Economic woes could cost School Department 25 positions

Westborough - If the recession the country, state and town is currently suff ering through forces the town to approve only a level-funded budget for the School Department for fiscal year (FY) 2010, as many as 25 positions may have to be eliminated, Superintendent of Schools Anne Towle told the Westborough School Committee at its Dec. 17 meeting.

"It wouldn't be 25 teaching positions; it would be a total of 25 positions throughout the district," Towle said. "Cutting positions would be a worst-case scenario, but it's a possibility."

Towle, along with Dan Hendricks, the district's director of business and administration, presented the School Committee two proposed budgets at the meeting: a level-funded budget and a level-service budget.

"Town Coordinator Henry Danis asked us to prepare three things for him regarding the budget," Towle said. "He asked for a level-service budget, a level-funded budget, and the reductions that might be necessary if a level-funded budget were approved."

A level-service budget for FY 2010 would have a cost increase of slightly more than $2.4 million over the FY 2009 budget of $38.1 million, which is an increase of 6.3 percent.

Hendricks said increases to salaries ($1.2 million), electricity ($465,000), natural gas ($90,000), transportation ($85,000), out-of-district Special Education tuition ($390,000), supplies and equipment ($102,000), and a decrease in the amount of circuit-breaker aid ($390,000) the town would receive are the chief reasons for the projected $2.4 million increase for a level-service budget.

To level-fund the FY 2010 budget, Hendricks said areas where reductions will be looked at include transportation, technology purchases, building repairs, and supplies and equipment, as well as the reduction in staff .

Towle said the staff reductions, if it came down to that, would save the district about $1.2 million, which is the estimated cost of the salary increases.

Charging for busing rather than providing it - which the district is not required to do - could save as much as $720,000 (2,000 riders being charged $360 a year), Towle said.

In addition, the district would look at raising about $100,000 by increasing athletics/activities fees.

"It's sobering," School Committee member Stephen Doret said of the cuts that would be necessary should it be determined that the town could only aff ord a level-funded budget.

Towle said that the FY 2010 budget process has begun early because Danis has given all town departments a Thursday Jan. 15 deadline to provide estimated budget figures to the administration.

Because of that, Towle explained to the School Committee, it will need to vote at its Wednesday Jan. 7 meeting on those draft figures and what the impact of those draft figures will be.

"It's good to get it out as soon as we can," School Committee member Bruce Tretter said. "Folks need to start talking about, start realizing that the upcoming budget process is not going to be business as usual."

Towle said the school district's administration is planning to put a survey on the website for parents and families to fill out regarding their preferences for proposed cuts, should there be a need to make some.

Doret warned that this belttightening may be more longterm than town residents would like.

"People in town need to not lose sight of the fact that we're probably not looking at just one year of proposed cuts," Doret said. "There may be three years of cuts, maybe more, before this all gets straightened out."