By Jennifer Solis
Correspondent
January 02, 2009 03:53 am WEST NEWBURY — The Pentucket Regional School Committee is urging public input during its upcoming budget process. More than in past years, the current local, state and national economic outlook, coupled with a projected $2.5 million structural deficit for the district, will require serious budgetary decisions, school officials warn. The board plans to hold a budget workshop during its next meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 6, with a formal public hearing on the budget scheduled for Jan. 20. Both meetings start at 7:30 p.m. in the high school cafeteria. Some Saturday sessions are also likely, Chairman Tom Atwood said. Superintendent Paul Livingston presented the first draft of a level-services budget to the School Committee earlier this month. He predicts the cost to run the schools next year will be $3.14 million more than this year's $32.5 million budget. Of that amount, only $583,843 in new revenue is anticipated. Stressing that "We're a people business," Livingston noted that of the current school budget, 78 percent went for contractual salaries and employee health insurance and benefits. Pentucket used 7.4 percent of its funds to cover legally mandated special education costs. Its expenditures this year for textbooks ($203,313), equipment ($165,073) and professional development ($113,350) are some of the smallest amounts he has ever seen spent in his 20-year career, said Livingston, who came to Pentucket in 2006. The district used $607,412 for student supplies and materials, and of the $1.1 million spent on contracted services, $1 million paid for bus transportation. Contracts for the four unions working within the Pentucket district expire in 2011, Livingston noted. The district spent $1.6 million on facilities and utility costs and $918,031 on debt this year. During his presentation, Livingston identified the school board's budgetary priorities as threefold: Rigorous, well-rounded academics anchored in small classes that promote 21st-century skill development; A challenging and engaging work environment that emphasizes collaboration and character building; An accurate reflection of the true cost of extracurricular activities within the budget. His draft maintains existing staff and programming and devotes $300,000 from the district's "rainy day" account, known as E & D Funds, to the budget. It factors in inflationary increases for employee benefits, increases for anticipated out-of-district special education placements and implementation of the improvement plans proposed for the six district schools. It does not include requests for new technology or technology maintenance staff — which Livingston said are sorely lacking — or any staffing for a potential special education (SPED) district program that may be needed at the high school. The draft anticipates level funding for Chapter 70 state aid, something Livingston acknowledges might be overly generous given the economic climate. He factored a 70 percent state reimbursement into projected transportation costs and included a $17.6 million contribution from the Pentucket communities of Groveland, Merrimac and West Newbury — a $600,000 increase over this year's contribution. Because the budget is merely a good-faith plan, Livingston insists he should not be the only one deciding what predictions it includes. He recommended the school board weigh in on final determinations for revenue projections and the number of pending out-of-district SPED placements. Does the board want the Insurance Advisory Committee to consider possible changes to employee health and benefits plans? Will the district be forced to eliminate programs or increase class sizes? And what should be done about those controversial busing, sports and extracurricular fees that he has included in his draft, Livingston asked. A decision by Livingston to consolidate and eliminate positions within the district and to seek other cost-saving efficiencies allowed the Pentucket request to fit within the district towns' budget constraints for the past two years, eliminating the need for tax overrides at the polls. However, the superintendent is not recommending any further significant staff reorganization. "This means that the School Committee really needs public support and input if we are going to continue to support the quality of education that is so essential to our students. It is during difficult times such as these that we need to remember what is truly important to the future of our students," the school board wrote in an online newsletter to parents issued earlier this month. As it did last year, the Pentucket board is holding its public hearing prior to a final vote on the budget, so that input from the communities can be weighed. "None of us would wish for these increases," said Livingston, stressing that the district will continue to work to live within its means. "Whatever dollar amount we have, the schools will open next September, and the kids will be educated," promised Livingston. Atwood called Livingston's plan "by far the best budget document we've seen in many, many years." Still, he predicted his board would have to make "a lot of difficult decisions in the next month or so." "We need to have a very long discussion on what we expect and what our communities expect," he told his colleagues at their last meeting. Livingston agreed. "Our strength is going to be in our working together and collaborating to figure out what's best for our children and for these communities."
—
Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.