goals for success in and beyond school. To pursue our value of all students achieving at high levels, the Public Schools of Brookline is committed to and the FY 2021 budget continues to support:
- Small class sizes, especially in the early grades
- Quality early childhood education and the expansion of the Brookline Early Education Program
- Inclusive classrooms and district-wide Special Education programs
- A comprehensive high school curriculum with an extensive variety of opportunities and programs
- The ongoing support of teachers, special education teachers, and math specialists on the identification and implementation of our new K-8 math curriculum
Educational Equity
The Public Schools of Brookline identifies, understands, and seeks to eliminate barriers to educational achievement in our schools. Educators in our schools provide their students with support intended to help them reach and exceed Brookline’s standards. To pursue educational equity, the Public Schools of Brookline is committed to and the FY 2021 budget supports:
District-wide Strategies such as:
- High quality curriculum across all grades and all schools
- Inclusive classrooms with educators and specialized instructional personnel
- High quality professional development opportunities and supports focusing on instructional coaching and collaboration
- Specialized programs and services district-wide in support of access for all learners
- Literacy and Math Specialists across schools to provide support and create high outcomes for all students
- Child Study Teams individualizing student interventions
- District-wide professional development on cultural proficiency
- District-wide equitable access to educational technology
Targeted Support Programs such as:
- The Calculus Project
- African American and Latino Scholars
- Young Scholars
- Steps to Success
- Alternative Choices in Education (ACE) – an intensive and personalized alternative pathway for Brookline High School
- Leveled Literacy Interventions
- School Within a School
Excellence in Teaching
The Public Schools of Brookline understands that passionate, knowledgeable, and skillful educators are the core strength of our schools. To support excellent instruction throughout our schools, the Public Schools of Brookline is committed to and the FY 2021 budget supports:
- A revised approach to mentoring programs to ensure that new teachers get the support they need as they enter the profession
- Instructional coaching and professional development for teachers in math, literacy, and enrichment and challenge support
- Ongoing efforts to recruiting and retaining a more diverse workforce that better reflects our student body
- The flexibility to meet with colleagues to address issues and topics staff identify every week during collaboration time
- A wider variety of professional learning opportunities at the school level and across the district
Respect for Human Differences
The Public Schools of Brookline provides a safe environment for expressing and exploring human differences and commonalities. Our schools aim to create caring and understanding communities that promote a sense of belonging and respect for all. To support respect for human differences throughout our schools, the Public Schools of Brookline is committed to and the FY 2021 budget supports:
- Professional development focused on cultural proficiency, anti-bias efforts, and restorative practices
- Ongoing review of instructional material to make them more representative of the diversity of our students and families
- The METCO Program
- Comprehensive district-wide special education opportunities
- Robust school-based and district-wide English Learner programs
- The School Within-a-School program at Brookline High School
- Providing support to students through the Advisory Program at Brookline High School
Collaboration
The Public Schools of Brookline commits to collaboration in all aspects of education to foster interaction among diverse viewpoints and to broaden learning opportunities for our students, educators, and community. Collaboration among faculty and between schools and our long-standing community-based partners creates the shared ownership of our schools that adds value to the lives of all community members. To support collaboration, the Public Schools of Brookline is committed to and the FY 2019 override budget supports:
- Collaboration among faculty and administrators:
o Child Study Teams
o Common planning time where faculty members collaborate on lesson planning, assessing student work and improving instruction
o School-based collaborative study groups where faculty members study topics related to strengthening instruction and improving their practice
o Curriculum coordinators visiting classes in teams and principals doing learning walks in all schools
- Essential partnerships:
o Parent Teacher Organizations, School Site Councils, and other specific parent groups (e.g., Special Education Advisory Council, Steps to Success
parent group)
o Brookline Education Foundation
o The Brookline High School Innovation Fund
o Brookline Community Foundation
o The Brookline Community Mental Health Center
o Municipal Departments:
§ Building Department and the Public Building Division – Facilities Maintenance, Repair, and Replacement
§ The Public Library of Brookline Education Technology and Library Services partnership
§ Parks and Open Space – Playgrounds and Fields
§ Police/Fire – Emergency Planning and Response
§ DPW – Sidewalks, grounds maintenance and snow removal
- Extended Day and enrichment programs in all K-8 schools
Driver #2 Maintaining the quality of the education, programs, services, and staff in the face of ongoing structural deficits and lower revenue than
anticipated from the 2018 operating override approved by Brookline voters; and
Driver #3 The need to renew Brookline’s past practice of seeking savings through efficiencies within existing programming and/or staffing before
seeking additional revenue provided any necessary adjustments preserve the integrity of support and programs for students.
Taken together, these two drivers push the Public Schools of Brookline to be more diligent and precise about our budgeting, staffing, scheduling, and use of resources.
For many years, the Public Schools of Brookline have provided an impressive range of programs, services, and supports to our students in our early education classrooms, through elementary school, into the middle grades, and at Brookline High School. The array of programs and services Public Schools of Brookline’s students benefit from are too numerous to mention in one listing but include: high-quality core academic programs an much; impressive arts instruction; inclusive special education support and in-district programs that are highly regarded by other districts and the state department of education; health and wellness programs; technology and design in our newly created makerspaces; K-12 world language instruction; social emotional support from guidance counselors, psychologists, and social workers; fully staffed library/media centers; individualized support programs geared to specific learners; English learner education that include native language support programs in nearly all of our elementary schools; and much more.
In recent years, as the Town has funded the staff and resources necessary to address the historic enrollment growth, we have begun to face structural deficits year after year. Now that enrollment is leveling off, Public Schools of Brookline enters a phase more like it has faced in prior decades where it must look more closely at current practices, supports, programs, and staffing and adjust them to be more financially prudent, and as the School Committee directed in its FY 2021 Budget Guidelines:
Seek savings through efficiencies within existing programming and/or staffing before seeking additional revenue, provided the proposed change(s)
achieve both sustainable improvements in teaching and learning as well as operational efficiencies.
Working together, Principals, Curriculum Coordinators, Directors, and the Deputy Superintendents, identified areas that, based on their experience and in-depth knowledge of our schools, could be adjusted from prior years. Separately these targeted adjustments will have limited impact on student support, programs or services, while together they will lead to worthwhile cost savings.
These types of adjustments are normal and expected in any school district and need to be in Brookline every year to ensure we are able to continue allocating resources in high priority areas and do not continue to fund programs, services, or supports that are no longer effective or necessary.