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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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Another Tight Budget Year Is Anticipated |
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| Please Tune in to the School Budget Discussions and Hearings |
December 18, 2006 |
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Greetings,
The School budget season has begun. Superintendent
Dan Gutekanst presented his needs-based budget to
the School Committee on Tuesday, December 5. The
budget is for fiscal year (FY) 2008, which
covers the
2007-2008 school year. Dr.
Gutekanst said that he needed to
be "judicious. . .prudent, and fiscally
responsible" in
creating this budget and therefore had "to say
no to
some good ideas." However, he said the
budget "details what resources we need to
continue to
provide a high-quality education to an outstanding
student body." The FY08 budget represents a 7.9%
increase over the current (FY07) budget.
It accounts for increases in enrollment,
salaries, and mandated costs. It also restores
funding
for some of the programs and positions cut this
year,
including funding for a simplified Science Center.
However, it cuts the supply budget by 15%. You can
find the presentation on the district website
(see link
below), and you
can watch it on The Needham Channel.
Given that the 7.9% increase in the
Superintendent's
budget proposal exceeds the average annual school
budget increase of 3.8% approved
by Town Meeting over the past five years
(including a
$2 million override approved by voters in
FY04), it is likely that cuts will be required
to meet the Town's balanced budget requirement.
In the next few weeks, the School Committee and
Finance Committee will discuss this budget, and
parents may want to tune into those
discussions:
* School Committee: December 19 and January 2.
These meetings will be televised.
* Finance Committee: January 8. This
meeting will
not be televised.
January 16 has been set for a School Committee public hearing on
the budget, and more Finance Committee discussions will follow.
We will send another newsletter in January when those dates are
more firmly set.
| 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.
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