As the April date tor adopting a budget draws closer, the Board of Education is looking for additional ways to reduce the 2013-14 school budget without compromising educational quality. President David Brashear opened the March meeting by thanking the community for "a high level of engagement as we examined our expenditures from all angles." He reiterated the Board's commitment to fiscal restraint, noting that the extraordinary increases in mandatory pension contributions put the Board in "uncomfortable territory," but pledged to bring in a "reasonable budget."
Superintendent David Quattrone introduced the revised budget by acknowledging the savings stemming from a teacher retirement incentive and a multi-year voluntary wage/merit pay freeze offered by the administrators. He noted that the Board had successfully met tax cap requirements while still supporting such programs as elementary music, guidance services, and high school electives. Additional reductions, he said, should keep long-term sustainability in mind (by managing the cap and allocating reserves, for example).
Assistant Superintendent Dan Carlin showed how the expenditure budget has evolved over the past several months. The initial budget was reduced by over $500,000 to $45.4 million. This budget increase of $1.2 million is almost entirely attributable to pension contributions. This revised budget generates a tax levy increase of 3.1%, slightly below the adjusted tax cap of 3.2%. Still under consideration are reductions in overall physical education staffing, across-the-board reductions in discretionary accounts, adjustments in the Middle School advisory program, and consolidation of world language classes with low enrollment. Private school transportation also remains a Board concern. Brashear asked the finance committee to explore these and other options as a final budget is prepared for adoption.
The budget presentation can be found here.
