Watertown Superintendent Must Think Creatively to Make Budget Work

Facing a budget shortfall, Superintendent Jean Fitzgerald told the School Committee she will have to "think creatively" to find a way to make the budget work with fewer staff than she hoped to have next year.

The budget proposed 2013-14 school budget of $37 million would be a 4.77 percent increase, or $1.68 million more than fiscal 2013, said School Committee Vice Chairman John Portz.

In earlier discussions, Fitzgerald said she hoped to add two new teaching positions at the Hosmer School to handle the increasing enrollment. At the same time, state officials have said Watertown must add more instructors for students learning English as a second language.

"In schools in Watertown we teach students to think creatively, and we're teaching the superintendent to think creatively, too," said Watertown Superintendent Jean Fitzgerald.

Portz said he is not sure how it will be accomplished, but Fitzgerald will have to find a way to meet both goals with fewer teachers than they had hoped to have.

Watertown officials are bracing for a decrease of more than $300,000 in grants from both the state and federal government. At the same time they must deal with increasing enrollment and higher demands - especially for the special education program, said School Business Director Jack Loughran.

The schools must also pay for salary increases in union contracts, which will be $1.2 million more than the current year, Loughran said. 

Some savings will be made by reducing the number of instrutional assistants, Fitzgerald said, which would save an estimated $350,000.

More cuts might be needed if extra funding cannot be found. In October, Town Manager Michael Driscoll told all departments in Watertown, including the schools, to expect a 2.5 percent increase over Fiscal 2013.

The School Committee meets Monday, April 8 at 7 p.m. to vote on the school budget proposal. The location has not yet been determined.