Why We will be voting NO on the override.
PLEASE NOTE: THIS WAS SUBMITTED BY A RESIDENT — THE HOLLISTON REPORTER TAKES NO POSITION ON THESE ISSUES.
We support Holliston Public Schools- students, educators, and administrators. But: There is little to no data to support the claims that this contract is great for the Town, the district, the educators, and the students. This is strictly an operational override to increase salaries of the largest unit in our Town who appear to make some better salaries than their colleagues in other Town departments. We want to support an override that will help increase the educational opportunities for our students- like adding teacher positions so that more classes/programs can be offered or adding teacher positions to decrease class sizes as one example. Below are the Top 9 reasons why we will be voting NO on September 10th.
- Students: What is best for the students? Is approving an override for teacher salaries in the best interest of the students? What are specific positive outcomes for the students? We’ve heard very little about the positive outcomes for ALL of our students. What is the positive outcome of additional 10/15 minutes of instruction time that has yet to be mapped out. Is it synchronous learning or “flex” time? Does this mean our rankings will go up to the top 20 in the state?
- Supervision during passing time: There is no language in the contract that guarantees educators will be in the hallways. “Teachers will greet students when plausible”, and “will intervene to address inappropriate student behavior during passing time when they deem it necessary” – how will this be enforced? Doesn’t the administration think that having adult supervision in the halls is generally a good thing? Why didn’t they push for stronger language around student safety and student/teacher interactions?
- Lengthening the school day: While this additional time will necessarily look different at each of the schools, the language is left sufficiently vague that there is, in fact, no guarantee that this time will be used to instruct students in academic subjects. Concerns about how a longer (on top of later) school day for HHS students will impact after school jobs, activities, athletics, etc.
- Teacher compensation: How do we determine if Holliston teachers are paid fairly (“fairly” being subjective)? The Town Administrator, Finance Committee, and School Committee all began the FY 2025 budget planning season with strong concern that “it’s a difficult budget season and tough decisions will need to be made”. Why would the School Committee agree to a contract that puts them well over their budget? Are there any discussions at the Town level about negotiating health insurance contracts to get lower premiums or adjusting employee share of insurance premiums? If the Town were to absorb a higher percentage (to match other towns), this would effectively put money in teachers’ pockets. That is one of the sticking points which some say makes Holliston’s compensation less competitive even if the total salaries are higher than some towns.
- Strategies and tactics: Concern about how the HFT leadership has “missed” deadlines to their own advantage. And how the HFT leadership is encouraging a divisive atmosphere by pitting families who can afford the override and want it for their schoolchildren’s teachers’ morale against taxpayers who will see no benefit from this contract. Campaign messages like “we love our schools therefore we support the override” put many people in an uncomfortable situation. One can love the schools and not support this override and should be able to say so without backlash.
- Additional buses: Assumptions about traffic congestion reduction – where has the data come from? Condensing the runs may cause more pinch points albeit at fewer time blocks during the day. This is really misleading for voters who would be impacted by having students on 2 bus runs instead of 3. Is this the most critical issue our schools are facing?
- Bell schedule change: How long will this process take? Will teachers be looking for additional compensation or will the district need to increase their staffing levels to accommodate more classes at HHS? By giving 4% in the first year of the contract, this will compound over the next 3 years and mean that there will be less and less money for other changes (staffing or programmatic).
- Real Estate: Some real estate professionals claim that property value increases because of a strong school district. That may be true in other parts of the country where education is not ranked high. Massachusetts is consistently ranked #1 for education and our property values across the state are high because of it. Holliston Public Schools rankings have consistently declined over the past 10 years, yet our property values have not dropped.
- Affordability and Sustainability: This is not the only override that we will likely see for the Town in the near future. The Town is looking into a new DPW Facility and the HSC has been applying to the Massachusetts School Board Authority to get invited into the program for a possible High School building project. Will we be taxing our residents out of town?
Holliston Residents for Stronger Educational Outcomes
Please vote NO
Send HFT and HSC back to the negotiating table for a contract that
guarantees RESULTS for improved education
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I’m a Holliston resident with kids spanning the schools. I 💯 agree with this.
I’m too afraid to reveal my name because I will be vilified for “not supporting” our children and name-called by certain SC members for not falling in line. We elected volunteers not dictators. Our SC is not willing to hear opinions contrary to theirs.
The truth is that our children will lose from this. The only ones to gain from this is the HFT head and the SC who get to claim they “saved” the students.
The teachers and students would rather have a nice new high school that’s not infested with mold and that’s not falling apart.
Paying our teachers a few $1000 extra won’t magically improve our tanking school ratings. When we moved here, Holliston was top 20. In just over a decade, we can barely make top 75!!
There’s decades of rot that went unchecked and needs to be addressed and fixed. What the SC is attempting to do is put a band-aid instead of getting to the root cause of our rot.
Tax payers would rather see their home values go up because we have a new high school.
If we approve this override we will NEVER get a new high school because it will be decades before another override can pass to build a new high school.
Vote NO if you really do care about the students.
Vote NO if you care about your biggest investment : your home.
Vote NO if you want to stand up to the bullies.
VOTE YES because our teachers deserve fair pay. Our district deserves to be attractive to families and competitive for staff. Our students deserve resources. Our teachers deserve a contract that was negotiated on by their representatives and our elected committee.
Extending the instructional day, fixing the start times, and giving the schools better resources all support a better environment for Holliston’s students. If you don’t know what is included in this override, read the school committee website or watch the discussions on HCAT. It is not just staff pay, which this opinion piece wants you to believe.
I don’t have kids in the schools anymore, but I have already voted YES in support of the future of our community. I am grateful for the education my kids received, in large part because of community support of the schools. This current school committee trajectory will get our schools back to their competitive rankings with community support. This also resolves the start time issue, which was a huge community concern a few years ago.
This is just a bunch of hot air. Cite the data sources. (“Some realtors”… no, no realtors say better funded schools hurt housing value.) This piece sounds like a vendetta against the teacher union or school committee. Don’t hurt the schools for personal grudges.
Please keep it civil or I will be forced to turn comments off.
LT Resident- can you help me understand how this proposed contract is giving the schools better resources? This deal does not include hiring more teachers, does not include purchasing more/different curriculum, nor does it include anything related to social & emotional learning. Schools across the country have been underfunded for years, I’m not convinced that this override will provide “more funding” that will lead directly to stronger learning and teaching. How do we know this will be the outcome? I’m not convinced that 15 more minutes is going to add to “more learning” especially at the High School where the classes are long enough as it is.
In terms of teachers deserving “fair pay”. “Fair” is such a subjective term. What would be helpful would be for someone to answer – “where do these COLA’s bring teacher salaries in relation to the districts that we compare ourselves to”? Are we bringing our teachers from a low percentile up to a medium or high one? That’s information that is objective. You and I could argue for years what we think “fair pay” should be right? I’m not suggesting we do that 🙂
In addition, I question if the request for funding for busses is the “cart before the horse” situation. There are a significant amount of logistics that need to be considered and worked out for the district to be able to reduce the bus runs from 3 to 2 in a shorter period of time. I was on the committee when we changed the start times based on many years of research that indicated our teenage students would benefit from going to school later than younger students. The community, at the time, was not in favor of spending money for additional buses to move from 3 to 2 bus runs. I’m in favor of this – but tell me the ACTUAL PLAN before you ask to pay for it.
Thanks for the dialogue. – Stacey
Respectfully Madam / Sir Lt Resident,
There have been absolutely no traffic analyses nor budget studies done to show the community how exactly the start times dilemma will be fixed. For all we know it, the status quo will remain. Especially given the many road closures and construction around town as well as the congestion on Washington.
Nor has the SC figured out the business of bussing the students. They still cannot answer community questions about which schools will be combined for bus runs. All we know for sure is that the elementary schools CANNOT be combined because the fire marshall deemed the loops unsafe to load and unload that large volume of students at one time.
So we will have our youngest students riding the buses (for about 40 minutes each way) with our oldest. Let that sink in. We are trading one problem for another one. We have to pick our poison.
More money, effort, planning and investigations will be needed to actually fix the start times problem.
As it stands right now, it’s just a pipe dream. Almost all the money from the override will go to the teachers will little to nothing left to fix the bussing issue.
As far as extended instruction hours go, the state is not mandating this. Studies have shown it to be detrimental to students to extend instruction hours.
Please read this study:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/dangers-long-school-hours-how-prolonged-education-impacts-panchal?fbclid=IwY2xjawEsOwhleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHZ7CZbONl3Ch7sHBFbjgR7y0szTcxvQ1PfVWV62R57yRAMBtnQinVZZpyA_aem_9LVJX9sPhQpO-oJHuAAT-A
Furthermore, the SC has yet to clarify to the public how the extra instructional minutes (10 / 15?) will be any different than directed study block (DSB) currently in place already. Where students simply complete busy work. There is little to no involvement from the teacher. It is nothing short of babysitting.
Please also do not misconstrue the public’s need for transparency and accountability as a “personal grudge” against SC members.
Infact, it is just the opposite. Various social media posts will paint a picture of certain SC members being highly disrespectful and condescending towards citizens that do not agree with them. And might I add, extremely intolerant of seniors on fixed incomes.
The SC needs to know that voters work hard for their tax dollars and there is no free for all.
The SC was never given a blank check.
Please go back to the negotiation table and put the residents and students first.
The SC has stated repeatedly, the HS and Placentino will start at the same time, not utilizing the same buses.
As for the length of the day, what many residents don’t understand is that kids that take the bus wait in the cafeteria for 25 minutes before school starts (babysat) and get released 10 minutes before the bell rings to catch the bus. The 10-15 minutes of educational time is not lengthening the day at all, in fact, it’s using the time in the day more efficiently and effectively for what it’s intended – education! Placentino buses are continually coming to school late. The current bussing system needs an overhaul.
A YES VOTE will approve the OVERRIDE to fund a new teacher contract, which adds flexibility to the daily/weekly schedule to rework the start times and overall schedule, and to rework the high school block schedule. If the override passes, a new schedule will be announced on January 1, 2025 for the 2025-26 school year.
Please point out where it says anywhere that the Placentino and HS kids will be on the same bus.
Adding an additional BUS RUN isn’t putting elementary kids with HS kids. I am sorry if something you saw made you believe this was true. Please point out the source so that the SC can clarify that, because, again, HS students are not sharing busses with elementary kids.
There are three coffee hours remaining, including one at 9-10am Saturday. Please come discuss these points. The SC has been very transparent, and has hosted many info sessions that have been sparsely attended. You can’t spout misinformation and cry lack of transparency and then not even try.
Dear Karla,
I can understand why you attack those of us that are skeptical seeing that your husband is the School Committee chair and is captaining the “yes” team.
If you look at social media posts, you will see that he has consistently refused to answer how exactly start times will be fixed. And yes it was him who stated that older students will ride with the youngest students. It’s in a Facebook post that he replied to. I believe it’s on the yes page. Unless he deleted the comment since.
The onus doesn’t lie with us but with you (who are championing the override) to provide voters a concrete plan on how start times will be resolved.
And it is also him who has been extremely hurtful and disrespectful to those of us that are seeking clarity. He has been very vengeful and vindictive. We worry for our kids when we speak up.
Name calling and shaming doesn’t lead to meaningful dialog.
Please be kind Karla Alfred.
For anyone who has questions about the override or any SC-related topic, they should check out the links, read what is actually being said by the School Committee, and understand that until someone from the opposition group has actual cited sources, make your own judgement calls. The School Committee still has two coffee hours and are available by email, and despite what some may want others to believe, are actually a delightful group dedicated to supporting our students and want the community to ask questions and discuss ideas not only so that they can help everyone understand what this override is or is not, but to better grow our community in general.
But to address the statements of “Holliston Resident”:
The”Yes For Holliston” is run by two individuals, neither of which are on the School Committee. The roles of a chair of a committee are to promote and support their budget.
Differing opinions aren’t attacks, but insinuating that I am incapable of my own opinion because I have a spouse on the School Committee is a pretty ugly attack. It may shock you to know that we do disagree on politics occasionally, but in supporting our schools and communities, we stand together. That includes on this override. I could have posted anonymously, but I believe in standing behind my words and character. You can attack me all you want, because my actions in my community speak louder than your “anonymous” insinuations.
I am looking at every social media post, and there is nowhere that it states elementary and high school kids will be on the same bus. You might be referring to this, from 6 weeks ago: “Alison Reed Quinan oh no no no. It’s just that there are so many fewer HS students who take the bus that if say we go from 15 to 18 buses, say 6 are for HS and 12 are for placentino. Those aren’t real numbers but that’s sort of what it would look like. Miller and Rams kids might be on same buses, not sure what the details would looke like exactly but we are not putting HS kids with Placentino kids.” – Daniel Alfred
Source: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2085192418355138/permalink/2345735188967525/?rdid=x692naCg0FjiG2LW&share_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fshare%2Fp%2FqKPQPV75udfnusVS%2F
Please point out where the vengeful and vindictive part is, with citation. Because trying to slander a community volunteer that has coached sports, advocated for the arts, supported teachers, and consistently shows up for the residents, including children, of this community as unsafe is as heinous as it is a complete lie. At least be honest and own the fact that these posts are anonymous so that neighbors don’t attach this sort of shameful behavior to a name.
But to answer the actual concerns that weren’t part of that absolute malarky, here’s the School Committee Town Meeting presentation that discusses the start times, how it resolves, and which details still need to be ironed out:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rnWfWXGaI4FaS_EkGdpQwQZlt8t-yBbM/view?usp=drivesdk
Here’s a second source, the full FAQ that has the start times (page 3) as well as debunking several other misconstrued points by this “No” committee:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UdTaSnOVnJEmZYwACXtQNbLGQ_B3fhmU/view
As to the odd impression that the SC controls everything in an instructional day. That is up to the individual schools. Although the SC votes on a bell schedule and overall day, it is at the recommendation of the administration with input from the union, as they are the experts in the day-to-day operations of their buildings, and know the best utilization of their time.
Ms Alfred,
I see you are a very involved person, but your tone is concerning. I have never met a true volunteer who consistently needs to brag and boast about one’s service. I find your responses to be unpleasant . As a retired individual with no kids in this school system, I have no desire for increased taxes, and since this override is purely based upon salary increases, I simply can’t justify it. Im sure you can understand. I have lived many more years than most, and I can surely see why many are questioning this override. It’s not that the school committee isn’t answering questions, it’s that their responses lack information and depth. It’s like if I ask what color is the sky… and you say tomorrow. The responses aren’t satisfactory. I’m not attending a coffee meet up to ask questions, I’m already voting NO, but I am curious to why people are voting yes? Parents seem to be fearful. Why? From what my younger neighbors tell me, it has been said, there maybe cuts and reductions. Any choice based upon fear, is never the right choice. The schools need a lot more than just salary increases and bus changes. From my understanding the physical conditions of the schools are in dire need of repair. It was once stated that it literally rains inside the highschool and parents were concerned about kids becoming sick from damp conditions. The focus for this override is in the wrong place. We as a town should focus on the most critical needs if we are asking the community to vote on an override. We have schools that are falling apart. Teachers who choose to leave Holliston will do so with our without higher wages. That’s part of the work force. In every sector people leave jobs for one reason or another. The wages from what I have read are in the middle. Fair pay for fair rankings? Why would Holliston even consider paying top dollar when we are underperforming as a district? Holliston is a great little town. It’s made up of good and smart people. People realize things aren’t great right now for our schools, but hasty decisions that lack accountability never do any good .
Karla, I am just seeing this HR thread now and I would kindly request that you remove my name from your comment. I’m not sure where this comment of Dan’s was originally posted, but it was unnecessary for you to include my name in the context of your reply to this Holliston Resident. You could simply have referred the questioner to the School Committee for clarification about the concerns about bussing plans. Please leave my name out of any further comments you choose to make.
There are so many benefits to this override for students and families! I urge everyone to vote Yes for Holliston. Learn more about the override on Facebook @YESFORHOLLISTON . I’m voting YES, because the new contact will enhance educational time for our students (half a year over the course of their K-12 career), add flexibility to rework school start times and block scheduling, and allow teachers more time to fit in curriculum requirements.
Respectfully Sir / Madam Lt Resident,
There have been absolutely no traffic analyses nor budget studies done to show the community how exactly the start times dilemma will be fixed. For all we know it, the status quo will remain. Especially given the many road closures and construction around town as well as the congestion on Washington.
Nor has the SC figured out the business of bussing the students. They still cannot answer community questions about which schools will be combined for bus runs. All we know for sure is that the elementary schools CANNOT be combined because the fire marshall deemed the loops unsafe to load and unload that large volume of students at one time.
So we will have our youngest students riding the buses (for about 40 minutes each way) with our oldest. Let that sink in. We are trading one problem for another one. We have to pick our poison.
More money, effort, planning and investigations will be needed to actually fix the start times problem.
As it stands right now, it’s just a pipe dream. Almost all the money from the override will go to the teachers will little to nothing left to fix the bussing issue.
As far as extended instruction hours go, the state is not mandating this. Studies have shown it to be detrimental to students to extend instruction hours.
Please read this study:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/dangers-long-school-hours-how-prolonged-education-impacts-panchal?fbclid=IwY2xjawEsOwhleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHZ7CZbONl3Ch7sHBFbjgR7y0szTcxvQ1PfVWV62R57yRAMBtnQinVZZpyA_aem_9LVJX9sPhQpO-oJHuAAT-A
Furthermore, the SC has yet to clarify to the public how the extra instructional minutes (10 / 15?) will be any different than directed study block (DSB) currently in place already. Where students simply complete busy work. There is little to no involvement from the teacher. It is nothing short of babysitting.
Please also do not misconstrue the public’s need for transparency and accountability as a “personal grudge” against SC members.
Infact, it is just the opposite. Various social media posts will paint a picture of certain SC members being highly disrespectful and condescending towards citizens that do not agree with them. And might I add, extremely intolerant of seniors on fixed incomes.
The SC needs to know that voters work hard for their tax dollars and there is no free for all.
The SC was never given a blank check.
Please go back to the negotiation table and put the residents and students first.
Honest Question… Does the SC work for the students or the HFT? How could the SC even let the HFT put the community in this position? The contract is horrible. Vote NO, send them back to negotiate. The children of this town deserve more. Extra minutes? What does that entail ? How can you expect us to vote Yes, when you (the School Committee ) doesn’t even know the fine details?
Do Better.
LT Resident,
From my knowledge teachers in Holliston are paid fairly. The Holliston School Committee stated that they were right in the middle. I would say that is fair? To say that this is a bunch of hot air is not right. There are points in this article that need clarification from The Holliston School Committee. At this point they seem to be reluctant on answering certain questions. Post salary comparisons, give detailed plans for the extra learning times, give examples of the bus changes. I hate to be the burden of bad news but the real estate comment actually came from the Vote Yes Holliston Group. They are the ones who stated that better schools help uphold higher home values, or something to that effect. You will have to look back at the post they posted. That is the source. I don’t think overrides are bad, but they have to hold value for all parties. I’m not convinced this one does.
There’s no hurt in going back to the negotiating table and talking things through. I plan to Vote NO.
As I understand it from a recent Boston Globe article, about two-thirds of the override votes over the past 18 months were successful, including: $8 million in Braintree in June, $8.4 million in Belmont in April, and $7 million in Arlington last November.
Overrides for $7.7 million in Melrose and $6.8 million in Franklin in June, $4.2 million in Westford, and $6 million in Hanover in May were all rejected. Some of those outcomes are posted below.
We can argue all day long that the current proposal does this and/or doesn’t do that. I understand the concerns on both sides. Whether we like it or not, in all professions, salaries are important in attracting new staff and maintaining current staff. Teachers are in high demand – and the supply is low – across the state and country.
At the end of the day, we have two choices on Sept 10. Vote “yes” for the current negotiated contract or vote “no”. I urge voters to Vote Yes on September 10.
Follow this FB page for more information: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61560555577898
To balance its budget, the Hanover School Department is eliminating 36 positions, about 10 percent of its workforce, and reducing high school electives, among other cuts. The police and fire departments are also facing cuts.
After a $3 million override failed, Georgetown schools, which had already cut $1.4 million in spending for last year’s budget, are cutting deep again next year, including the elimination of 26 positions.
In Melrose, schools are laying off 13 full-time employees, cutting 26 vacant positions, and reducing AP course offerings, among other reductions. The city is also eliminating positions for its sustainability manager, economic development director, and social services coordinator, and shaving 5 percent from the police, fire, and public works overtime budgets.
Franklin, is still assessing what to cut after their override failure, with two dozen school positions already cut. Additional cut’s to Franklin’s programs can be found in this article. https://www.milforddailynews.com/story/news/education/2024/07/02/franklin-ma-educators-worried-about-2024-25-school-year-after-override-failure/74248894007/
Exactly. If the override doesn’t pass, we lose great staff, risk a weaker deal, and will need to make cuts. We are already operating at a deficit when it comes to staffing. Nobody leaves a district they love because of a slight pay increase, they leave because the support and the staff are better in districts that fund their schools and contracts.
What to we lose if staff needs to be cut because this doesn’t pass? More paras? Interventionists? Do the schools reduce the arts, sports, and after school positions?
You suggest that if the override doesn’t pass we will “lose great staff … and will need to make cuts”. Has the SC or the Superintendent identified what those cuts and losses would look like? Is there specific information about these potential outcomes that can be shared? You suggest that the schools might need to “reduce the arts, sports, and after school positions”. Is this true? Who can attest to this? This is very important information for voters to have in order to be able to cast an informed vote.
I would like to point out that the situation in Franklin, at least, is different from the one here in Holliston. Franklin had prior contractual obligations (from their previously negotiated contract) in place which needed to be met. When the override did not pass, the Town could not afford to pay all of the teachers the salaries they were due. Thus, layoffs were necessary to keep within the budget available. In Holliston, this override is designed to fund a new contract and new salary increases. The budget which was passed at the May Town Meeting should cover the salaries for all existing teachers at existing levels for the upcoming 2024-25 school year. Should Holliston’s override not pass, the language in the MOA states that the parties will go back to the negotiating table. The MOA does not say that there will be layoffs or walkouts or other disruptions. And any new contract would be retroactive so that teachers would get any salary adjustments retroactive to the beginning of the 2024-25 school year once a new contract was agreed to. I am disheartened that residents are being led to believe that there will be staff or programmatic cuts should the override not pass. But, if this is the case, then I would hope that the SC would tell residents and give specifics about what would be cut because I, for one, do not want that to happen!
Hi Carrie,
Thank you for your inputs.
Can you please provide data on following:
Side by side comparison of Holliston teacher salaries vs comparable districts e.g. Ashland, Medway, Millis.
(Since you claim our teachers are underpaid)
Exactly what teachers will be doing with the additional 15 minutes added to the school day.
Which schools will be combined for bus runs?
How many new buses needed? Cost?
Traffic studies
Bus route studies
Please provide hard, empirical data on all of the above.
Without this, it feels like you are asking for the money now but will decide how to spend it later.
We need to know NOW exactly how our tax dollars will be spent and will it be a good ROI for us.
Thank you.
What I have been reading is disheartening. I can see why people are posting anonymously. Myself, like many others will vote in private. It’s easier to simply vote NO than it is to ask a question and get a charged response.
To be blunt, people are getting “charged responses” due to the fact that most (if not all) of these questions have been answered through multiple forums, or worse yet, some of the comments are flat out misleading or false but whenever this is called out, the debunked offender cries out they are being attacked. The fact is that the SC has offered 10 sessions to date (I believe? It may be one more or less as I don’t have the schedule in front of me) all on various days of the week, times of the day, locations, and types of meetings, be it in person or via zoom. Per the SC members who sit at each one of these sessions, attendance has been averaging maybe one person per session. The information is out there already. The SC has made themselves available to answer questions or concerns. Instead, the same people continue to ask the same questions or make the same false claims with no attempt to find out the answers from the source.
End of the day, no one likes to see their taxes increase. But I would rather see my additional contribution go to something that will educate our future generations than to something like additional sidewalks. We have important priorities in our town. Our children’s education, including attracting and retaining top level teachers, should rank up near the top. For these reasons, I am a firm YES vote on this override
Tony,
Respectfully, many people have been gone for the summer or have other commitments that haven’t allowed them to attend. People don’t need to justify why they did/did not attend the sessions. I know how frustrating it is to sit at coffee hours and have no one show up, but the reality is, you need to meet people where they’re at. Right now, people are coming back from vacation and taking a deep dive into what this override really will bring. We want informed voters don’t we?
As for “the information is already out there”. As a previous person commented, the answers from SC and Yes For Holliston are vague and have no depth.
As posted by Carrie Loscocco in one of her replies here: “I’m voting YES, because the new contact will enhance educational time for our students (half a year over the course of their K-12 career), add flexibility to rework school start times and block scheduling, and allow teachers more time to fit in curriculum requirements. ”
Voters are trying to get clarification.
What does “…the new contract will enhance educational time” mean? Does that mean the high school is adding 3 minutes to each class so that students get their 15 minutes of additional instruction time? How does this look for the other schools? Carrie stated the school day is not lengthening, yet a SC member told me that it is. So which is it?
People are being led to believe that the school start times will change if the override passes.
There is NO GUARANTEE that the district will be able to move the bus runs down from 3-2. WHY? Because there is a bus driver shortage.
Just last week, Holliston lost 1 bus due to driver leaving. People are being led to believe that the start times for school WILL BE changed as long as you vote yes for the override. That is not true. Words matter in this case. Per a SC member, “if the override passes, the OPPORTUNITY to rework the bus runs will be possible. If the override passes, the OPPORTUNITY to look at the high schedule will be possible. It’s the cart before the horse. If you want to permanently increase taxes, then show me the plan please.
I’m sorry but I’m anticipating what’s coming down the pike in terms of future override requests for the Town. I’d rather fund a high school project than this contract if there’s not a current plan for start times, high school schedule, and extending the school day by 15 minutes.
If this contract is as great as the SC says, then they should have no problem answering the questions. I’ve asked one of the members to do so at their meeting this week.
-Stacey
To echo Stacey’s comment and requests for clarification and solid information. There is no confirmation that the “educational time” of 15 minutes per day will be used for instruction. It could just as easily be used in other ways. Six months of additional time – however it is used – does not seem meaningful over a 13 year span. I would also add if this override were tied to a transparent plan designed to achieve specific, better educational outcomes, I think many people would be in favor. That is information we haven’t heard yet.
Stacey,
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share more information:
1) Regarding the use of the 15 minutes: as you know, the School Committee negotiates the contract with the Union (while working with administration on what is or is not possible or beneficial). Once a contract is ratified and goes into effect, it is Admin (not HSC) and the Union’s role to implement it. The additional time will be built into the school schedule (and yes, we are lengthening the student day, with everything going on Carrie just mispoke) on a building by building basis. Each school will run its own process (and some of this gets lumped into looking at the HS bell schedule) and ultimately the principals, assistant principals and central office admin (working with the HFT) will implement changes. Regardless of how exactly the 15 minutes is implemented, Dr. Kustka has clearly stated that it will be used for instructional time (which isn’t recess). This is not just an opportunity from the contract language but a commitment. Details need to be worked through the proper channels and parents before specifics can be shared.
2) Regarding start times: The start times are going to change one way or the other if this override passes. At the special town meeting in June, as part of the presentation I gave, one of the bullets was: “Therefore, upon passage of the override, the HSC will commence a process to reduce bus runs from 3 to 2 which will require additional buses and cost, which we have build into the schedule.” This entire presentation was voted on, and approved, by the HSC (7-0, unanimously) and therefore, this stands as a commitment from the Committee to the Community to do this. This is not just an opportunity, but commitment by HSC, HFT and the Town. But yes, there is a bus driver shortage. That is a situation that we will have to deal with and we have a whole year to do that. But we will deal with it because, along with being the right thing to do, there is no alternative.
Ultimately, there is not enough money to properly invest in our schools and our staff under the confines of Proposition 2.5. All that voting this override down would do would be to crush morale and add significant uncertainty to people about their careers and livelihoods as well as students and parents about what the future of HPS looks like. Ultimately, sending us back to the negotiating table does not mean we magically can negotiate a contract that the Town can afford. We would very likely be back in May trying again just like other Town’s in MA are doing after they had failed overrides. There are a number of opportunities that have been created by this agreement (schedule changes, hall monitoring, etc) that we will also benefit from in this agreement, but again, these are significant changes that we need to align and create accountability with the HFT.
We need to move past the nitty gritty and understand if this doesn’t pass the only ones who will truly suffer will be our students. It ultimately comes to understanding that this contract and override is good for Holliston. It brings significant benefits and opportunities to our students and parents in addition to our educators.
1. And therein lies my point – Yes for Holliston/Carrie misspoke – that is a problem that can cause further issues if the override passes and HSC/HPS can’t deliver on “misspoken promises”. This is why the SC should put out their own written answers – the FAQ on the district site do not touch upon all of these questions/answers.
2. Allocation of funds without a plan: it is all over the local and national news that there are driver shortages- Stoughton/Framingham are the two most recent this week. Just last week, Holliston lost a driver that caused routes to be changed etc. I don’t have a ton of faith that the shortage will go away anytime soon as it’s been going on for at least a year.
I applaud your commitment to look at the times but there is a heck of a lot of promise without actual details. You may come up with a solution but it may not be the one that many people expect or it may actually involve more money (buses may cost even more because of this shortage of drivers) and more time may be needed to implement changes – again these are concerns. Give us the plan before you ask to increase our taxes forever.
3. Please explain where our teachers’ salaries are compared to other districts? Where does this contract put us if it passes? Traditionally, Holliston has always been middle of the road. Explain where HPS wants to be and explain your reasoning (for example: We want to be in the xth percentile because…). The ability to attract qualified staff is more than just compensation but if you want to focus on compensation, then updates to benefits (I know this needs to be worked through with the Town) is another channel to have more attractive compensation.
4. “We need to move past the nitty gritty and understand if this doesn’t pass the only ones who will truly suffer will be our students”. I think this is a VERY DANGEROUS statement. We need to understand the nitty gritty in order to make informed choices. Please stop using emotions to drive the campaign, use data to help drive voters to an informed vote.
Please explain how a failed override will cause our students to “truly suffer”. I don’t know that students will suffer if they don’t get 15 minutes more of “instructional time” that is yet to be defined.
What are measurements that make students “truly suffer”?
I’ve asked you multiple times and you have yet to give me an answer- what are the measurements of the positive outcomes? What do you mean by move the district forward? Do you mean improved rankings? Do you mean closing academic achievement gaps?
As you stated, “all that voting this override down would do would be to crush morale and add significant uncertainty to people about their careers and livelihoods as well as students and parents about what the future of HPS looks like”….
THIS IS EXACTLY why having an override to fund salaries for Town employees is so irresponsible. You are letting people think that if the voters opt to vote it down, they don’t support the teachers – that is a statement that can not be backed up with data!
In addition, are you speculating that there will be cuts (YES for Holliston has said that in their flyer under the question about the override failing “there is a significant risk of cuts to programs and or staff across all schools”)? If this override is to fund salaries and (200K for buses, 41K for Town Hall employee adjustments), why would programs be in jeopardy? I see this as fear mongering. Speculation is leading to all sorts of “what ifs”. We need to take out the emotion and stick to the facts.
As some of us are trying to point out, the non salary pieces of this contract really appear to be the cart before the horse. As for the salary piece- you haven’t provided data to show that 4/3/3 is the right combination of increases (this is where comparable data is important).
Morale: I believe that’s a dangerous argument to fund an override. What are your measurements for increased morale? How do you know morale has changed and how do you know it’s a result of a COLA?
The very last piece of your statement is hyperoble – threatening cuts and threatening that teachers are just going to leave is irresponsible- it puts them and it puts the community in an unnecessary awkward place. Again, is this speculation or did the HFT indicate that they are aware of a group of teachers willing to leave if the override fails?
Are there other districts who have had a successful override to “open conversations and have opportunities to move their “district forward”?
It would be helpful if your answers were shared during your SC meeting this week and posted to the district website so that is accessible to all (not everyone reads Holliston Reporter or social media).
Thank you Stacey!
As always everything you stated is much clearer than anything that has been put out by the SC or Yes for Holliston. There are no clear answers or information as to what this override will bring except for additional taxes to all of us.
There is nothing that I have read so far that would sway me to vote yes, way to many unanswered questions and uncertainty.
They literally have no plan and they want us to approve the funds? What happens when they can’t come up with a plan or they fall short of their plan – where does the money go?
This is extremely concerning and irresponsible.
Donna – To be clear, the additional funding will go toward the increase in teacher compensation and portion of it toward buses as we re-think the run schedule. That has always been the message.
There are also other portions from this contract that will benefit our students- some that are guaranteed others that are conversation starters. There are very open questions and subsequent work to do in order to have the adequate details for everyone. I am hoping there is some understanding that not everything is completely figured out because of the work that is needed – but also understand this is opens up significant positive opportunities toward a brighter future.