By K.B. Sherman, Contributing Writer
Shrewsbury – Although town officials opted not to press for an operational override this year, there is still great concern among many residents and officials, that the town does not have adequate funding for all departments, particularly for the schools. On the first night of the May 20 Annual Town Meeting, voters and School Committee members shared those concerns.
According to School Committee Chair Sandra M. Fryc, the committee believes that Shrewsbury schools will face collapse within four years unless more money is made available.
Fryc added that the Finance Committee's suggested budget of $52.4 million for Fiscal Year 2014 might be doable with enough resource shifting and the addition of more fees for student activities, but that a level-service budget does not provide enough money for adequate education for the town's children.
“We cannot continue to work under current budget restraints,” she said. “The School Committee is unwilling to continue with inadequate funding.”
School safety was then briefly discussed, with general agreement from the voters and Police Chief James Hester Jr. that the $50,000 in the budget for enhancing safety was adequate at this time. Special Education (SPED) concerns were also discussed as the school budget includes a $1.1 million increase over last year. The FY 2014 budget adds 10.4 school personnel positions – nine to SPED for autism-related services, through a program mandated by both federal and state governments. Resident Melanie Petrucci of Precinct 1 asked what percentage of the SPED increases was mandatory, to which School Superintendent Joseph Sawyer replied, “All of it.” He further explained that the town has no flexibility on this issue, noting that if the town were not to comply with SPED mandates, all federal and state money would be withheld from Shrewsbury.
The town budget was then totaled at $101.4 million, as recommended by the Finance Committee, and approved by the voters.
