Bedford, New Hampshire town and school district annual reports

68 Pages·1996·2.6 MB·English

by  Bedford (N.H. : Town)

Bedford, New Hampshire
Annual Report
1996 School District
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Look To The Future
Support Your Bedford Schools

BEDFORD SCHOOL DISTRICT 1996 ANNUAL REPORT
THIS ANNUAL SCHOOL DISTRICT REPORT
DEDICATED TO MARGARET COMISKEY
IS
FOR HER 21 YEARS OF SERVICE
TO THE SCHOOL DISTRICT AND
THE CHILDREN OF BEDFORD
BEDFORD SCHOOL DISTRICT 1996ANNUAL REPORT
SCHOOL DISTRICT REPORTS
for the Year EndingJune 30, 1996
DISTRICT OFFICERS
MODERATOR
Ryk Bullock 1998
CLERK
Roberta Bergquist 1998
TREASURER
Richard Larson 1998
SCHOOL BOARD
Daniel Sullivan, Chairman 1998
Jeffery Hudson, Vice Chairman 1997
Linda Camarota 1997
Thomas Johnson 1999
Paul Brock 1999
BEDFORD SCHOOL DISTRICT 1996ANNUAL REPORT
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
School Board Report 4
Superintendent's Report 6
PeterWoodbury School 8
Memorial School 10
McKelvie Middle School 12
Senate Bill 2 14
Bedford SchoolDistrict Minutes 16
School District Warrant 28
1997-98 Proposed Budget 30
1997-98 Preliminary Revenues and Credits 32
The Real Cost of Educating
Bedford High School Students 33
Budget Analysis 34
Expense and Revenue Analyses 35
Resident School Enrollments and Bond Maturity Schedule 36
Comparative Enrollments 37
Independent Auditor's Report 38
School District Salaries 56
School District Vendors 59
NOTICE OF NONDISCRIMINATION
Applicants for admission and employment, students, parents, employees, sources of referral of applicants for
admissionand employment,andallunionsorprofessionalorganizationsholdingcollectivebargainingorprofessional
agreementswiththeBedfordSchoolDistrictareherebynotifiedthatthisdistrictdoesnotdiscriminateonthebasisofrace,
color,nationalorigin,sex,age,handicap,disabilityormaritalstatusinadmissionoraccessto,ortreatmentoremployment
in,itsprogramsandactivities.AnypersonhavinginquiriesconcerningtheBedfordSchoolDistrict'scompliancewiththe
regulations implementingTitle VI, Title IX, orSection 504 or ADA is directed to contact Pauline Armstrong, Business
Administrator,SAU#25, 103CountyRoad, Bedford,NH03110, telephone [phone],whohasbeendesignatedby
theBedfordSchoolDistricttocoordinatethedistrict'seffortstocomplywiththeregulationsimplementingTitleVI,Title
IX, Section504, and ADA.
BEDFORD SCHOOL DISTRICT 1996 ANNUAL REPORT
REPORT OF THE
BEDFORD SCHOOL BOARD
Daniel Sullivan, Chairman
This has been an eventful year for the
Bedford School District.
At the conclusion of the March, 1995 An-
nual School District Meeting, we bid adieu to
school board member Margaret Comiskey, a
remarkable public servant who gave twenty-
one years of service to the children of this
community. She continues to serve the school
district as chairperson of the Bedford Educa-
tionalEndowmentFundwhosegoalistobuild
an endowment pool sufficient to assist with
the future educational needs of our children.
During the 1995/96 school year and con- BedfordSchool Board: (left to right)
ThomasJohnson, Daniel Sullivan,]efferyHudson,
tinuing into 1996/97, our most important ob- Linda Camarota, andPaul Brock.
jective hasbeenthe expectation ofhigheredu-
cational achievement across the district. Our
Bedford 8th grade students took the Interna-
students are being challenged as neverbefore
tional Math Test. Bedford scored #1 when
tomeetincreasinglydemanding,objectivestan-
dards. Our administration and teaching staff compared to fifteen industrial countries; the
USA score was 14th of 15. State test scores at
have spent countless hours putting in play a
revised curriculum frameworkfor each grade grade3continueto improve. Thenew6thand
10th grade tests establish a baseline to which
we can expect similar improvement. A newly
preparedbooklettitledDimensionsofQuality
DID YOU KNOW? is available at the Superintendent's Office to
specifically demonstrate our progress.
A multi-yearcontractwasnegotiated with
• All three schools were selected as the Bedford Education Association. This con-
recipientsoftheBlueRibbonSchool tract, forthefirsttime,callsfornegotiatingand
Achievement Award for out- implementing a performance based compen-
standing volunteer support from sation plan for our teaching staff.
parents and community.
TheeighthgradersatMcKelvieSchoolwill
have the opportunity to compete in the FIRST
• MIThas projected thatbytheyear (formerly known as U.S. FIRST) science com-
2001, the world's knowledge will
petition.Thiscameaboutasaresultofarecom-
double every 11 hours. This is the mendation to do so from David Walch, a
world in which we will work and Bedford parent. We wish to thank the spon-
forwhichwearepreparingtoday's
sors Robert Schaberle, Tony Halvatsis, and
students. JohnEffenbergerwhohaveassisted thisinitia-
tive with their support. It is fitting that our
students face such a challenge since the
program'sdesigner,DeanKamen,isaBedford
level. Our desire is to provide parents with resident.
performanceresultswhichareclearlyidentifi- Wehavefacedanothersignificantincrease
able for their children. We have numerous in our special education budget. It was sug-
results over the past year which demonstrate gested that we contact our Congressional rep-
that we are indeed succeeding. Recently resentatives for assistance in this area. The
BEDFORD SCHOOL DISTRICT 1996 ANNUAL REPORT
board hasmetwithallfourCongressmenand a specific, no strings attached, grant from the
the dialogue was mutually rewarding. They Goals 2000 program. We were successful in
expressedsincereinterestinassistingthrough competing with other school district propos-
future legislative initiatives. als and received a grant in the amount of
It is appropriateto say a few words about $126,910. This grant is off budget and use is
the 1996/97budgetandthedeficitthe district restricted to the enhancement of our technol-
has incurred. The major contributors to the ogy plan.
deficit and the 1997/98 budget increases are We are pleased to note that Manchester
highschoolspecialeducationcostsandtuition High SchoolWesthasregained fullaccredita-
payments to the Manchester School District tion.
forourhighschoolstudents. We planned and We have begun the review and consider-
budgeted for 1996/97 expenses based on ad- ation for a new elementary school so as to
vicefromManchesterandstudentenrollment reasonably and responsibly prepare for the
projectiondata.Unfortunately,actualexpenses future.
incurred exceeded what we were told to plan
Lastly, but most importantly, the board
for due to an increase in high school students
wishestothanktheteachingandsupportstaff
and Manchester's cost per student.
for an outstandingjob. The teacher remains
Thisschool districtcontinuestomovefor- this community's most valued asset.
wardwithacoherentandcomprehensivetech-
nology program. Theboard voted to support
-&-*
£M7£
Learningbasicskills.
Illustratedby
KatieDittmer,grade6
BEDFORD SCHOOL DISTRICT 1996ANNUAL REPORT
REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT
OF SCHOOLS
To share all the assessment results are be-
Dennis Pope yond the scope of this report. However, a
J.
booklet titled, Dimensions of Quality, was
TEAM. "Together Everyone Achieves completed in the Spring of 1996, and contains
More" is a .c.oncept which has served the a great deal of assessment data. The second
Bedford School District well. The importance edition willbe available in the Spring of 1997,
of everyone continuing to work together to andsharedwiththeschoolboardandcommu-
cause quality education is greater than ever. nity.
Parents,schoolboardmembers,staff, commu- High School Options Study
nity members, and students must not only
In April, 1996, the High School Options
expect and worktowards achieving the high-
est possible standards, everyone must make StudyCommitteepresenteditsyear-longstudy
report to the school board. The seventy-one
education a top priority.
page, comprehensive report was written in
response to a March, 1995 referendum.
The committee's detailed research and in-
vestigationresultedinfourmajorconclusions.
First, theyconcluded thattherearefourviable
optionsforeducatingBedfordhighschoolstu-
dents (grades 9-12).
They are:
• Continue our current tuition contract
with the Manchester School District
which allows our students to attend
Manchester High School West.
• Negotiate a joint, AREA, or cooperative
highschoolagreementwithNewBoston.
• Initiate a Bedford-only high school.
Illustratedby
KoriKaramanoogian,grade4 • Create a voucher system for high school
education.
Second, the committee studied and ulti-
mately rejected a number of other options.
Third, the committee also concluded that it
Assessment
wouldbeprematuretorecommendoneoption
TheBedford SchoolDistrictadministers a overthe otherwithout additional information
number of assessment instruments to deter- which would be needed to make a fully in-
mine student achievement. Duringthe 1995/ formedandwisedecision.Fourth,thecommit-
96 school year, students were assessed using tee concluded that Bedford should notbe sat-
district,state,national,andinternationaltests. isfiedwithitschosenhighschooloptionunless
The students performed very well and when and until the Bedford School Board and the
used as one indicator of quality, the results town reach consensus on its desired academic
demonstrate that our students are learning and community goals, develop cost projec-
andachievingtohighstandards.Itisafactthat tions, and then evaluate each option.
no single test can measure everything taught The school board studied the report, held
and learned in school; however, when mul- aninformationalpublicmeeting,andformally
tiple tests and assessment methods are used votedtoacceptthereportwhichwascomplete
appropriatelytoobtainobjectivedata,thepub- and responsive to the charge. Copies of the
lic, parents, staff, and students can be confi- reportweredistributedandmadeavailablefor
dent that the results are a good barometer of review at the Bedford School District office,
how well high standards are being met. schoollibraries,townoffices,andtownlibrary.
.
BEDFORD SCHOOL DISTRICT 1996 ANNUAL REPORT
Parent Survey Special Recognition and Thanks
Duringthe1995/96schoolyear,everypar- At the Annual School District Meeting in
ent of students in grades K-8 was asked to March, 1996, school board member Margaret
complete a parent survey. The parental re- Comiskey was recognized for her 21 years of
—
sponsewasoverwhelming 1768parentsout dedicated servicetotheschool districtandthe
of approximately 2056 completed the survey. childrenofBedford. I wishtoexpressaspecial
An outstanding 86% return! note of thanks for her dedication, commit-
The survey data was most helpful. It was ment, and extended years of services to the
reviewed and used bystaffto assess howwell childrenandtheeducationalsysteminBedford
thedistrictisalignedwithparentthinkingand Shemadesignificantcontributionsandalways
expectations. The survey reinforced that the putchildren and education firstwhenmaking
Bedford citizenshave reason tobeveryproud a decision.
oftheir schools. In closing, I would liketothankthe school
Last year this report highlighted the board fortheircommitmenttohighstandards
"ED"ies - the NH Excellence in Education and quality education, school employees for
Awards received by the Peter Woodbury and theirhardwork,successand caringaboutchil-
McKelvie Schools. They were selected as one dren, volunteers for their extraordinary help,
of the best of the best in New Hampshire. and thecitizensofBedford fortheircontinued
Parents (89%/1579ofthem) responded on the supportandcooperationinmeetingtheexpec-
surveythattheyaresatisfied withtheirchild's tation of excellence in our schools.
educational program and graded the schools Francis Koppel said, "Education is too im-
"A" or "B;" only 6% graded the schools "C;" portanttobeleftsolelytotheeducators." There-
and 1% gave a "D." There were no "Fs." fore, let us TEAM! Together we will achieve
The top priority for parents (92%) was more! Togetherwe will make significantcon-
clearly "helping students learn how to use tributions to the education and well-being of
computers and other technologies." The next children!
three areas which parents said the schools
should giveprioritytowere"helpingstudents
prepare for college/choose careers" (85%);
"providing training that helps teachers and
administrators keep up-to-date" (82%); and
"helping students learnjob skills" (65%).
95% of the parents agreed that "students
should be assessed regularly to see if they are
making progress." This data reinforces the
district's commitment to a comprehensive as-
sessment program which provides objective
data on student academic achievement.
The completed surveys provided two
pieces of data which showed that parents are
not in agreement in every area. Only 413 par-
ents (23%) agreed that students should be as-
signed more homework; 982 (56%) disagreed.
Parents were divided on whether schools
"should be tougher" with 803 (45%) agreeing
and 623 (35%) disagreeing. Continued dia- Superintendent Dennis Popeivorkingwithstudentsat
logue on these two areas will provide under- Peter Woodbury usingtechnology in theclassroom.
standing and direction.
.
8 BEDFORD SCHOOL DISTRICT 1996 ANNUAL REPORT
PETER WOODBURY SCHOOL
Kenneth Williams, Principal
The 1995/96 school year was highlighted • Technology:
withcurriculumdevelopment,instructionand In collaboration with the computer
learning opportunities that were enhanced teacher and coordinator, teachers in all
withthe use oftechnology, and activitiesthat gradelevelscontinuedtointegratetech-
fostered school-community involvement. nology in daily teaching and learning
opportunities. Students communicated
withothersaroundtheworldandshared
informationabouttheircommunityand
school. Second grade students submit-
teddatatotheUniversityofKansasfora
research project on monarch butterflies,
noting observations gained in our
school's "Butterfly Garden." Lesson
planning and instruction featured the
use ofmulti-media stations in the class-
rooms as research and learning tools.
Much effort was also dedicated to the
upgradeofthenetworkand totheselec-
tionofprogramsthatareavailabletoour
students and teachers.
Volunteer Program:
Principal WilliamsandAsst. Principal Kettenring NH
Recognized by the Partners in Edu-
workingwith 1stgraderson theirmathskills.
cation Program, the Peter Woodbury
School'svolunteerprogram received its
Highlights ofthe School Year sixth Blue Ribbon Achievement Award
Included for the exemplary partnership between
. . parents,communitymembers,teachers,
• Curriculum: In consort with educators andstaff.Congratulationsandthankyou
throughout the Bedford School District, to our volunteers for their dedication to
ourteachers were involved in the initial and support of children and learning.
phasesofcurriculumdevelopment.Data
gathered through varied assessment 1School Visitations:
tools,reviewofnationaleducationalstan- Educatorsfromschooldistrictsthrough-
dards, and community input guided the out New England continued to observe
development of performance bench- our school's initiatives in reading and
marks. Our efforts in this initiative cen- technology. School districts involved
tered on: were Merrimack, Amherst, Milford,
Windham, Weare, New Ipswich,
- Whatdowewantourstudentstolearn?
Raymond, Hooksett, Nashua,
- Whatskillsdowewantourstudentsto Peterborough, Dover, Lyndeborough,
possess? Hampstead, Keene, Bow, Mt. Vernon,
- What will we do to ensure that our Laconia, Belmont, Jaffrey-Rindge,
schoolsarelearningenvironmentsthat Atkinson,Byfield,MA.,Clarksburg,MA,
support higher standards and higher Ipswich,MA,Rowley,MA,Beverly,MA,
levels of thinking? and Wardsboro, VT.