04/05/2013

School Board to present proposed $22.5 million budget for 2013-14 to Town Council April 10

The School Board has completed budget deliberations and will present a $22.5 million school spending proposal for 2013-14 to the Town Council's Finance Committee April 10, 2013, 7 p.m. at Town Hall [directions]

The $22,528,078 school budget, adopted by the School Board at a special meeting March 28, is $50,000 higher than the one submitted by Superintendent Meredith Nadeau in February. The board's budget includes an added $40,000 for contingency; and $10,000 more to retain a full-time nurse position at Pond Cove School. The initial budget called for the nurse to be shared by the Pond Cove and Middle School with support from a nurse's aide.

Overall spending is up 3.5 percent over this year's school budget, an increase of $762,261. However $300,000 of that increase represents the School Department's new responsibility to fund teacher retirement costs, something the state had covered in previous years.

At their final workshop before adopting the budget, board members discussed adding more contingency as a hedge against future subsidy curtailments and other unforeseen expenses. "I've been on this board for four years, and I've never seen revenues increase," said board member Mary Townsend. "We're here to look at this year, but we also have to be mindful of the big picture. If we can avoid a 6- or 7-percent (tax increase) in a year or two, I would rather see us avoid that," she said.

Board members debated adding as much as $100,000 to contingency but settled on a $40,000 increase, bringing the contingency line to $140,000.

The proposed school budget would add 46 cents to the the tax rate for school services, bringing it to $11.96 per $1,000 of assessed valuation - an increase of 4 percent. Nadeau's initial budget proposal called for a 41-cent increase, but the budget additions, as well as a $23,813 decrease in the state subsidy that was announced in February, adds 5 cents to the tax rate originally proposed.

For a home valued at $314,000, the proposed school budget would add $143 to the tax bill.

Budget highlights

In a revised budget message, Nadeau highlighted major changes in expenditures and staffing:

The proposed budget increases capital expenditures by $100,000 "to begin to tackle" the capital needs outlined in a 2012 facilities study, Nadeau said. "The district currently spends roughly $1.5 million a year, between debt service payments and capital improvement spending and increasing our overall spending in that area is critical to making sure that we have sound, health facilities for learning, both now and in the future," Nadeau's message says.

Proposed staffing changes reflect declining enrollment, as well changing educational models and the schools' work toward implementing the mission and vision statement adopted last year. In all, the budget poses to decrease the equivalent of 4.8 full-time positions, a cost reduction of $196,046. Among these are a full-time sixth-grade teaching position, half-time special-education technician and a half-time world language teaching position.

Further changes look to combine library instruction with technology. At the Middle and High School, the current model of two librarians and two technology integrators would be replaced by three "Media and Instructional Technology Specialists", Nadeau said. At Pond Cove, the technology integrator and the computer lab positions would be replaced by a technology teaching position.

Another change proposed for Pond Cove is the introduction of full-day kindergarten, one that would add no cost to the current program. "The Pond Cove budget proposes the conversion of two of the existing kindergarten sections to full-day, using existing staff and space," Nadeau said. Nadeau is expected to explain more about the proposal at the School Board's meeting April 9.

Also at Pond Cove, the teacher leader position is slated to return to an assistant principal's job. And, at a systemwide level the current literacy coordinator position would become a "Director of Instruction", which would parallel the director of instructional support's position and oversee curriculum and assessment, professional development and teacher certification.

Adoption Schedule

The Town Council is scheduled to take public comment on all aspects of the fiscal 2013-14 proposed budget at their meeting April 8. The council will wrap up its budget discussions at a special meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 11, and set the overall budget for public hearing and adoption for Monday, April 29, also at 7 p.m. at Town Hall.

A school-budget validation vote is scheduled for Tuesday, May 14.