The Winthrop School Committee on Thursday night voted to approve a $17,160,824 fiscal year 2008 budget request, which will be forwarded to the Town Council for its consideration. The budget request represents a 10.72 percent spending increase for the schools, in a year when Town Manager Rick White has forecast a townwide budget deficit of almost $2 million.
In addition, the proposed fiscal year 2008 school budget calls for the expenditure of $190,000 in school choice money that would result in a total school budget of $17,350,824 if the Town Council approves it. That figure is $1,852,014 more than the $15,498,810 that was approved for the school budget in the current fiscal year.
Nearly 70 percent of the budget, or $12,007,156, is earmarked for instruction in both the general education area and in special needs. Of that, 11,648,785 is specifically for salaries, with $8.7 million going straight to general education salaries in all grades and $2.9 million for salaries in the area of special needs. Another $372,756 is for special needs salaries in out of district placements.
In total, 69.3 percent of the budget request is for general education and special needs salaries. By contrast, just under 8 percent of the budget is for all other salaries, and about 21.5 percent is earmarked for all other expenses.
In presenting the budget recommendation to the School Committee, Director of School Finance Kevin Meagher explained unforeseen costs in the current FY ‘07 budget will necessitate an additional request of approximately $150,000 from the town this year, to balance the current fiscal year’s books. An additional expenditure this year from the School Choice account will also be needed. Those transfers will leave almost no additional funds in the School Choice account, which means the school department won’t be able to use those funds in the future.
“It is similar to what the town did a couple of years ago, when it used some one-time funds to balance its budget,” said Meagher. “In the case of the School Choice account, we take in between $200,000 and $220,000 per year in School Choice money, but we usually budget to use about $190,000, so the extra money builds up as a reserve in that account.”
The FY ‘08 budget request forecasts the use of $190,000 in School Choice money, however, using existing reserves means the department won’t have those additional funds to call upon in the future.
Meagher said the 2008 budget request is just that, a request for funding from the town. However, he said he understands the town may not be in the position to grant that request.
“We’ve been working with the town right along, and they know what we’re looking for,” said Meagher. “They also have to balance that against the very justifiable needs of other departments in town as well. I think they’ll do their best to get us as close to our request as possible.”
The school department will hold a public hearing on the 2008 budget proposal at its next meeting on Thursday, March 22.