Lanesborough School Approves Level Service Budget
LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — After a brief public hearing the School Committee approved a budget that calls for a level-funded appropriation from the taxpayers.
This will be the third consecutive year the school has asked for an appropriation of $2,434,710.
The overall budget is up by $40,949 from last year but that increase is being covered by school-choice revenue and is not coming from the town. The total budget is set at $2,769,997 but $345,177 is coming from non-appropriated sources such as school choice and grants. That represents a 1.5 percent total increase in spending.
"We're looking at an additional $40,949 over the current budget which we will be utilizing from school choice." said interim Superintendent Kimberly Grady.
Principal Marty McEvoy says the budget is "level services" by keeping the same staff and supporting the school's priorities. Those include high student achievement, aligning the science curriculum with new standards, promoting literacy across the curriculum, focusing on technology — including the one-on-one Chromebook program to equip the students with laptops.
The service has been working, McEvoy said, because for also the third consecutive year the school has achieved a Level 1 ranking from the state. The only addition to this budget would be two non-instructional paraprofessionals. They will be additional supervision for lunch, recess, and when the students are getting on and off the bus.
"For the safety of kids we are looking to bring in 2 non-instructional paraprofessionals for 15 hours a week," Grady said.
McEvoy said the budget still supports music, drama, technology, library, art, and physical education, all aspects of providing a rich education. While not related to the budget because it doesn't cost anything, McEvoy also highlighted that a partnership with William College will continue. The college provides grant funding, runs science camps, and programs such as BioEyes.
"By focusing on the things we are prioritizing, we believe we can prepare our kids for the future," McEvoy said.
Grady said the only notable change in revenue is with the Title 1 program, which is being disbursed somewhat differently. The funds are prioritized for schools with larger populations of English Language Learners, and Lanesborough has only a small population. She factored in a 5 percent reduction in that revenue.
Selectman Henry "Hank" Sayers thanked the administration and the School Committee for coming in at a level appropriation. The Board of Selectmen have been asking the School Committee to keep budget increases low.
He also asked about the enrollment numbers.
Grady said the total enrollment projected for next year will be down by six students. Currently there are 206 students, 14 coming from school choice and 11 from tuition, and next year there will be 200, with 17 coming from choice and nine from tuition.
Sayers also asked about staffing levels, fearing the school was bringing on unneeded workers. Grady responded that the same staffing levels are being maintained and that paraprofessionals who are brought on serve particular special needs populations. Those typically replace outgoing positions.
"We're bringing in what we need to educate the students in this community. We have no out-of-district placements in this community," Grady said.
Out-of-district placement can be costly for many school systems. If a school is unable to provide the needed services for a particular student then the district is required to pay the tuition at another school that can provide it. Lanesborough is one of the few schools to keep all students in house.
The budget will still need to be approved by town meeting.
Tags: fiscal 2018, LES_budget,
