Tim Theberge
2024 Candidate for School Board: Amherst School District (ASD)
Q1. Why are you running for ASD school board?
I am running for School Board because I believe in the promise of public education. In the United States, the ZIP Code of your birth can have a disproportionate impact on earnings possibilities, long term health, and overall social mobility. Even in 03031, a parent’s income can have a significant impact on the earnings of a child once they reach 35. One of the last tools readily available to offset this impact is education. I believe many many years of experience on the ConVal School Boards is an asset and provides additional perspectives to issues faced by Amherst. I also believe that my decades of policy and regulatory experience are an asset to the Board when dealing with policy issues.
Q2. What is the role of the ASD school board?
The role of a school board is clearly defined by the NH RSA. Like all boards, we establish the structure, accountability, advocacy, and delivery of instruction in each school within the district - Clark, Wilkins, AMS. Boards establish instructional policies that establish instructional goals based upon available information about the knowledge and skills pupils will need in the future. The Board approves curriculum. The Board is also responsible for establishing a student evaluation system and holding the administration accountable for ensuring those are completed. The Board is required to ensure that certain subjects and certain topics are covered. The Board conducts an evaluation of the Superintendent, and hires or removes a Superintendent as may be needed. They work with the administration to develop budgets and strategic plans and to execute those budgets and plans.
Q3. If elected to the school board, what do you hope to achieve in the next three years?
Ideally, we will be moving forward with the Wilkins project. Should the bond vote fail, the Board must prioritize a broad and full discussion around school facilities. Although I personally believe that the Board has addressed many of the objections to the previous proposals, it is clear that there are still many in our community who do not believe this project is necessary or that this specific project is the answer. Getting to a project that has widespread support would be my priority.
Q4. What metrics should be used to measure student performance?
The two major tests our students are measured against are the NH SAS and the NWEA. Each serves its own purpose. I have no objection to either of these on the surface. However, I openly admit that I am not an expert on student assessment. I would look to guidance from the professionals with in the SAU for which assessment should be used for what purpose. The Spring 2023 results of the NH SAS show that 77% of Amherst 7th graders scored proficient in language arts. The state score was 54%. Unfortunately, the outcome for 8th graders is not as good. Only 57% of 8th graders scored proficient against a state outcome of 61%. Although this is up from last year, it is well below Board expectations. In math, 55% of Amherst 7th graders were proficient against a state outcome of 39%. For 8th grade, the outcome was only 43%, but above the state outcome of 35%. Has this been driven by curriculum choices? Is this the not unexpected long-term impact of lost learning during COVID? These are the types of exploratory questions that must be asked and answered. Lastly, it goes without saying that improving these scores must be a focus of the Board and Administration.
Q5. Does student performance need to be improved in ASD? If so, in which grades and in which academic areas?
Yes. I partially addressed this in #4 above. The other piece that we must look at is the comparison between assessments (report cards) and test outcomes. If a student is rated proficient but not scoring well, that would be something to explore. What are we assessing if these outcomes aren’t reasonably close.
Q6. The cost of education is greater in ASD than it is for many of its peer school districts. Do you believe these costs are reasonable? If not, what do you propose to do to reduce these costs?
The largest factor driving local education costs is staff and what is contained in the contracts. There are other reasons costs vary from district to district and there are other reasons the tax rates differ wildly. This year’s budget had to absorb a 21.8% in health care premiums. Those costs are largely out of the control of the District and part of a larger challenge that would require the state legislature or Congress to address. There are transportation costs, special education costs, etc. that vary from district to district. This makes a straight cost-per a very rough comparison tool.
Q7. Mont Vernon may soon withdraw their 7th and 8th graders out of Amherst Middle School. This may create new challenges and opportunities for ASD. What would these be?
Should Mont Vernon stop sending their students to AMS, we would lose about 70 students spread over 7th and 8th grade. This would also impact the revenue currently received under the tuition agreement. Assuming an even split per grade, we would be looking at about two 7th grade classrooms worth of students and two 8th grade classrooms worth of students. Should this occur, ASD would need to determine what the appropriate staffing levels would be for those two grades. This would have no impact on the need to address space issues at Wilkins.
Q8. Do you support warrant article 12, the Wilkins Elementary building project? The estimated bond principal cost is $49,997,214. The estimated bond interest cost is $26,249,874. Total estimated cost over 25 years is $76,247,088. Why or why not?
I support Article 12. My voting record and statements made while on the Board this past year show that. As a resident, I voted in favor of last year’s bond as well. The Wilkins school hasn’t been the right size since it was originally built in 1967. Since that time, short-term, band-aid approaches have been used to address space issues. We currently have music being taught on a stage in the same room as PE at the same time. We have special educators and support staff working with multiple students in the same room at the same time. Many systems are approaching the end of life. The do nothing cost is $33 million - which still leaves us with multiple portables and space that does not meet the educational needs of our students.
Q9. Do you support warrant article 13, the ASD proposed operating budget? The proposed operating budget is $34,055,985. Why or why not?
Yes. The Board and Administration have made significant movement towards right-sizing the SAU, and various other staff arrangements within the schools. The budget makes needed investments in technology and adds an additional bus route to allow all students to make it to school on time every day. The single largest impact on this proposed budget is a 21.8% increase in the healthcare premiums. Without this increase, the proposed budget would have been significantly lower. Unfortunately, we have no control over that rate and must find ways to absorb those costs. The Board worked with the Administration to find the best way to do so and that is what is presented in the budget.