Lanesborough Hit by Mt. Greylock Budget
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Lanesborough's projected assessment to the regional school district is $2.5 million; Williamstown's is $4.14 million, down nearly 7 percent from this year, or about $300,000.
Overall, the $9.8 million budget is up about 2.3 percent, or $229,000 over last year.
But the figures in this preliminary budget draft are likely to change - especially after several committee members pointed out erroneous calculations in the Excel spreadsheet when it was presented Tuesday night.
Superintendent of Schools William Travis also said state aid figures on the revenue side of the budget are based on Gov. Deval Patrick's education package released last month.
"I know that we will see an increase in transportation aid and Chapter 70, but whether it will be at the level of the governor's budget ... as everyone knows the governor was counting on casino revenue in order to get it to the level he was looking for," Travis said, cautioning that the funds could be scaled back as the House and Senate develop their budgets.
The governor's budget provides a nearly two-thirds hike for Mount Greylock in regional transportation funding and a more modest 3 percent increase in Chapter 70 education aid.
Travis said there could also be good news in the district's excess and deficiency account, which was not figured into the budget. The account had been projected at ending the fiscal year at about $50,000 to $60,000, but now could be closer to $200,000 because of savings made during the year.
On the minus side, the district will see a drop of about $10,000 in charter school reimbursements. The district is sending fewer students to Berkshire Arts and Technology Charter Public School in Adams, but the students already attending have been there two or more years. The state reimbursement, designed as a temporary stop-gap, drops as the students move through the school.
Budget also takes into account the need to hire about five new staff members - a teacher, four paraprofessionals and one office person. These may not be full-time positions.
Committee members questioned the projections of higher enrollment since the school has seen a steady decrease in students over more than six years. Travis said the figures in prior years were from a formula, not actual numbers.
The staffing assumptions were based on a large seventh-grade class, he said, which necessitated adding another teacher in that grade. Changes in scheduling and curriculum would alleviate the need to actually hire full-time teachers for expanded math and English offerings.
Travis warned that the budget does not take into account current negotiations with the teachers' union.
Not surprisingly, heating costs are up some 81 percent. Fuel oil projections for next year are $220,000, nearly $100,000 more than this year.
After nearly two hours, the committee cut short the budget review because of the number of questions members had about various aspects of the 43-page document. It was decided that each member would review the draft and forward their questions to the superintendent's office so that he could provide them with answers for the next meeting.
The School Committee will next meet March 4, on March 11 at Lanesborough Town Hall, March 18 and March 25, all at 7 p.m. The budget must be approved by March 28. Chairman Christopher Kapiloff told his colleagues, in a worst-case scenario, to be prepared to meet on March 26 and 27 as well.
The school district has struggled for years to contain spending, including cutting staff and charging activities fees for sports. After a Proposition 2 1/2 override passed in 2003, Williamstown officials warned school leaders that the town could no longer afford to support burgeoning budgets. Early last year, the school district empaneled a task force to search for ways the district could achieve financial stability.
