Committee approves budget draft
The School Committee approved sending a draft of the schools’ almost-level-funded omnibus budget to the Finance Committee this week, while leaving time for a final tweaking at the next committee meeting on Jan. 10. The budget for next year shows increased costs for personnel at both schools, an additional school bus, and a decrease in special education circuit breaker funding offset by reduced energy costs and increased revenue from School Choice, MassDevelopment, community education, and preschool and kindergarten tuition. Overall, the $11,260,988 projected budget is 1.5 percent higher than this year’s.
User fees will remain unchanged. “We should begin to debunk the notion of ‘just find the money in the budget’,” said School Committee member Virginia Justicz, referring to the desire to reduce the fees students pay for sports and other extra-curricular activities. “$130,000 in this budget—it’s just not there.”
Approval of computer purchases postponed
The committee discussed at length a proposal from Superintendent Thomas Jefferson and Network Manager Mark LaVertue to add an additional 25 computers to the Bromfield School’s media center, but postponed approving the plan. According to LaVertue, social studies and science teachers would like their classes to take advantage of new software applications, but are limited by the age and availability of the existing computer labs. Funding for the technology upgrades would come from the MassDevelopment reserve fund, not the omnibus budget.
