Dec 15, 2019, Springfield (MA) Republican: South Hadley schools begin superintendent search amid budget ‘mess’ https://www.masslive.com/news/2019/12/south-hadley-schools-begin-superintendent-search-amid-budget-mess.html SOUTH HADLEY — The School Committee on Wednesday will begin the process of finding a replacement for Superintendent Nicholas Young, who abruptly resigned last month. Young’s departure comes in the midst of financial troubles for the town’s schools. At a special Town Meeting Nov. 20, Young estimated the district would have a $2 million budget shortfall in the next fiscal year. Earlier that month, he told the school board, “You have no way out of this mess without an override.”… The Nov. 20 special Town Meeting approved adding $66,438 to the current year’s school budget. At the time, Young said that the district had a budget overrun of $450,000. He cited special education costs beyond what had been budgeted for the fiscal year that began July 1. Young said information about the extra money needed to close the gap “came in after the budget” was approved in May. He called them “unexpected expenditures.” Town Meeting member Linda Young questioned the request for $66,438, saying “This sum of money doesn’t come close to what the school department needs.” Young said the district was attempting to make up the difference using reserves, including money received from the school choice program. “Without additional revenues or an override, we will continue to whittle away at our programs and have to raise class sizes, and we are going to have to tighten up the number of programs we provide,” he said. …
top of page
Childhood Lost
Children today are noticeably different from previous generations, and the proof is in the news coverage we see every day. This site shows you what’s happening in schools around the world. Children are increasingly disabled and chronically ill, and the education system has to accommodate them. Things we've long associated with autism, like sensory issues, repetitive behaviors, anxiety and lack of social skills, are now problems affecting mainstream students. Blame is predictably placed on bad parenting (otherwise known as trauma from home).
Addressing mental health needs is as important as academics for modern educators. This is an unrecognized disaster. The stories here are about children who can’t learn or behave like children have always been expected to. What childhood has become is a chilling portent for the future of mankind.
Anne Dachel, Media editor, Age of Autism
http://www.ageofautism.com/media/
(John Dachel, Tech. assist.)
What will happen in another 4 years? How can we go on like this? This is a national (and international) problem of monumental proportions. We have an entire new class of children who cannot be accommodated by the system: many are manifestly neurologically impaired. Meanwhile, the government and the medical profession sleep on regardless.
John Stone,
UK media editor, Age of Autism
The generation of American children born after 1990 are arguably the sickest generation in the history of our country.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
It seemed to me that with rising autism prevalence, you’d also see rising autism costs to society, and it turns out, the costs are catastrophic.
They calculated that in 2015 autism cost the United States $268 billion and they projected that if autism continues at its current rate, we’re looking at one trillion dollars a year in autism costs by 2025, so within five years.
Toby Rogers, PhD, Political economist
Search
bottom of page