Leadership Minutes

School Leadership Team Minutes

PS 144 SLT Minutes 1/11/10

Attendance: Reva Schneider, Martha Mayorga, Elizabeth Schneider, Lois Olshan, Liz Morrow, Maria Cognata, Barbara Martin, Amy woo, Jeanne Kwok, Amy Weiss, Tricia Kampton, Lisa Brody, Liz Spears

Agenda: What are the proposed plans for the possible space that will open up if/when the 6th grade is phased out of PS 144? Survey parents feelings on capping PS 144 at 5th grade? Budget Cuts?

Meeting began at 7:06 a.m.

Plans for space when/if 6th grade is phased out of PS 144

Presently there are three 5th grade classes, with about 77 students enrolled in the general education classes. For next year’s 6th grade, the parents will have a variety of options besides PS 144. Options include the Metropolitan Expeditionary Learning School, the various magnet schools, JHS 190, as well as others. It is very likely that  there will be fewer 6th grade students than there are currently in 5th grade. It is assumed that students currently enrolled in the self-contained classes will continue at PS 144 next year.

Fewer students enrolled means fewer teachers. We need more students enrolled to keep our teachers. So the question is what classes to add. The options are adding additional pre-k classes, requesting an additional G&T class (even though there is no guarantee that children who are zoned for PS 144 would be in that class) or adding additional special education classes. There are teachers in the building who are qualified to teach any additional pre-K and G&T classes.

The register projections for the 2010-2011 are done in January 2010. If additional classes are requested from DOE and we receive them and fewer current 5th graders leave or there is a large influx of new students, the use of rooms dedicated to clusters classes could be at risk. Reva stated very clearly that her priority was saving teachers rather than rooms.

Pre-K classes are fully funded by DOE with 18 students in a class. There is always a waiting list for pre-K. These students tend to stay enrolled in the school. G&T classes are funded through the school’s budget, although the school does receive an additional $1200 for the library. The funding for the self-contained special education classes is per student. 120 students in kindergarten through 2nd grade are being tested this month for G&T.
There was a discussion of the needs of the school and the neighborhood and it was decided that Reva would inquire about additional pre-K and G&T classes.

Budget Issues
$137,099 has been cut from the budget this month. $73,566 was a mid-year adjustment for fewer students on the register as of 10/31/09 than were projected. Reva knew this cut was coming and had planned for this. An additional $63,538 was the 1% cut ordered by DOE this month. This cut means that the school is on “austerity” with more limited funds for supplies and extra materials. The biggest impact will be in planning for next year because DOE has ordered that there be no rollover of money from this year’s budget to next year’s budget. The budget will need to be zeroed out this year.

Update (confirmed with Reva) – On 1/14/10 the DOE reversed their position on no rollover in the budget. We will be able to rollover money from this year’s budget to next year’s budget.
Survey Parents’ feelings on capping PS 144 at 5th grade:
Ultimately it is the decision of Superintendent Reed and the DOE whether schools will be capped at 5th grade. The PA will survey the parents to gauge their feelings about PS 144 continuing to 6th grade or capping at 5th.

Next meeting February 8th at 5:30 p.m.

Meeting adjourned at 8:05 a.m.
Submitted by Lisa Brody