Eliminating elementary teaching positions and a proposed middle school resource officer, while including a new math interventionist and world language teachers at Rundlett, the Concord School Board made a balance of cuts and additions to its draft budget at the final workshopping session Monday. 

Several board members pinned their individual targets at a 3% maximum increase to the tax rate. If the board approves the budget with the latest additions, it will just meet that goal, according to estimates presented at the meeting.  This newest version of the budget would mean Concord’s educational tax rate would rise $0.44 to $15.62 — a 2.9% increase.

Board members voted unanimously against adding a school resource office at the middle school, citing public opposition to the proposal. 

“I feel more positive about the SROs than some people do. But I’ve also not had anyone email me begging me for the SRO and we have to listen to people that reach out to us,” board member Barbara Higgins said. 

While board members left the door open for future reconsideration of the request made by the middle school principal, they characterized it as currently unnecessary. 

“I see it as a want, not a need, especially at a time when we're really crunched on what we need,” board member Cara Meeker said.

Board members and the public raised questions during the budget process about the exact responsibilities and boundaries of a school resource officer in Concord schools – information they said they needed before deciding to pay almost $100,000 a year for one.

In a parallel move, the board determined the addition of one full-time “floater” nurse was more of a need than a want. During budget workshops, district school nurses described feeling overstretched: any absence can lead to an unmanageable workload for the remaining nurses, causing them to frequently skip meals during the day and fall behind on required records and paperwork. The new nurse would be available as a constant substitute or additional support.

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In a tight vote, the board decided to remove three additional teaching positions at the elementary level — bringing the total decrease to four. 

As the student population continues to shrink, the district had the opportunity to reduce the number of elementary school teachers and still stay within target class sizes. For the last several years, the district has been able to lower staffing levels without layoffs by not filling vacancies from retirements and resignations. While continuing that practice, the board decided to accelerate the taper by eliminating three more elementary teaching positions — with the locations of those cuts left to the superintendent’s judgment — on top of one already planned at Beaver Meadow School. 

The 5-4 vote in favor of this move was the most divisive of the evening: several wanted a more measured reduction. Those supporting the subtractions emphasized the savings for taxpayers and argued that, since the reductions would come from vacancies, it would be easier to add more staff later if needed than to hire someone now and risk having to make future cuts.

“It’s definitely not an ideal situation, but I’d much rather move through attrition than be cutting positions that are active,” board member Sarah Robinson said. “I think that is a balanced way to look at how we can responsibly reduce.” 

With two staff requests to add educators, the board found some middle ground. 

As part of a plan to expand the world language program at Rundlett, administrators requested two additional full-time language teachers. 

With the superintendent’s recommendation, the board decided to move forward with one, for now, to get the new program off the ground.

“We get our foot in the door,” Murphy said. 

Math coaches, who worked with teachers on improving student outcomes, originaly were paid for with federal pandemic money and were continued last year in the budget when that funding expired. This year, staff asked the board to hire two math interventionists who would work directly with both teachers and students. Instead, the board opted to hire just one who will focus specifically on the middle school. The district already has a math specialist who works closely with elementary schools and a math department head at Concord High.

By funding math coaches and increasing tutors in the past, Concord has tried to overcome learning loss without huge payoffs, board members said, and they emphasized that such positions were meant to be lapsing. 

“Last budget cycle, we did say ‘this is a one and done.’ We didn’t want to cliff out from ESSER funding so badly that we left educators in a lurch,” Robinson said. “It was a valuable position, but, you know, ESSER funds disappeared.”

The district is continuing efforts to bring students up to speed, including by making changes to its math curriculum this year, but extra support staff may no longer be part of the equation.

“We should not think that we are done addressing COVID — those kids are way behind,” Board President Pamela Walsh said.  “We have a problem but we don’t really have a solution to it.”

The updated $107,910,191 budget is $98,440 lower than initially proposed and carries a 1.6% increase over last year. 

Getting one more chance to pencil in tweaks, the board will vote on whether to approve the fiscal year 2025 budget, which goes into effect July 1, Wednesday night. While the board can amend an approved budget well into the fall, such changes require the support of seven of its nine members.