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Citizens for Needham Schools (CNS) is a committee dedicated to advocating for strong public schools, educating the public on issues pertaining to school department funding and capital projects, and supporting the School Administration and the School Committee in their efforts to provide quality education for Needham’s students.
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Your Attention, Please! |
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Greetings,
The School Department faces challenges this
spring: a tough budget, on top of middle school
improvements that need financing. Parents can
help by getting informed and getting active.
Please read on, and please forward this
newsletter to your friends and neighbors.
School Committee Public Budget Hearing: January 16
Superintendent Dan Gutekanst has presented to
School
Committee both his needs-based budget request for
fiscal year '08 (FY'08) and his recommended cuts to
that budget that will likely be necessary in
order to
balance the town's budget. The budget presentation
can be viewed at the link below. It is
important to
note that although some of these cuts represent
proposed restorations from last year's failed
override,
most are on top of those cuts already made in the
current
year's school budget.
Based on current (not final) revenue numbers,
the recommended $1.5 million in cuts include: up
to 18 teachers, 6
clerical positions, 3 specialists, 2 media and
technology
assistants, guidance, special education
assistants, and
professional and curriculum development.
The School Committee would like to hear from you
about the budget and the proposed cuts. Please
come to the Broadmeadow Performance Center on
Tuesday, January 16 at 7:00 p.m. and let your
opinions
be heard.
Superintendent's School Budget Presentation
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Now...the Budget Process |
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Step 1: Develop needs-based budget. The
Superintendent creates an FY08 budget for
the school system, outlining the needs for the coming
year and the cost for each line item.
Step 2: Recommend cuts. Projected
revenues are provided to the Schools by the Town, and
if the
revenue
projections are less than the needs-based
budget, the Schools develops a list of cuts.
Step 3: Develop a budget. Public comment is
welcome at the Jan 16 School Budget Hearing. The
School Committee must send an adequate budget in
keeping with the residents' expectations to the Town
Manager by late January. That voted budget may
be in excess of available Town revenues.
Step 4: Continued development of budget.
The Town revenue number continues to be
clarified and the budget development
continues with the participation of the Finance
Committee.
Step 5: Decide whether to request an
operational override. If the School Committee
finds the
required reductions in program and services
unacceptable for maintaining a quality school
program,
the School Committee can request that the Selectman
place an operational override on the April
ballot. Taxpayer input and feedback is critical in
making this decision.
Step 6: By March 6, the Selectmen vote to
determine which proposed override questions will
go on
the April Town Election ballot.
At this point, the first and second steps have
been completed and we are working towards step
three. The Town revenue numbers are not solid
and Governor's budget has not yet been released,
so the School Committee has to base its
decisions on projections.
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The Superintendent's Needs-Based FY08 Budget |
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Superintendent Dan Gutekanst presented his needs-
based FY08 budget to the School Committee on
December 5, 2006 (see link below). The FY08
budget represents a 7.9%
increase over the current budget. It accounts for
increases in enrollment, salaries, and mandated
costs.
It also restores funding for some, but not all,
of the
programs and positions cut this year, including
funding
for a simplified Science Center. However, Dr.
Gutekanst
had to be "judicious. . .prudent, and fiscally
responsible" in creating this budget and therefore
had "to say no to some good ideas." Elementary
Spanish, for example, is not included in the
restorations. Instead, Dr. Gutekanst said, the
administration will review our language program and
other districts' language programs and decide
how we
can best use our resources. The needs-based budget
also cuts the supply budget by 15%.
Contractual Increases in Salaries, Increases in
Mandated Costs
5.9% of the increase over last year's budget comes
from contractual
increases
to salaries or from increases in costs mandated
by the
state or federal government.
Enrollment and Restorations
Almost all of the rest of the increase comes from
additional staff to handle increased enrollment
or from
the restoration of programs cut this year. The
Superintendent requested the restoration of
$393,008
of those programs.
The Superintendent's Needs-based Budget (December 2006) »
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The Superintendent's Recommended Cuts |
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The Town does not yet have solid revenue numbers
for
FY08. However, the Finance Committee has provided
the School Committee guidance that a 4% increase to
its budget may be achievable this year.
Therefore, the
School Committee expects to have to cut $1.4
million
from the superintendent's need-based budget. Dr.
Gutekanst presented his recommended cuts to the
School Committee on January 9.
The recommended budget cuts were available in
levels. Specific details about the impact of
these cuts
will be presented at the January 16 Public
Hearing. As
the School Committee indicated last year, last
year's
lost override resulted in cuts everywhere except in
direct core classrooms. This year's cuts will
directly
affect students and classroom teachers.
It is still quite early in the revenue process and
Massachusetts has a new Governor who is not
required, by law, to deliver his House 1 budget
until
early February. Unfortunately, the Town budget
process requires that the School Committee vote a
budget by late January, and the Town Manager must
present her proposed budget to the FinCom and
School
Committee by the end of January. Therefore, the
School Committee is scheduled to vote a recommended
budget on January 23, and the Town Manager expects
to present her budget to a joint session of the
Board of
Selectmen, School Committee and FinCom on January
31.
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Paying for High Rock |
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In November, Town Meeting approved $525,000 to
design a High Rock renovation and addition.
DiNisco Design has been hired to design the
project. The total estimated cost of the Middle
School projects is $15 million, although more
information about the cost will be available in
the next few weeks.
To pay for the project, voters will have to
approve the
building money in a debt-exclusion override
question in
April. The Selectmen decide whether or not to put
override questions on the ballot. In the next few
weeks, the School Committee will review DiNisco's
design proposals. The Selectmen will vote by
March 6.
Please stay tuned.
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Are You a Town Meeting Member? |
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Nomination papers are available for Town Meeting
Member. Getting your name on the ballot is
easy: pick up nomination papers at the Town
Clerk's office in Town Hall, get 10 signatures
of registered voters in your precinct, and
return your papers by February 20. And your
voice is needed in Town Meeting: parents of
school children are underrepresented. Town
Meeting Members make almost every decision in
Needham; the town boards make recommendations,
but Town Meeting gives the final approval. Town
Meeting convenes for several Monday and
Wednesday evenings in May and sometimes for an
evening or two in November. It's a small time
commitment for an important job. Please
consider running!
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It Takes a Village to Build Strong Schools...Please Get Involved! |
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In order to maintain a healthy school budget and to
gain community support to relieve the
overcrowding at
Pollard, volunteers will be needed to educate
the public
on the issues at hand. Please come to the next
CNS meeting, Sunday, January 28 at 7:30 pm at the
Needham Historical Society to learn how you can
lend a
hand to this important effort.
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| Quick Links... |
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email: info@needhamyes.com
voice: 781-453-0558
web: http://www.needhamyes.com
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Be an informed voter
Citizens for Needham Schools has compiled a great deal of documentation about town finances and school department budgets. In addition, we offer links to topical articles about the state of public school standards, performance and funding.
Can you help?
Please let us know by subscribing to our Mailing List. You'll be able to tell us with your preferences how you want to volunteer so that we can best use your talents OR you'll be able to just stay informed. All you need to do is to enter your email in the box below and confirm your preferences. Thanks for your support!
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