By Melissa Fales
Reporter
Desjardins, Sawabi retain chair, vice chair positions
Following the Annual Town Election on April 11, the first item of business at the April 13 School Committee was to elect officers. The committee unanimously voted for newly-re-elected Aaron Sawabi to retain his vice chairman position and for Christopher Desjardins to remain as chairman.
University of Phoenix donates more furniture to district
Superintendent Mary-Elizabeth Beach thanked the University of Phoenix for once again donating a large bunch of furniture to the district, including chairs and computer tables. Beach thanked Ware Junior/Senior High School Assistant Principal Cory Rogers whose connections with the University of Phoenix led to the donation. Beach also thanked Christopher Dymon and Bill Alderman of the Facilities/Maintenance Department for making the trip to the school’s Westborough campus to pick up the items.
DESE site review set for week of April 25
Beach said representatives from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education will be visiting all three schools for a site review during the week of April 25. The DESE is making the visit in response to the district’s academic achievements, particularly the strides made at Stanley M. Koziol Elementary School in closing the achievement gap between low-income and non-low-income students. The representatives will try to identify the specific practices that have made Ware so successful in this regard.
First public reading for fiscal year 2012 school district budget
The committee held its first public reading of the draft of the fiscal year 2012 school district budget. Currently, the total funding amount for the school district is $15,344,270, down by three percent, or $511,776, from last year.
While reviewing the budget, the committee freed up an additional $500 after Desjardins suggested eliminating the line item for school committee travel expenses.
One of the larger projected increases is under the line item for transportation. The current budget anticipates that costs will rise by 12 percent, or $59,767, to $557,828. Andy Paquette of The Management Solution explained he’s projecting the 12 percent increase because the contract will be going out to bid for the first time in five years and he anticipates higher labor rates as well as higher fuel costs to factor in the bids.
Paquette explained some increases in salaries need to be increased due to longevity and step rates. Other increases are due to the district needing to continue to fund items that were previously funded either in full or in part by grants. “The grants aren’t there anymore, but the expenses still are,” Paquette said.
Sawabi, chair of the Budget Subcommittee, noted that although the budget is still a work in progress, it has come a long way. “When we last discussed this, we were trying to balance a $1.9 million deficiency,” he said. At that time, the committee was considering eliminating a total of 13 positions with a combination of layoffs and attrition. The current draft of the budget includes the elimination of 9 positions, with one coming from attrition. Those positions include one part-time maintenance worker, one part-time custodian, the CAD instructor, one business teacher, one English teacher, one Kindergarten teacher, one half-time pre-Kindergarten teacher due to attrition and two Special Education positions. “We certainly value all the adults in the learning community, but tough decisions have to be made,” said Beach. “It’s a very hard year.” Sawabi noted that despite these cuts, there will not be any cuts to the curriculum except for the CAD program.
Sawabi cautioned there are still several yet to be determined variables that will affect the budget. Voters will have to approve the budget at the Annual Town Meeting in May. Beach added that contract negotiations will start soon, opening the budget up to more potential changes. Additionally, Beach warned that once the state releases its final budget figures, changes may need to be made.
Desjardins commended the administration for their work. “You’ve come up with some creative ways to maintain programs at no additional costs,” he said. Sawabi said he thought the budget reflected the district’s philosophy of keeping the cuts as far away as possible from the students. “We’re still protecting their interests in terms of the academics we offer,” he said.
A second public hearing for the budget will be held at the committee’s April 27 meeting. Residents are encouraged to attend to share their input. Comments and suggestions for the budget may also be made via the district’s website at http://www.warepublicschools.com
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