School Com passes $22.8M FY07 budget
Published on April 19th, 2006
STONEHAM, MA - On the receiving end of a $600,000 win-fall from the town, the School Committee presented the fiscal year 2007 school budget in a public hearing on Thursday, in anticipation of Town Meeting approval.
Faced with a $900,000 budget shortfall just a couple of weeks ago, the school system was looking at more drastic reductions for next year if additional funds were not found. Included in those potential additional cuts were all sub-varsity sports at the high school and more teaching staff, as well as closing a wing of the Middle School and sending grade 6 back to the elementary level.
But those cuts were averted last week as the Board of Selectmen, at a Tri-Board meeting with the School Committee and Finance Board, voted in favor of reinstituting the town’s trash fee and earmarking a large percentage of the funds to the schools. The selectmen made this move despite a majority vote against the trash fee on the April 4 election ballot.
“I personally am very, very thankful that the town was able to give us that,” said School Superintendent Dr. Joseph Connelly.
The FY07 school budget, as approved by the committee on Thursday, stands at $22,844,333, a 4.6 percent increase over the current year. The original amount appropriated to the schools by Town Administrator Ron Florino was $409,000 over this year’s budget. But with over $1 million in increases in fixed expenses, namely health insurance, teacher salaries, heat and electricity, the additional $600,000 generated by the trash fee will go a long way in addressing those problems and avoiding further hurtful cuts.
That said there are still problem areas. According to Connelly, despite the infusion of the additional trash fee money, about six custodial positions must be eliminated. In addition, the only money budgeted in FY07 for teacher salary increases is what is obligated contractually for step and level increases. No other funds are available as the School Committee prepares to enter salary negotiations next year.
All revolving fund balances for FY06 will be allocated to offset end of year deficits in heat, utilities and health insurance accounts. This means that any money left over from the Preschool, full day Kindergarten, after school child care, and lunch programs, as well as from athletic user fees, will be used to cover this year’s shortfalls, leaving little or no carryover to FY07 as has been Stoneham’s practice with revolving funds.
“In effect, we are using anticipated funds to cover definite costs in the budget,” Connelly explained. “Clearly, this is a very risky approach but in these difficult times, it’s the best we can do.”
The electricity account could likely pose a problem to the budget as well, since the budgeted figures for FY07, that were developed this past November or December, may prove to be about $50,000 short of what is actually spent in 2006. As a result, the air conditioning systems built into each of the new elementary schools will remain silent as the warm weather approaches. Connelly has estimated the cost of running the a/c at $6,000-$7,000 per month per school.
“That’s why we have refrained from using it… It’s something right now that is just not a consideration with our budget the way it is.”
No funds have been built into the FY07 budget for restoration of lost personnel and programs each year since the budget crisis took hold back in 2003.
Connelly highlighted one area in particular of the FY07 school budget that indirectly shows off the effects of the cuts over the past few years.
The special education account has climbed from being 18-20 percent of the annual school budget in the past in Stoneham to 26.56 percent of the budget. And the reason for the jump is not so much that special education costs have increased, Connelly explained, but because expenditures in other areas have had to go down to balance the budget over the past few years. Special education services are mandated and cannot be cut when money is tight.
“We are not the type of community that has those types of support service needs. To be spending 27 percent of your budget on special educations indicates that we are not spending the level we should in other areas.”
The School Committee approved the final draft of the FY07 budget at $22,844,33 for presentation to Town Meeting next month.
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