After struggling to cut $150,000 from the fiscal 2020 school budget last March, the School Committee learned Monday that some unexpected personnel changes now leave the budget with $130,000 in savings.
One retirement and five resignations have led the district to hire new faculty and staff members at lower pay levels, for a savings of about $108,000. And one learning assistant position was no longer necessary, which saved another $35,595. However, bringing in a teacher to cover a maternity leave will cost the schools an additional $14,000, because the rate of pay as a substitute is higher. So the total savings for the year work out to $130,520, according to Aziz Aghaye, the school business manager.
Superintendent Linda Dwight said she would present some proposals for how to use the savings and also asked School Committee members for their ideas. Among the cuts made last spring were $20,000 from the facilities budget, $5,000 in supplies for the Bromfield School, $8,700 for furniture, and about a quarter of the money originally allocated for summer curriculum work.
