Committee approves 5.27 percent budget increase
By Ken Powers Community Reporter
Northborough/Southborough - Despite the existence of a financial climate so tight that many boards, committees and departments are happy just to be able to level fund their budgets, the Regional School Committee approved at its Feb. 27 meeting a budget for fiscal year (FY) 2009 that contains an increase of $858,000 or 5.27 percent.

The total budget for the operation of the Algonquin Regional High School will be $17.9 million, $15.1 million of which will be assessed to Northborough and Southborough, the remaining $2.8 million be covered by state funding and other revenues, according to Superintendent of Schools Charles Gobron.

Northborough's assessment will be $9.28 million, an increase of $284,780, or 3.75 percent over FY 2008. That figure and percentage is within the projected guidelines set by Northborough Town Administrator Barry Brenner for an increase that would not trigger the need for a Proposition 2-1/2 override.

Southborough is not as fortunate. Its assessment for FY 2009 is $5.79 million, an increase of $306,057 or 6.63 percent over FY 2008. That figure is $161,000 more than the Southborough selectmen indicated the assessment could rise and still stay within Proposition 2-1/2 guidelines.

Gobron said Southborough's FY 2008 assessment to the regional school budget decreased 2 percent from the FY 2007 assessment.

"I already have meetings planned with Southborough Town Administrator Jean Kitchen, the Southborough Board of Selectmen and the Advisory Committee," Gobron said. "We're going to see what we can do, what we can work out so we don't need an override."

The financial news wasn't all bleak for Northborough and Southborough at the Feb. 27 meeting, however. Both towns will be receiving money from the current regional school budget as the school committee voted to recalculate the FY 2008 assessments.

When the FY 2008 assessments were originally calculated, Gobron explained, they were done so using the FY 2007 budget, rather than the approved, state-aid-inclusive figures, which weren't available at the time.

When approved, the state figures were so dramatically different than the FY 2007 budget figures - to the benefit of the towns - that Northborough Treasurer-Collector June Hubbard-Ward made a formal request for a recalculation to the Northborough Board of Selectmen, who approved the recalculation request and sent it forward to the Regional School Committee.

Following the recalculation, the Regional School Committee voted to return $232,000 to Northborough and $6,000 to Southborough.

The FY 2009 budget the Regional School Committee approved at the Feb. 27 meeting included just a few new positions.

One of those new positions is an assistant superintendent of schools. The assistant superintendent will not only assist with the operation of the high school but will also play a role in the elementary and middle schools in both towns.

Gobron said adding the assistant superintendent position did not impact the budget because the school district's curriculum coordinator position has been eliminated.

The approved budget also includes the addition of a data compliance specialist position, the reclassifying of an aide to that of an intervention tutor, the addition of two Special Education aides and increased hours for the transitional learning center aide.

Gobron said the brunt of the budget increase is a combination of increasing health insurance premiums, salary increases and rising costs of retirement benefits.