Schools
Some Teacher 'Non-Renewal' Notices Likely
The school district's operating budget reflects a 3.37 percent increase over current year.
The $100,748,192 operating budget the Nashua Board of Education adopted April 10 means that a few teachers could receive "non-renewal" notices in early May.
The budget eliminates three positions at the high schools, down from six positions identified for reduction in the superintendent's proposed budget.
It reflects a 3.37 percent increase over the current fiscal year, but it does not reflect a number of things, such as possible changes by Mayor Donnalee Lozeau and the Board of Aldermen.
The Board of Education cut $1.8 million from Superintendent Mark Conrad's proposed budget he put forward in January. The board actions to cut staff included these motions:
- Eliminate three high school teachers: $137,445
- Eliminate high school social worker: $45,815
- Eliminate 1 PT math coach: $22,908
- Eliminate two secondary guidance counselors: $91,630
- Eliminate one curriculum specialist: $78,902
Nothing is yet final. The staffing reductions depend on the final budget vote, but the required notification for non-renewals cannot wait until then.
Staffing also depends on prospective retirements and enrollments, said George Farrington, president of the Nashua Board of Education. The district has fiscal hurdles in FY15, and they do not just disappear in 2016, he noted.
"It's going to be a challenge," Farrington said. "I think the dust is going to have to settle before we know."
The board did vote to add two elementary school teachers, and chose to spend $20,250 for a Saturday program to support middle school student learning.
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