$475k in school repairs needed
Published on September 24th, 2003
STONEHAM, MA - School officials will need an estimated $475,000 in emergency capital repairs for October Town Meeting.
Due to a recent order by Building Inspector Gene Argiro requiring that the Stoneham School system replace the middle school and high school's fire doors and replace the middle school's leaky roof, which caused considerable water damage to the girl's locker room and gym offices last week, school officials have until October 15 to address the mandate, says Stoneham School Superintendent Dr. Joseph Connelly.
"We have a list for several capital improvements for the middle school and the high school this year. Unfortunately since the formation of that list, we've been informed by the Building Inspector that we have a list of higher priorities. These three items are an absolute necessity to be addressed this fall. The $475,000 includes the doors, the roof and the replacement of many of the ceiling tiles," explained Connelly of the schools' needs at last night's Board of Selectmen meeting.
With municipal officials already struggling with nearly $550,000 in unanticipated shortfalls for fiscal year 2004, the school department will submit a warrant article at October Town Meeting requesting that the funding be secured through floating a bond for the costs.
According to Town Accountant Ron Florino, the town can afford to include such a bond in Stoneham's debt schedule at a cost of $45,000 for next year.
"This is a best guess right now based on the interest rates. In year one it would cost $45,000 and that slowly declines so that in year 20 the cost would be $24,000. I'm hoping it's all done within the 2 1/2 (property tax increase), so there's no additional cost to the taxpayer," Florino reported.
However, the school department's report was minor in comparison to the bombshell Stoneham Retirement Chair-woman Janice Houghton detonated at last night's Board of Selectmen meeting.
Explaining that the retirement system in effect lost nearly $14 million over the past two years due to unrealized stock market gains, Houghton officially revealed that the town's unfunded retirement liability will raise by $1.8 million in FY2005 from $2.8 million to $4.5 million.
As a result of that report and rumors that state local aid cuts could be more drastic in 2005 than they were this past spring, Town Administer David Berry unveiled his recommendation to address the remainder of budget woes in 2004.
Formulating a solution that would utilize approximately half of the town's $2.7 million free cash figure to reduce the deficit and save half of the monies for 2005, Berry has recommended that $136,787 be proportionately cut from town departments this October.
"I propose or recommend this shortfall be eliminated by reducing budgets unfortunately across the board...So roughly then balancing the stabilization account, we would end up with the amount of almost $1.6 million," Berry reported last night.
However at a summit meeting this Monday night, School Committee Chairman Mark Grimaldi warned town officials that the school system could not absorb any additional cuts without laying off teachers halfway through the school year.
"The school department can not afford to give any money back from our budgets this year and this would be devastating to us...Let me be clear right now, Dave. At this point there's nothing left," Grimaldi lamented upon learning of Berry's recommendation.
"The only place we could go is salary accounts. We would have to identify people to layoff and factor in unemployment costs...I understand what you're saying but the only place to go now is personnel," added Assistant Superinten-dent Joseph Casey.
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