News

Board nears compromise on Triton budget

By Angeljean Chiaramida
Staff writer
Published: March 24, 2009

The Triton School Committee will take a vote tomorrow night on a newly created, compromise budget that appears to be gaining momentum.

The new $34,578,542 proposed Triton budget will use federal economic stimulus money Triton administrators believe the district will be allotted to restore all but two teaching positions originally thought lost when the first budget proposal came forward in February.

Other personnel cuts, however, are still expected unless the schools' unions step forward and give concessions.

Salisbury School Committee member Debbie Choate told Salisbury selectmen last night the new budget version will result in a drop in Salisbury's Triton contribution by $118,000 from last year's amount. Rowley's contribution will go down by $119,387.

Newbury, however, will see a $137,419 rise in its assessment, Choate said, because its student population at Triton has risen over the past year.

Salisbury still has the most students in the Triton system and will still pay the highest contribution at more than $8.46 million, Choate said, but Newbury's percentage of students attending Triton has gone up, so the town's assessment will go up to more than $8.34 million next year. Rowley will pay about $7 million total.

This new budget was a compromise between the first — and lowest budget proposed in February — and the highest proposed and tentatively approved in mid-March.

Newbury faces the largest increase no matter which scenario is finally adopted by the School Committee. The least expensive budget option would have cost Newbury an additional $72,000, and the most expensive version would have cost Newbury $263,066.

Newbury Town Administrator Chuck Kostro said yesterday the town could live with the new compromise budget's $137,000 increase, but anything more could come at the expense of personnel and services.

"If this is the number they go with, it's a heck of a lot better than $263,000," Kostro said. "This still isn't easy, but it's better than $263,000. It's still $64,000 more than the number we had."

He said coming up with the $137,000 increase would require cuts in the salary line items in general government departments.

"I'm not sure if that will translate into layoffs," he said. "It could mean some full-time jobs become part time or reductions in hours."

Last night, in a 4-1 vote, Salisbury selectmen endorsed the new compromised budget, with Selectman Ed Hunt casting the only vote against it.

Most selectmen came into the meeting expecting to recommend the first and lowest of the five versions of the budget that have been discussed over the past months.

With failing revenues, cuts in state aid, a $100,000 overage in snow costs this year and a $170,000 hike in its assessment to Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High School, Salisbury is looking at least a $350,000 gap in its budget projects next year, Salisbury Town Manager Neil Harrington has said. The result will be layoffs, most likely, perhaps as much as 10 percent of the town's work force.

But the new compromise budget got the nod from Harrington, on behalf of the town's children.

"Compromise seems to be the order of the day," Harrington told selectmen. "If (this budget) restores teaching positions at Salisbury Elementary School, I don't think we can take a hard line."

Even with the expected $118,000 decrease in its Triton assessment next year if the School Committee approves the new budget tomorrow night, the $170,000 increase to Whittier will kick Salisbury's education costs up about $52,000 over last year. Salisbury's Whittier contribution was raised because more student are choosing to go there rather than Triton.

Six out of nine Triton School Board members are needed for approval of the budget, Choate said. Tomorrow's Triton School Board meeting will take place at Newbury Elementary School.

Staff writer Victor Tine contributed to this report.