Board of Selectmen Do Not Restore Full School Funding

But Approve Override for May Ballot (3/14/08)

The Board of Selectmen did not approve funding that would allow K-8 students to return to school on Wednesday afternoons or that would end multiple study halls at the Middle School next year at their public hearing Wednesday night. However, the Board did approve a budget that funds North Reading schools at the same level of teachers and programs as the current year, plus an additional $455,000 to add critical positions in reading, special education, and high school academics to control class size.

At midnight, the Selectmen also agreed to put the School Committee’s override request on the May 6 ballot and added several general government items they had reduced during the evening, including additional trash fee, small capital items, and monies for recreation, town treasury, and debt stabilization. The Selectmen held their final vote on the override amount for a later date, but the total for both schools and general government totals currently totals about $1.3 million.

Overflow Crowd Packs Hearing

The hearing was moved to the gymnasium from the Selectmen’s room after an overflow crowd of nearly 80 citizens, mostly concerned parents and town employees, lined the hallway and were unable to hear Chairman Bob Mauceri’s presentation or Superintendent Troughton’s description of school priorities. Click here and page down to see the priority pyramid. During the lengthy hearing, Mr. Mauceri presented a list of reductions to the general government budget to bring the school department budget to status quo – the amount needed to fund education to the same level provided this year. Mr. Mauceri then reviewed a menu of additional reductions that would allow restoration of some of the programs and teaching positions cut this year.

Proposals included several cuts to general government positions and services, and department heads were invited to describe the impact of such cuts, which included loss of library certification, slower processing of payments in the collection department, and an elimination of passport services and fishing licenses as services provided by the clerk’s department.

Selectmen agree to fund “status quo” school budget

After these presentations, the selectmen embarked on a series of discussions and votes to determine how much funding was available to help restore education. First, the Selectmen quickly approved a list of efficiencies, new revenues, and cuts totaling $708,000 to move toward funding a status quo budget for schools. This includes a $15 quarterly increase to the trash fee, for $223,820 in new revenue, among other items. Click here to see this list. The vote was 4-1, with Joe Veno dissenting because of opposition to the trash fee increase.

Next, the Selectmen unanimously approved three accounting moves – reduced vocational school assessment, moving funds from the septic loan account to the general fund, and allocation of state lottery aid – to the school department. Along with increased athletic fees at the school, this vote brought the funds available for the school budget to status quo, with an approximate $23,000 surplus remaining. Click here to see this list.

Small Capital Moved to Fund HS Teachers, Literacy, and SPED

The Selectmen then adopted a further list of financial maneuvers to bring the school budget closer to fulfilling the Superintendent’s most important budget priorities. To do so, just over $200,000 in small capital was removed from the operating budget. Instead, the town will fund this with anticipated free cash in October. The town also decreased its projected health insurance budget by $147,000, hoping that this year’s health insurance increase will hold to 12% instead of the 15% previously budgeted. Click here to see this list. However, the actual number will not be reported by the town’s insurer until next week.

Finally, the Selectmen considered additional reductions presented earlier in the evening in an attempt to close a remaining $83,000 gap to pay for health insurance for teachers hired under Priority 1 of the reconstruction budget. While Mr. Mauceri and Mr. O’Leary felt it was necessary to make additional cuts to general government to restore a significant amount of the school programs and learning time lost last year, the majority of the Board – Mr. Veno, Mr. Dardeno, and Mr. Harris – felt that reductions in education didn’t warrant replacement at the expense of town services.

At the vote’s conclusion, the majority of the Board, including Selectmen Dardeno and Harris, supported only $83,000 of $495,000 potential reductions. The $83,000 includes no layoffs, as the town will not fill two now-vacant positions, one in treasury and public works. The remaining amount moves $25,000 from the general fund to the recreation revolving fund, likely resulting in increased recreation and sports fees.

This approval made funds available without an override to restore the Superintendent’s Priority #1 restorations to the School Department. However, it stopped short of restoring art, music, physical education, computer or library programs throughout the system unless an override is approved at the May ballot. Click here and page down if you’d like to see the Superintendent’s priority list again.

Did you attend the town or budget hearing? Do you believe services are fairly balanced between town and schools? NRUE wants to hear from you. Share your feedback at info@nrue.org.