School Committee Budget Projections 'Shaky' At Best

Despite its request for a solid FY '13-14 budget proposal from the Newport School Committee by June 30, the Newport City Council can likely only hope for an estimate, Chairman Charles Shoemaker said at a joint meeting on Wednesday night. 

The Uniform Chart of Accounts (UCOA), implemented in 2011 as part of a statewide financial reform, has slowed the budget process down, Shoemaker said. As a part of UCOA, more than 1,900 line items must be accounted for in the budget.

“The new UCOA has taken a lot of time to get used to. We don’t have a current budget at this point,” he said.

Business manager Joan Tracy said the payroll will be converted and the school department will be fully compliant with UCOA as of next June.

Shoemaker said that it was still not clear whether the school committee would see a deficit or surplus by the end of the fiscal year in August, adding that the budget would be “starting out shaky.”

In terms of revenue, the school committee will not receive as much federal funding as in previous years. Title I and II funding has already decreased, and the $500,000 in ARRA funds was a one-year allowance, Shoemaker explained to the council.

Expenditures will be “very enrollment dependent.” While the Pell Elementary School will reduce the number of nurses, principals and administrators, the exact amount in savings will be dependent on the number of students in the school.

Healthcare costs are also dependent on enrollment.

“Not only is the premium going to go up, there are going to be more people entering that pipeline. . .” Shoemaker said.

A large amount of the school committee’s expenditures will come from teachers’ salaries. As teachers progress through the system, 32 percent will receive step increases.

Anticipated capital expenses include a leaking roof at the Triplett School and roof damage at Rogers High School.

Expenditures related to unexpected special education circumstances arising is also a concern budget-wise.

If a student who is required to go to the Bradley School moves to the district, the committee could face an extra $40,000 to $90,000 in costs.

Despite the shaky figures, progress on the budget has still been made.

“We made a lot of good decisions on contracts, we’ve been working very hard. We’ve made a whole lot of progress,” school committee member Robert Leary said.

However, City Councilor Justin McLaughlin did not seem optimistic about the council’s ability to help fund their budget.

“Don’t walk away thinking we have extra money,” he said. “We don’t have enough money to pay the bills we already know about.”