The Board of Education passed a $30.8 million budget Monday that increases spending over the current budget by 5.7 percent.
The board made one alteration to the 2010 – 2011 spending plan from Superintendent MaryAnne Mascolo — the addition of $37,715 to the bottom line for the return of freshmen sports.
The school budget, which still needs town approval, contains about $1.7 million in more spending than the current budget.
“In the past six years the board has never approved the recommended budget,” Mascolo said. “Only once, in the 2007 to 2008 budget, did they even fully fund the foundation budget.”
The foundation, or level of services, budget is comprised primarily of items that are contractually obligated. Failure to meet that in the past has resulted in the staff and maintenance reductions, according to Mascolo, including the eventual loss of freshman sports programs.
The foundation aspect of Mascolo’s proposed 2010 to 2011 budget comes in at $972,242. Some of that according to Mascolo involves salary upgrades for teachers who have shifted pay grades by earning higher degrees. She emphasized that is not in conflict with the teachers agreeing to “take a zero” in their recently arbitrated contract. Teachers remaining in their pay grade will not see a salary increase.
A small request of $9,498 is requested to help with reallocated and redirected funds for learning lab stipends and new hires to replace retirees.
Last year, the Board of Education had a zero percent increase in their budget, with not even the level of service increases funded above the previous year. That proposal had initially called for a 4.5 percent increase.
The new budget that will now go before the Board of Finance.
Included in the proposed budget are a number of proposed new positions, including a behavioralist for $79,896 a year. That position would replace the use of behavioralist services acquired per diem from Area Cooperative Education Services (ACES).
A number of parents and staff spoke to the board about returning the freshman sports programs to the school system. The board agreed that returning the sports programs to the freshman students would be a good move.
To bring freshman football, boys and girls soccer, boys and girls basketball, baseball and soccer back into the mix will cost an estimated $37,715. Board of Education Chairman Ed Strumello noted that in some of those sports there may not be enough competing teams in the region to justify the cost.
“If you cut it down to just football and basketball then you have $17,000,” he said.
Board of Education member James Ward defended the athletic committee’s recommendation to reinstate as many of the sports as possible.
“This is a significant part of community building and integration at the ninth grade level,” Ward said.
In the final motion to approve the budget, the board added in the full $37,715 for sports.
Board member Bruce Baker said, “We’ll put the whole thing in the budget and if the town agrees we’ll bring back all of the sports. Otherwise, we’ll have to re-look at it,” board member Bruce Baker said.
Board of Finance Chairman Mark Thompson said he saw no immediate red flags in the budget proposal, but the board as a whole would now begin reviewing it and determine if there was fat that needed to be cut.
The vote passed the Board of Education with only one dissenting vote.
James Garofolo said he is in support of the budget in general, and had no issue with adding the money in for the freshman sports reinstatement. However, he said he could not in good faith vote for at least one of the new positions, which he considered an unnecessary expense.
