Norwich Board Chair

“There is no education like adversity.” BENJAMIN DISRAELI

 

Last year I began my letter for the Annual Report with the following: “It’s difficult to make predictions – especially about the future.” – Unknown

Well, here we are. I think it’s safe to say no one predicted what 2020 delivered. Entering into the year, we had ambitious plans to take on a comprehensive, district-wide, strategic planning process. We also intended to make significant progress toward a recommendation for a replacement to the current septic system in order to resolve the issues we’ve seen at the Marion Cross School (MCS). Alas, the COVID-19 pandemic came to the Upper Valley within two weeks of Town Meeting Day and our focus shifted entirely.

The challenges were many and daunting, for all walks of life, but we proved that commitment to small town civic responsibility can prevail. We saw it all throughout Norwich and the Upper Valley and we certainly saw it within our school system. For the remainder of the 2019-20 school year, MCS and the other schools throughout SAU70 shifted to fully remote learning. Our administrators oversaw an effort that needed to reconsider how we approached educating our children within one week’s time. Our teachers adapted their curriculum to meet the need in short order. Our bus drivers and volunteers helped distribute lesson plans, as well as food and technology when needed. Everyone came together.

With no end to the pandemic in sight, everyone mobilized for a full 2020-21 school year of dealing with the pandemic, but ideally doing so in-person, as we determined that would be best for our students. Guided by healthcare experts within our community and the sheer will and determination of our administrators, teachers, and staff, we forged ahead with a full summer of planning for a return to the schools, while following new sets of protocols that included: social distancing, masks, enhancements to the infrastructure, and intensified cleaning practices. Again, all came together.

In addition to the pandemic, which seemed all encompassing, our educators taught within the context of an extremely turbulent time, with political and racial divisions at the forefront of current events. Long needing addressing nationwide, the efforts for greater education on matters of diversity, equity, and inclusion were bolstered by the needless deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, among many others, and the continuing injustices faced by people of color. At the start of the school year, district personnel began engaging in equity training. This will be an ongoing process. This training underway in SAU70 also will have an impact on future curriculum development as we return to our strategic planning process this year.

Over the course of the past year, we asked a great deal of our school district staff, from administrators to teachers to support staff to buildings and grounds staff. We asked a great deal of our parents and students too. And we asked a lot of our community. As we present next year’s school budget to you, we realize we are, again, asking for a great deal of support.

By our current calculations, our Norwich tax rate (which includes both the Marion Cross School’s budget and the Dresden assessment – the cost of supporting our 7-12th grade students) is set to increase by 14 cents, 8% more than the current tax rate. This significant rise is in spite of efforts to keep budgets in check. The Marion Cross School budget is actually down .16% from last year and the Dresden budget is increasing by only 1.37%. The most significant change in the MCS budget is tied to personnel needs for the upcoming year addressing enrollment, with a reduction in special education assistants and an increase in regular education teachers, which accommodates an increase in the Pre-K program from a half to full-day offering. We are still working to settle contracts with our teachers and support staff for both the current year and next year. We also are asking you to pass a warrant article for funds to address significant shortcomings of the District’s current technology infrastructure, some of which is obsolete, or outdated by 10+ years; shortcomings made more apparent as our reliance on technology vastly increased. If passed, the funds associated with this article will not affect next year’s tax rate, but will impact the following year.

The driving factors of the tax rate increase are threefold and, largely, out of our control. They include: 1) changes to the homestead property yield set by the State; 2) another dramatic decrease in the Common Level of Appraisal (CLA), down 4% to 90.28%, following a similar drop of 4% last year (a 100% CLA denotes a calculation that properties are assessed right at value); and 3) a larger portion of the Dresden Assessment attributed to Norwich, as our percentage of students in 7-12th grade has risen. This year the shift is having a significant impact on the net education spending per pupil, which is resulting in a 6% increase overall. Please see the SAU70 website for additional information on the budget. All documents are available through the “Business and Finance Department” pages.

Though our progress on replacing the MCS septic system has been slowed somewhat due to the need to focus on the challenges imposed by the pandemic, we have been moving ahead in our assessment and hope to have an article included for next year’s Town Meeting. To address the issues of the septic in the short term, we have begun pumping the tanks every 1-2 weeks throughout the cold weather months. We are leaving most of the options for a new system open as we continue our assessment, which includes the possibility of other locations in town, including the Dresden fields, potential alternative systems (e.g., eco-machines), and will continue to discuss whether Hartford would consider a connection to their wastewater treatment system.

This past year has come with many challenges, but it also has illustrated the strength of our community and its ability to come together to provide the best for our students. While the outlook has often seemed daunting, I’m inspired by our collective efforts to seek out real, positive, change and while I know we’ve learned from this year’s adversity (as Disraeli’s quote would suggest), as another Benjamin noted, I’m sure out of this adversity will come opportunity. As always, thank you for your support.

—Tom Candon, Chair, Norwich School Board