Superintendent outlines shared-services budget, student-support programs and staffing shifts

Superintendent Richie Smith and Business Administrator Mark Friedman told FinCom that the Superintendent’s Shared Services (Central Office) budget is allocated regionally and then by enrollment; Tisbury’s allocation increased the Central Office impact on the Tisbury School budget by about 0.28 percent. Smith framed the Central Office role around student supports, curriculum alignment and staff development.

Smith highlighted initiatives including adoption of the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt K–5 literacy curriculum to standardize elementary instruction across the island; expanded co-teaching models to keep special-education students in classrooms; the Multi-Tiered Support System (MTSS) for struggling students; and Collaborative Problem Solving (CPS) and Safety Care training to reduce behavioral incidents. He told members that CSTAG currently supports more than 60 students in partnership with Martha's Vineyard Community Services and that many programs are sustained by over $1 million in grants.

Smith and Friedman described contractual and staffing drivers: a $10,482,370 Central Office budget (up 7.73%) that includes negotiated salary increases and health-insurance planning (estimated at 15 percent). They said some reductions accompany the plan—such as scaling back centralized HR and trimming behavioral health FTE from 0.6 to 0.4—connected to federal grant policy changes and a decision to emphasize clinician positions over research roles.

FinCom asked about curriculum alignment, union engagement and whether future budget years would see similar cost pressure. Smith said those contractual increases were the main driver and that future years are not expected to have the same magnitude of increases. The Central Office budget documents were placed on file for FinCom review.