School Committee Recommends 2.78 Budget Increase, But Orders Examination Of 2.5 Percent Increase

The Westford School Committee has proposed a figure for the Fiscal Year 2017 budget, but that amount may be changing very soon.

In a 5-1-0 vote, the School Committee voted to recommend a $54,847,094 budget for FY’ 17, representing Westford School Department Superintendent Bill Olsen’s initial 2.78 percent increase over the FY’ 16 School Department budget.

However, the committee also voted 5-1-0 to direct Olsen on what the budget would look like if their FY’ 17 came in at only a 2.5 percent increase, as requested by Town Manager Jodi Ross.

At Thursday’s Finance Committee meeting, Ross informed members of the Finance Committee and Olsen that other departments in town government have been forced to accept only a 0.9 percent increase due to lingering concerns over upcoming projects, low free cash amounts, liabilities such as rising healthcare costs and retirement benefits and the hope that a recently laid off plow driver can be rehired.

School Committee Member David Keele’s motion to endorse the superintendent’s recommended budget request initially died on the floor, and it was followed by concerns mainly from fellow School Committee Member Erika Kohl over the concerns of Ross.

In response, Keele viewed the 2.78 percent option as Olsen’s recommendation on what is needed to run an optimal school district, which is where he believed the committee’s responsibilities lie. At one point, he asked if this wasn’t the case if the School Committee was actually the Finance Committee or the Board of Selectmen instead.

Keele added that good-faith negotiations should continue with other boards as needed and that any money that can be returned to the town should be given back, with negotiations continuing as needed until the morning of Town Meeting.

But in addition to the town manager’s concerns, Kohl also noted that in addition to being School Committee members, they were also town residents who would be affected by any additional cuts to non-school departments, and that a balance should be sought within the proposed budget that would go to voters at Town Meeting.

School Committee Member Tom Clay was not in attendance on Tuesday night, but the other members excluding Keele and Kohl supported both motions, with Kohl opposing the 2.78 percent recommended increase and Keele opposing the order that Olsen present what a 2.5 percent increase might look like.

Of the proposed items discussed in the 2.78 percent increase earlier in the meeting, the 4.0 full time equivalent (FTE) special education positions drew the most discussion. An FTE was filled this school year due to an unforeseen special education need and 1.0 of that 4.0 request would be to retain the teacher filling that slot, with the other 3.0 FTE being held in reserve for future contingencies as needed.

Olsen also strongly advised against cutting the recommended $10,000 increase for the Babson Cup entrepreneurship program, designed to allow several Westford Academy students engage in courses at Babson College designed around innovation topics.

Students were able to take part in the Babson Cup this year due to a series of grants that may not be available in the future. Olsen indicated that if the $10,000 was cut for this program, he would divert $10,000 from elsewhere in the budget to preserve it.

The committee also discussed the potential financial impact of full-day kindergarten, although Keele noted that it was still premature to engage in detailed discussion on the topic, as various factors still remain pending and that the first year of the program will be something of a fiscal learning curve no matter what happens.

However, he also noted his opinion that the program will likely be exceptional in terms of its educational value and that it was wise to begin the program before the state potentially mandating it in the near future.