Medford School Committee Approves Budget

After over five hours of meeting Monday night into early Tuesday morning, the Medford School Committee reconvened Tuesday night to approve a $47.5 million budget for the 2013 school year.

The budget falls about $1.3 million short of offering level services compared to 2012, but doesn't have as quite as many cuts as originally anticipated. It was passed unanimously by the committee.

On Monday, the committee heard from parents, teachers and students who spoke out against eliminating the middle school foreign language program, a cut that would have saved the district about $120,000.

Their message was apparently heard -- Funding for that program, and about $210,000 in funding to other programs, was restored in the revised version of the budget.

About $1.3 million in cuts remain, including five currently open elementary school teaching positions totaling $243,290, two open teaching positions at the Curtis Tufts School at $97,316, and $75,000 in the outside cleaning budget. About $200,000 in funding for textbooks for math, science foreign language and English were cut. A bus that transports students to Minuteman Technical High School will be replaced by MBTA passes for students, a measure that will save $52,000.

The budget was raised by only $83,000 from the $47.4 million budget presented Monday night. But reviews of available city and school funds and projected state funding led to the discovery of about $250,000 in additional non-budget funding available to restore certain programs, Mayor Michael McGlynn said Tuesday. McGlynn serves as the chairman of the school committee.

"Yes, it’s difficult," McGlynn said after the budget was passed Tuesday, "but if you’re reading the papers, we’re doing a lot better than most communities."

Other items restored include: $50,000 in funding for athletics, $19,500 for student activities, and $65,000 to hire a new assistant principal for elementary schools. A total of $100,000 was originally planned to be cut from the maintenance budget, but that was reduced to $50,000.

Funding for aides in kindergarten classes was partially restored to $92,000. A total of $160,000 was spent on kindergarten aides in 2012, but with smaller projected kindergarten enrollment this year, $100,000 was the estimated figure to maintain level services, superintendent Roy Belson said Tuesday.

The budget was passed unanimously, although some committee members expressed concern over certain cuts.

Erin DiBenedetto said she wanted clarification on how much would be cut from the kindergarten aide budget, and initially was the sole vote against a resolution to amend the budget to a high total value. She voted in support of the final budget.

Committee member Paulette Van der Kloot said she was concerned that the maintenance budget would be cut when the schools need physical improvements, and that a technical specialist position was be cut. Van der Kloot said she was pleased with the addition of a new elementary school principal -- the school system currently only has one "traveling" assistant principal for its four elementary schools -- but she would like to see more.

"It’s a step in the right direction, a step I’m happy to see," she said.

Where the new funding comes from

The committee was slated to begin its meeting Tuesday at 7 p.m., but spent well over an hour in non-public session before emerging to vote on the budget.

When they appeared, McGlynn detailed the areas where additional funding was found.

About $35,000 in the account for an annual golf tournament McGlynn hosts will go toward restoring athletics, along with a projected $15,000 in additional revenue from the tournament this year, he said. McGlynn has hosted the tournament for 14 years, and its money can only go toward athletics, he said.

"People may ask 'Why can’t you put back teaching positions, why can’t you put back kindergarten aides? Specific account, specific purposes,” McGlynn said.

Following a review by the school superintendent's office, about $74,000 allotted from the city to the school department for the 2012 school year was found to be still available and will be rolled into 2013, McGlynn said.

In addition, the city set up a rebate account with Waste Management before agreeing to a new contract with the company in 2010, McGlynn said. As it turns out, that account now has $83,000 in it, and it will be dedicated to schools in 2013, he said.

Why the cuts happened

The approved budget is about a $2.6 million increase from last year's budget, but most of that increase is dedicated to previously negotiated raises for union positions, which totaled $2.1 million. Another $300,000 was taken up by positions previously paid for by federal funds.

The school department was directed by the city to restrain its budget increase to $2.5 million, school officials previously said. Massachusetts state law caps annual municipal tax increases at 2.5 percent; anything more would require an override vote.

Transportation, maintenance and other expenses were also rising, making it impossible for the school department to keep its increase to $2.5 million without cuts, Belson previously said.

The approval Tuesday concludes the school committee's review of its budget. The City Council is currently in the process of reviewing Medford's municipal budget. It is slated to hold a meeting on the police, public works and fire prevention budgets Wednesday night.

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