GEORGETOWN — The Finance and Advisory Board got its first look Wednesday at the School Committee's proposed budget for next year of $12,018,675. The budget reflects a 9.6 percent increase over this year's budget of $10,932,373.
School Superintendent Carol Jacobs said that the school department needs this much money to reach the minimum foundation budget set by the state for each town.
"I have been encouraged to believe from conversations with Sen Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester, that the state will not allow the schools to go below foundation," she said.
Jacobs added that the number is set based on the enrollment in the schools and the wealth of a community.
Jacobs said that this budget amount purely maintains the current programs in the schools, and in fact the 9.6 percent increase number is a bit misleading.
"We lost a good chunk of Chapter 70 money this year, and this increase replaces that loss. If you look at 'new money' in the budget, it's really less than 3 percent," she said.
Furthermore, said Jacobs, the proposed number doesn't even reach the foundation budget number from the state of $13,500,000. "We don't want to take away from other town departments," she said. "But we have to fund the schools properly."
Town administrator Mike Farrell said he expects state aid numbers to drop by up to 5 percent. "The biggest question is the schools," he said.
Whether hard budget numbers from the state will be available in time for the May 3 Town Meeting is not certain, said finance board member Reg Tardiff. "I am not confident we'll have the numbers in time. It may sound outlandish, but I think the selectmen and other selectmen associations should get together and put pressure on legislators to get budgets out more quickly," he said.
One way Jacobs is hoping to control costs is by adding special education programs to bring students currently out of district back to Georgetown. "We spend $1.2 million in out-of-district placements for just a few kids. If we offer the same programs here, we can bring them back at a significant savings," she said.
Finance board chairwoman Robin O'Malley said she and the board will review the school's budget and compare it to other town budgets. "We have to have everything balanced by April 7," she said.
The finance board will meet March 30, April 1 and April 7 for further town budget discussions and to make final decisions for the fiscal 2011 budget.
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