After Override, My Schools Plan Raises Expectation: Lavender Bird

The following was submitted by Jackie Lavender Bird. Let your voice be heard by signing up for a free account and posting.

As students across Melrose kick off their new school year, it’s important to talk about the significant investment our community made this past spring by voting to support an override. For the first time in years, we have a school budget that is whole and does not need to wait on anticipated revenue to be balanced. Our teachers are returning to work with a new contract that prioritizes competitive salaries, professional development and retention. Our buildings are full, with opportunity to add space at the Beebe School as we prepare for increased student enrollment. Our classrooms are fully staffed with positions to meet the increased number of students and restoring roles lost in previous cuts, all critical to deliver the educational program our students deserve.

But the override investment does not come without increased responsibility and accountability. While we raised our property taxes, we must also raise our expectations for our schools. We cannot return to the constant refrains that have concerned us in the past, including lack of communication from school leadership, unclear decision making processes, and a school budget with no context that is hard to understand; all things that keep our community from being able to fully invest in our school department’s success. With our financial situation in order, it is time to get to the real work of school improvement.

As mayor, I will work side by side with the school committee and district leaders to prioritize five areas for improvement in our schools: financial accountability for our investment, comprehensive long-term space planning, clear communication and decision making processes, student safety in our buildings and on our streets, and increased efficiencies with shared services across our city departments.

Financial Accountability

• Ensure the school budget accounts for each dollar of increased tax revenue and matches the promises made in the override ballot question.
• Maximize and communicate the impact of our community’s increased investment.
• Advocate for increased state education funding to provide resources for currently unfunded state mandates and to benefit our local revenue structure.

Long-Term Space Planning

• Engage the school building committee and related department heads to create a long-term plan for space use across the city.
• Ensure plans match long-term student enrollment projections.
• Employ a community engagement process prior to making a decision on how best to utilize the Beebe School space, to fully explore all options.

Communication

• Provide regular updates on progress and impact of the override investment to make sure the community stays informed and engaged in its success.
• Ensure school leadership proactively communicates with families and community members about upcoming decisions and potential changes affecting students.

Student Safety

• With space available in the Beebe School, update our kindergarten placement process to ensure people do not have to cross the city to get to school.
• Ensure walking routes are marked with crosswalks, monitored during commute time and traffic laws enforced to ensure pedestrian safety.
• Support the Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition and school leaders to curb the use of illegal substances.
• Collaborate with community organizations including the Melrose Alliance Against Violence and the Melrose Human Rights Commission to support an inclusive environment for all students and staff.

Efficiencies and Shared Services

• Explore opportunities for increased efficiencies with shared services from our city human resource and finance departments, as we already do with the health, technology and legal departments.
• Build a technology plan that responds to the constantly evolving need for infrastructure, hardware, and software system upgrades to keep current.
• Prioritize Capital Improvement Plan projects for school buildings as well as ongoing maintenance for existing facilities to avoid deferred maintenance problems in the future.