School Committee revises STM article

Seeking funding for two items now, two at spring ATM

 

By Melissa Fales

Reporter

 

WARE – A majority of School Committee members voted to revise Article Three of the Special Town Meeting warrant at their Nov. 14 meeting. At the Board of Selectmen meeting on Nov. 13, the selectmen, the Finance Committee and Town Manager Stuart Beckley had all said the town couldn’t afford the $638,436 the school district was requesting and that they wouldn’t support it. 

Article Three, as originally submitted, sought $60,000 for the salary and benefits for an additional full-time nurse, $117,899 for additional out-of-district tuition needs, $212,407 for increased staffing needs due to an enrollment increase and $248,130 in additional in-district special education needs.

Faced with all three advisors recommending against the article, School Committee Chairman Christopher Desjardins asked the committee if they wanted to revise the article and ask for less. He admitted that he didn’t think voters would approve the full amount and agreed that the town couldn’t afford it right now. However, he noted that the town does still owe the district over $600,000 after failing to meet the net school spending amount established by the state. “We’re not asking for extra money, we’re asking for the money that is owed to us,” he said. “We’re looking for the money we were shorted.” 

 

Committee member Brian Winslow made the comment that the proposed funding for many of the other articles on the warrant involves borrowing and questioned why more Free Cash couldn’t be used for the school district’s requests.“This is a legitimate need,” he said. “As far as I’m concerned, the amount we’re asking for is not outrageous, especially since we haven’t been funded fully for years.”

Committee member Danielle Souza said the town should willingly support the enrollment increase with the necessary additional staffing. She noted that the increase includes the return of students who had been School Choicing out of the district and new students School Choicing into Ware. “That’s been our whole goal since I sat on the committee,” she said.

Beckley had suggested that the committee hold off on some of the requests until the Annual Town Meeting in the spring. Committee member Aaron Sawabi commented that both the town and district’s finances would fluctuate by then. He suggested that if it’s a warm winter, there might be money leftover in fuel and snow removal budgets that could be put towards the district’s requests.

Winslow said all four of the district’s funding requests were too important for the students to have to wait. “What are we willing to give up?” he asked. “The school’s gone without for a long time.”

Sawabi recommended revising Article Three to include only the two highest-priority items, with the other two items to be revisited in the spring. “I think we need the whole amount, but I think breaking it up for now makes sense,” Sawabi said. “We know the town’s in a crunch. We want to work with the town as long as it’s with the understanding that we’re not giving up the other two items. It will be our job to make sure that they don’t forget. We don’t have kids going to the meeting speaking on their own behalf. We have to do it for them.”

Article Three, as revised, will seek $177,899; $60,000 for the full-time nurse and $117,899 for the additional out-of-district tuition needs. “I think that’s workable,” said Desjardins. Three of the members present voted in favor of the revision. Winslow was the lone vote against revising the amount because he believes the original amount requested was reasonable.

The Special Town Meeting will be held Monday, Nov. 19 at 6:30 p.m. in the Ware Junior Senior High School Auditorium.

A quorum of 100 registered voters is needed.