Saturday, November 1, 2014

High Cost Of Amherst Education

 Amherst Regional High School

Last Spring with almost no discussion Amherst Town Meeting approved an elementary school budget of $21,490,563 and a Regional School Budget (grades 7-12) of $29,618,478.

Just those two budget items alone swallowed up 52% of total town spending, and are a major contributor to Amherst's crushingly high property tax rates.

The Regional School budget was also approved by Pelham, Leverett and Shutesbury, our partner towns in the joint educational enterprise grades 7-12.  Although Amherst makes up 88% of the Region.

The Amherst Pelham Regional School Committee recently heard an enrollment update as of October 1st.  For the Region, 1,472 students.  Now divide that into the total operation budget and it works out to $20,121 average cost per student for this fiscal year FY15 (ends this coming June 30).

State average is around $14,000.  Now multiply that extra $6,000 or so we spend per student times 1,476 students: an additional $8,868,000. 

For the elementary school the figure is either $17,760 cost per student IF you include Kindergarten (1,210 total) or $18,770 per student if you do not (1,145 total).  State average is around $14,000.


And those exceedingly high average costs figures are only going to escalate as our population growth stagnates, and Charter and Vocational schools continue stealing away students at an alarming rate. 

If an ARPS student attends the Chinese Charter School in Hadley that costs the sending district their average cost per student, or $20,121 (once the state officially certifies that 2014 figure); but if a Hadley student comes to ARPS via School Choice, that brings with him/her only $5,000. 

 75 students leaving ARPS, taking with them  $20K in funding per student

Almost 90% of the school budget goes towards payroll.   For most taxpayers the first thing that comes to mind regarding "schools" is "teachers".

Interestingly the average teacher salary at ARPS, according to the state DOE website, is $75,452 -- not much over state average, which Boston Business Journal reports to be around $69,000.

It's even a closer match if you use HR Director Kathy Mazur's average salary figure of $70,557 for the Region.  Although the Region does have a lower student/teacher ratio than state average: 11.7 to 1 vs state average of 13.6 to 1.



So where does all the money go that leads to such a high average cost per student?  Surely not the paraprofessionals, janitors or lunch ladies.

 ARPS 2012 average cost  per student of $18,026 vs state average of $13,636 note higher cost of "administration"

The Amherst Regional Public Schools (1,478 students 7-12) have a bevy of administrators in the $100K club:

Maria Geryk $159,150
Mark Jackson $135,803
Faye Brady $121,147
Marta Guevara $116,821
Mike Morris $115,879
Maria Mendonsa $110,000
Miki Gromacki $106,578
Joanne Smith $106,336
Ron Bohonowicz $104,487
Kathy Mazur $100,767
Michael Malone $100,290


Northampton, with similar student enrollments (1,335 students 7-12), has only two administrators making over $100,000:  Superintendent John Provost and Director of Student Services Laurie Farkas.

Hmm ...

49 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh land of entitlement, how I adore the...

Anonymous said...

What is the total number of administrators?

Anonymous said...

http://beasti.tumblr.com/post/101497602140/weighing-in-on-the-rt-9-diner

This us off topic but I wanted you to see this Larry

Anonymous said...

Larry,

What happened to Rhonda Cohen? She was a member of the club. Is she still at ARPS?

Larry Kelley said...

She still around, but not quite in the $100K club. She's currently at $98,375.

And of course Nick Yaffe didn't make the club either but he's pretty close at $99,250.

Anonymous said...

4:00pm anon:

That kind of harassment is par for the course in food service, I'm afraid, and it's been going on since I got my first job at a Catholic church "home" for retired priests in Boston. I was sexually harassed by cooks, staff, managers and of course the priests.

At least the cooks didn't reach into your pants, which they did to me.

Oh yea, I'm a guy

Anonymous said...

Just think what the per pupil cost will be after the half million dollar payment to Carolyn Gardner.

Larry Kelley said...

Yeah, we've paid out some big ones over the past fives or six years.

Schools still refuse to release those documents even though the Public Records Division in Boston told them to.

Anonymous said...

If the eleven administrators you listed worked for $1.00 per year the per pupil cost of education in Amherst would decrease by about $471.00 per pupil per year.

Larry Kelley said...

Don't forget employee benefits costs.

Anonymous said...

Why are our Operations and Maintenance costs 42% higher than the state average in terms of per pupil expenditures?

How many custodians do we have and how does that compare to other similarly sized districts? How much do custodians here make compared to other school districts?

I know custodians make terrible scapegoats and all, but.........

Larry Kelley said...

Actually I think they laid one off not too long ago.

Anonymous said...


& aren't there other ARPS administrators in the $90,000+ plus club too?

& how much do benefits cost for the $100K club?

Our avg teacher salaries aren't bad, considering the lower cost of living here compared to eastern Mass, & the fact that the teachers' annual salaries aren't for a whole 12 months. Don't all the administrators listed in the $100K have year-round salaries, not just for the school year plus.

Anonymous said...

Do the ARPS average student costs include buses costs for tranport to and from school?

If so, it doesn't seem like it would be fair for the charter school payments per student to be equal to the per student costs since charter schools don't provide transportation?

The state does reimburse for some, but not all regional school busing costs generally.

Anonymous said...

9:11 PM: Not to mention the large number of specially equipped forms of transportation and drivers the Amherst public schools provide for students with physical and intellectual disabilities. The big yellow school buses are a fraction of transportation costs. A lot of parentsof students with physical disabilities--I would guess most--choose public schools over charter or private schools.

The money we spend on the kids with disabilities is some of the best spent money as well, in my opinion.

I suppose you could start to look at what we spend to transport the many sports teams to and from games throughout the year, compared to private and charter schools, as well.

Anonymous said...

We can look the the numbers, fret, frown and present budget saving ideas but the Powers That Be know that school budget passes each year without any scrutiny.

Larry Kelley said...

They do it "for the kids" of course. For the kids.

Anonymous said...

And the janitors.

prof RM said...

School are like cops, you only need so many of them, sometimes you don't need them at all, but you cannot argue against them because of those that have taken on these groups as religions. The religion is that your money belongs to police and administrators, they can leave you what they don't use.

My family lives on close to $20k a year. What kind of fantasy is this where we could have public spending per student on the order of $300k to get a HS diploma, Most high school students wont take that home again for as as many or more years than it takes them to go through Amherst schools. And they have to pay for the next round of students.

This is called theft.

Anonymous said...

High pay, high taxes and average results.

Anonymous said...

At what point will the bottom fall out?

Anonymous said...

My child is now able to count with his fingers. Amherst is doing a great job.

Anonymous said...

what are the town's costs of employee benefits of the $100K and near $100K club ($95,000+ salaries)? Not only do these employees cost the district & town more now, but won't they be making higher salaries in retirement too?

Can we afford this?

Anonymous said...

"We" can afford it, the question is can YOU? You might need to start thinking about selling the house your mother sold to you for $1.00.

Anonymous said...

at least most of the $100K salaries are for administrators whose positions are for 12 months per year.

some of the long-term teachers, who don't have 12 month salaries, make almost as much on a per month basis.

Anonymous said...

Maria Geryk (whether you like her or not), is paid in line with previous superintendents, so she should not be counted. But if you lopped $20,000 each off of the other 11, you would only save $220,000. Someone has to do these jobs, so its not like you can just bellyache that we are spending over a million that we shouldn't be.

Larry Kelley said...

"Only $220,000"?! How many police or firefighters would that fund?

Anonymous said...

didn't most of the other recent superintendents in the district have doctorate degrees. Ms. Geryk does not.

Anonymous said...

the ARPS central administration is growing at the same time the student population is falling. Are all those $90-100+K jobs in the central administration really necessary?

Anonymous said...

Administrators in this town particularly should make at least what the best paid cops make per year, which is over $100,000. Most of the time a cop's work is cruising, paperwork, directing traffic while tree workers risk their lives, telling kids to quiet down. The difficult and stressful parts make up a tiny, tiny percentage of their shifts.

Also school personnel should get a fitness gym with with machines and weights like the cops get, having fit and healthy public servants helps everyone and results in better employees.

Anonymous said...

Doctorate degrees in this district are worth $2,500 per year. That's the going rate. Not worth the time or money to get one, better to just go do the work, like Maria did.

Anonymous said...

"Only $220,000"?! How many police or firefighters would that fund?"

Two.

Anonymous said...

Folks who get their doctorate and then get compensated for it at the rate of $2,500/year will never recoup the time and monetary cost of the degree, it's impossible, getting a PhD over getting real experience is an unfortunate ruse these days. Does anyone really think writing a paper for ten years makes you a more effective leader?

A-Rod had an EdD. Dr. Ed has one.

Larry Kelley said...

Actually the starting pay for a new PD or FD hire is a little under $45k, so double that.

Dr. Ed said...

"Folks who get their doctorate and then get compensated for it at the rate of $2,500/year will never recoup the time and monetary cost of the degree, it's impossible, getting a PhD over getting real experience is an unfortunate ruse these days. Does anyone really think writing a paper for ten years makes you a more effective leader?"

This is why I believe that UMass is on borrowed time -- the same thing applies to all lesser degrees as well. People are now just starting to realize that the "College Degree" isn't what it was in earlier generations, that it is no longer the "ticket to the good life" and, frankly, not worth a whole lot.

So why go to UMass? Because you are treated so well or because Amherst is such a student-friendly town?

This is why I think that UM will implode, with the rest of the rental housing going to Section 8 rentals -- and then think of what your school budget will become...

NB: Bill Cosby has a UM EdD as well.

Anonymous said...

That's pay, but you have to include the costs of benefits too. The rule of thumb is that an employee costs twice their pay when you factor it benefits.

Larry Kelley said...

Just comparing apples to apples. The numbers shown for administrators do NOT include benefits, which I believe ads about another 40%

Anonymous said...

Do Northampton schools have the same number and types of central administrative positions? Also, what do all these people do? Any job descriptions?

Anonymous said...

I think the point is that our tax rate is not "crushing" because of $220,000 spread among all our taxpayers.

Anonymous said...

Ed, you live in such a fantasyland. All those doctorate recipients in robotics, polymer science, and chemical engineering will do just fine. However, your degree can't overcome your negative, self-absorbed personality.

Anonymous said...

The attached payroll chart clearly identifies that many of the administrators you listed work for at least 2, if not all three districts. It is not an accurate representation of the salaries for the regional schools.

Anonymous said...

I find it interesting that there are a number of teachers working 10 month contracts who are paid between $70K and $80K. There is no denying the importance of their role with students, but administrative responsibilities warrant comparable pay plus. If you calculate the month average for these teachers at 10 months they are making between $7K and $8K per month. Add two more months on and they would be in the $84K to $96K range. Seems to me that the yearly salaries of administrators with a lot more responsibilities is not unrealistic.

Anonymous said...

The numbers shown for teachers do not appear to include benefits either. Is that right Larry?

Larry Kelley said...

Right.

Anonymous said...

Anon 5:43 pm:
I think your points relate to why there is so much turnover in the district at the school principal level. Principals have some of the hardest jobs in the district & so many responsibilities & long-term teachers have almost the same monthly salaries as principals do. It wouldn't make me want to be a principal either.

Dr. Ed said...

"All those doctorate recipients in robotics, polymer science, and chemical engineering will do just fine. "

Exactly how many of them were born in this country? What do you think is going to happen as China, India and other countries start building their own universities -- as they currently are starting to do...

Notwithstanding that, exactly what percentage of the student body do they constitute? What would UMass look like if it were only them still on campus?!?

And when you have a research overhead in excess of 50%, it starts looking better to the bean counters to do your research in-house. So what if you can't offer academic degrees -- you can invent/offer your own, the IT field has been doing that for a couple of decades now. (e.g. https://www.novell.com/training/certinfo/)

So tell me again how my "negative, self-absorbed personality" is in any way relevant to the tens of thousands of high school students (and their parents) who are looking at UMass in a way that previous generations of applicants haven't.

Anonymous said...

Anon 5:43 makes a strong point Larry so why the calling out of the administrators? Couldn't pay me enough to work in the hostile community you have as evidenced by the commenters.

Anonymous said...

I believe that the administrative load expands to fit the number of administrators. Just like any bureaucracy. The only risk of firing administrators is that parents cannot find a ready ear quickly. Many parents will give up as soon as their overheated, "protect little Johnny" emotions cool down. I would like to see their salaries diverted to pay more DPW workers to literally clean up this town. It is a pigsty. Look at almost any photo and you will see detritus, decay, and lack of maintenance.

Anonymous said...

To Nov. 4, @11:25

Maybe if the existing DPW staff were deployed well, we would have a cleaner town. I just passed 4 employees on the bike path. One was painting lines, three were watching, the truck was empty and idling.

How much does that cost Amherst per hour? fully loaded ?? $150 plus machinery, wasted fuel and pollution?