Committee hears about Special Ed costs, fees
By Melissa Muntz Community Reporter

Shrewsbury - The nearly double-digit increase to the school budget and parent fees were among the top concerns brought up at a School Committee public hearing Feb. 6.

The School Department has requested a budget of $46.82 million, which represents a 9.7 percent budget increase over fiscal year (FY) 2008.

This compares to a 1.2 percent increase in the municipal budget, which has raised a red flag for some community members.

"The economy is on the verge of a recession, the number of foreclosures in town has tripled and enrollment is down, yet you're asking for the biggest budget increase in recent history," resident John Lukach said. "There's something wrong with that picture."

According to School Committee Chair Deborah Peeples, the biggest thing wrong with the picture is the number of programs the schools are obligated to provide without the adequate funding to do so.

"At 9.7 percent, we're not doing any of the things we're hoping to do. We're not cutting fees, we're not adding High School teachers to cut study halls, we're not adding middle school teachers, we're not adding anything," she said. "We're just trying to maintain programming and provide services to the most vulnerable students, which we are required to provide by law and which we are proud to do."

The vulnerable students Peeples was referring to are in the district's Special Education population, who make up 17.3 percent of the total school population. The amount represents 28.6 percent of the entire school budget.

In a presentation to the School Committee prior to the opening of the hearing, Special Education Director Ellen Meyers said the district had no control over most Special Education costs and receives less than adequate funding to cover them.

"The federal government was supposed to fund [the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act] at 40 percent, but it has never been funded above 18 percent," she said. "We have all of the mandates, all of the regulations and all of the laws, but none of the funding."

The issue of funding was also raised in terms of parent

" user fees for transportation, athletics and activities.

"It bothers me that we are charging students to ride the bus, play on the basketball team or volleyball team, be in the French Club or the Chess Club," Finance Committee member John Campbell said.

A free and appropriate public education doesn't mean charging students hundreds and hundreds of dollars to get to and from school and take part in a few activities."

Because the fees bring $800,000 in additional revenue each year, the equivalent of 17 teachers, committee members said it would be difficult to eliminate them no matter how much they want to.

"Every time I write a check, I resent it because I know it's the wrong thing to do, and I was one of the ones who voted for them," said committee member Mark Murray, who has several children in the district.

The School Committee will hold additional public hearings at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday Feb. 27 at Town Hall and at the High School at 7 p.m. Wednesday March 26.