Table 1: 2002 Connecticut Academic Performance Test  [CAPT Test]
               Math and Science Results for Educational Reference Group B

Table 1A:  Demographics of other low scoring school districts

Table 2:  October 2002 Classroom Loading Data for Adams

Empty Classrooms by Period

Average Class Size

Adams Capacity and Grade 7-8 Enrollment Projections

• Table 2 shows how 34 classrooms at Adams are currently used for all team teaching and language instruction.
•  At the bottom of the page, two summary tables show that at least 9 classrooms are empty for each of the 8 class periods, and average class size is small, less than 21 for all classes at Adams.
• So Adams easily supports the current load of 640 students, and can reasonably support up to 75 more students, if the CT DOE’s current worst-case enrollment projection is valid.
• Mr. Bloss says that the CT DOE’s projections may be low by 9%.  His logic is that the CT DOE expert, Dr. Peter Prowda, has been low by this percent in the past.
• Current evidence does indicate that Dr. Prowda may be wrong again, but this time he may be too high.   Other population experts predict that Guilford will experience a gradual decrease in school age population over the next 12 years, and they aren’t even considering the fact that parents will choose Madison over Guilford.
• Consider the graph on the last page of the handout.  This is from the final report of the Educational Consultants of Connecticut.  Matching data in this report projects a population decrease of 686 for the age 5 to 19 age range for the period 2000 to 2015.   The projected decrease for the 10 to 14 age range is 313 for the same15 year period

               FT = Classified as classrooms in the Fletcher Thompson floor plan
              CW = Classified as classrooms by C Walker [Nov. 25 public defense].
 

	Room ID	-----	Sq.Ft.	How Space is Used
1	B4	FT	665	ComputerLab
2	InLibrary	-----	651	ComputerLab
3	B9	FT	373	Special Education
4	B10	FT	311	Special Education
5	M16	FT	789	Special Education
6	208	CW	211	Special Education
7	203a	CW	219	Special Education
8	B10a	FT	233	Resource and Para Educators
9	108	FT	827	Resource and Para Educators
10	M17	FT	393	Health Classroom
11	B11a	FT	361	Not Known

The data in Tables 2 and 3 has been extracted from these sources:

1. Adams Middle School (AMS) Class Loading Figures Report, October 2002
2. AMS 2002/2003 Staff and Multi Team Faculty Report, August 2002
3. AMS 2002/2003 Teams, August 2002
4. AMS Floor Plan (handout for Adams building tour)
5. Fletcher Thompson Floor Plan for AMS

What Bill Quirk Said in His 3 Minutes

• Table 1 shows how Guilford ranked on the math and science portions of the 2002 Connecticut  Academic Performance Test
• We’re 15th out of 17 in Educational Reference Group B.
• Madison is also in group B.  They ranked first in the state for  science and third in the state for math.
• Table 2 shows how 34 classrooms at Adams are currently used for all team teaching and language instruction.
• The two small summary tables show that at least 9 classrooms are empty for each of the 8 class periods, and average class size is small, less than 21 for all classes at Adams.
• Adams easily supports the current load of 640 students, and can reasonably support up to 75 more to meet the State’s worst case enrollment projection for 8 years from now.
• We can exploit the fact that 9 classrooms are always empty by reserving 25 classrooms for all teaching needs and using the freed-up space to expand the cafeteria and provide for team offices.
• Mr. Bloss says that the State’s projections may be low by 9%.
• His logic is that the State’s expert, Dr. Peter Prowda, has been low by this percent in the past.
• Current evidence does indicate that Dr. Prowda may be wrong again, but this time he may be too high.
• Other population experts predict that Guilford will experience a gradual decrease in school age population over the next 12 years, and they aren’t even considering the fact that parents will choose Madison over Guilford.
• Consider the graph on the last page of the handout.  This is from the final report of the Educational Consultants of Connecticut.
• Matching data in this report projects a population decrease of 686 for the 5 to 19 age range for the period 2000 to 2015.   The decrease is 313 for the 10 to 14 age range for the same 15 year period.
• The citizens of Guilford may think that the Board of Finance will do the thinking for them and analyze the educational merits of this proposal.   But that’s not their job.
• This Board’s role is to verify the correctness of financial packaging and decide if the town can afford the costs.
• This Board can’t officially endorse decisions that are internal to the Board of Ed’s domain.
• Guilford voters must think for themselves.   That’s how our system works.
• I encourage the citizens of Guilford to reject this proposal.
• Then let the Board of Education know that you aren’t fooled by comparisons of Guilford test scores to state wide averages.
• And you’re tired of being embarrassed by the outstanding academic achievement continually demonstrated by the Madison School District.
• Thank You Mr. Chairman and the Board for allowing me to speak.
• This handout is posted at my website, wgquirk.com.
• if you don’t have web access, I’ll mail you a copy.   My phone number is 453-3500 and my address is 55 Chimney Corner Circle.