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Proposed Noble Intermediate School staffing changes draw concern over intervention cuts
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Summary
Administrators described proposed cuts and reassignments at Noble Intermediate School, including reduction of an intervention coordinator and other roles; school leader Mike said interventionists' work has driven large reductions in behavioral incidents and cautioned cuts could erode gains.
MSAD 60 administrators and board members spent a substantial portion of the March 12 workshop discussing proposed staffing changes at Noble Intermediate School (NIS), including reductions that district leaders said are necessary to reach budget targets.
Mike, the NIS leader, outlined proposed position adjustments that would remove one sixth-grade teacher and reassign or reduce a set of student-support roles, including a behavior interventionist and an intervention coordinator; an unfilled restorative-justice EdTech position also would not be filled. "We understand we have a responsibility to our community to navigate the tax situation and also to put a school out there that can do what it's supposed to do," Mike said, describing a range of trade-offs.
Mike emphasized the role intervention staff have played at NIS, citing longitudinal data showing dramatic reductions in suspensions, referrals and chronic absenteeism after those positions were added. "Our data is staggering," he said, describing declines in referrals and suspension incidents compared with prior years. Several board members said they supported protecting at least some intervention positions and asked for data showing academic as well as behavioral impacts.
Board members pressed for details on how the school would operate after the reconfiguration. Mike described a shift to an elementary staffing model (K—6) with flexible team configurations and said the proposed plan would allow the school to open in the fall with the adjusted staffing levels. He also agreed to provide visuals comparing behavioral data before and after the intervention program for the board's next meeting.
Several trustees and staff noted that some positions proposed for reduction would be repurposed elsewhere in the district, and administrators said some moves are budget-neutral at the building level though they change FTE distributions. The board asked staff to produce clearer before-and-after staffing visuals and the behavioral metrics requested by members before the next workshop.
Next steps: administrators will provide a visual comparison of behavioral data and a staffing "before and after" for the board's next meeting; the board will continue deliberations at upcoming budget workshops.
