At the Northborough School Committee meeting and public hearing on Wednesday night at Melican Middle School, the FY2011 budget, presented by District Superintendent Dr. Charles Gobron, passed by a unanimous vote of the four school committee members in attendance. The goal was for level funding. The preliminary budget, which was presented to Northborough Appropriations Committee on Saturday, represented a 1.58% increase from FY2010, but Dr. Gobron was given approval to use Northborough’s budget target of 1.6% in order to address teaching needs. The overall budget reflects major changes in some budget categories.
Certain budget items are shaped by existing contracts. This includes a 3.5% raise for teachers, nurses, guidance counselors, aides, and psychologists according to contract stipulations for this, the last year of their 3-year contract, and a salary boost for custodial staff. The budget also includes a 2% bump for administrators; however, none for the staff of the District Central Office.
One budget category, special education programs in non-public schools, expanded by 66% because of changes in State Circuit Breaker education reimbursement. Begun in 2004, Circuit Breaker education reimbursement—not to be confused with Circuit Breaker tax credits for the elderly– provides additional funding to districts for high-cost special education students. For the FY2011 budget, reimbursement rates were reduced from 70% of needed funds above $40,000 to 40% of needs. Dr. Gobron is still hopeful for restoration of some Circuit Breaker monies.
Another category that rose is networking and telecommunications. This reflects hike in annual fees for Internet services as well as costs associated with moving from T1 lines to FIOS service.
Thoughtful efforts to reduce costs have afforded large cuts in some areas. Algonquin Director of Facilities, Michael Gorman, has recommended energy conservation measures that have produced reductions in heating, electricity, and water costs. Additionally, a new bus contract, for which bids were lower due to the economy and a change in contract term, generated substantial savings in transportation. Finally, pushing forward expenditures for supplies and textbooks to FY2010 resulted in a decline in these categories for FY2011.
Instructional technology items were decreased significantly in this budget, reflecting Dr. Gobron’s optimism for receiving a $217,000 American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) grant. “We don’t have the money in hand,” he said, “but I am so certain that I would take it to the bank.” ARRA education grants are federal stimulus monies for filing funding gaps due to the lagging economy, for sustaining and creating jobs, and for advancing education reform. Receiving the grant would provide funding for instructional technology projects and would also help restore the 2.6 teaching positions, located at Peaslee and Proctor schools, which were lost in the preliminary spending plan.
The approved budget Wednesday night permitted restoration of 1.4 of the lost teaching positions. This the freezing of District Central Office salaries and the reductions in bus transportation costs. Dr. Gobron has also been in contact with teachers’ association representatives who have said they are willing to collaborate in budget discussions. Thus, he is hopeful for full restoration of all teaching positions. The ARRA grant can also be used for this purpose; however, he describes this type of grant as “a cliff” in that it brings the expenditures to a higher level in the year that it is granted, but the year after, there is a drop-off in available funds . When asked whether the restored position would be located at Peaslee or Proctor school, Dr. Gobron replied, “My great hope is that by next month, we’ll have that position back for both of those schools.”
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