The School Committee’s finance members met on Monday and recommended a cut to the budget.
WESTFIELD – The School Committee Finance sub-committee, chaired by Ramon Diaz, Jr., met on Monday to review changes in the budget since a meeting two weeks ago at which they reviewed it line item-by-line item. He said the goal of this meeting was to come up with a budget number for a vote by the next School Committee May 21. Ultimately, the sub-committee voted for a decrease of $200,000 to the budget submitted by the district.
“Our job is to recommend that number,” Diaz said to the twenty or so administrations and principals that came to the meeting. He said the budget submitted for 2019 totaled $61,540,790; an increase of $1,024,658 over 2018 after an additional $341,117 in state Chapter 70 (state aid for public school) funds was deducted.
Westfield Public Schools Superintendent Stefan Czaporowski said that some of the increase was due to the new configuration of the 5/6 and 7/8 schools, which require duplication of some programs at both schools that had previously only been in one. He said a majority are Special Education programs which help keep students in the district.
Czaporowski also said the budget does reflect reductions in staffing due to the redistricting.
Diaz added that $246,371 in expenses came over “rightfully so” from the city side to the school side that previously weren’t accounted for in the district budget, but were in the city budget. These expenses include a dedicated technology staff person for the district, and trash removal, which has been outsourced to a third party vendor.
Diaz said that after deducting these expenses, basically a wash to the city’s bottom line, the actual increase in the school budget was $778,287, less than a 1.3% increase.
School Committee vice Chair Kevin Sullivan said he had been working to come in with a level budget, but due to the increases in Special Education, and a $400,000 cut from the state due to expected attendance from Westfield at the Hampden Charter School of Science (HCSS), that could not be done.
“I’m looking to keep the city contribution as low as possible. $778,287 is a little high. I’m looking to cut some of that. Now is the time to figure out what corners we can cut to reduce that contribution. We’ve been through the wish list and the needs list, and we’re down to this is what we can afford,” Sullivan said. He added that the School Committee can recommend a cut, but not tell the superintendent where to cut.
Chief Financial Officer Ron Rix said the hard number of pre-enrollment applicants from Westfield for HCSS, which is opening a branch in West Springfield in the fall, is 70, all from grades 5, 6, 7, 8. Rix said this is more than the number of students that applied from West Springfield (29), and Agawam (31). He said he believes that number is high because HCSS focused on recruitment in Westfield, where it had intended to open a new school on Root Road that did not clear the city’s permitting processes in time. He also said that number may go down before September.
Finance sub-committee member Timothy O’Connor said that after going through the budget line-by-line, he agreed with Kevin Sullivan. “Our goal would be for the city Finance sub-committee to bring it forward to the City Council,” he said, adding, “At this point, we’re close to impacting the students, and already have.”
Diaz asked Mayor Brian P. Sullivan if the School Committee could get the number to under a 1% increase, would that be enough for the city to be able to afford the budget.
“It’s hard to just answer yes, but I do believe we’re in the ball park,” Mayor Sullivan said. He said he had met with the Finance sub-committee earlier that day, and not one had said anything regarding the negotiated increase of 2.5% to teachers’ salaries. “That’s the first time that didn’t come up,” he said.
“We’re already in the ball park,” the Mayor added. “We’re looking at things differently than we ever have.” He also said that the city is still waiting for numbers from the state. Sullivan said he plans to send his budget to the City Council on May 30.
Diaz said it’s important to note that severance, which will see another $300,000 decrease this year and next, and will come out of the budget entirely in four years is a big number that they worked hard to get, “thanks to the help of the teachers and teachers unions.”
O’Connor asked about the increase due to duplication of services in 5/6 and 7/8 that has been requested. “Is it safe to say next year we won’t see an escalation of those costs,” he asked.
Martha von Mering, administrator of special services, said the cost of $720,000 is to meet the services and programs for 48 students in those two schools, about $15,000 per student. However, she said if those students were to attend out of district, the cost would be $3.6 million.
“If we didn’t do it, there would be a slow leak. I don’t know if it’s a gamble people feel comfortable taking,” von Mering said. She said the two areas where more programming is needed are in social emotional needs and language learning.
School Committee member Ramon Diaz, Jr.
Diaz said there’s an increase but a cost savings as well. “We’re required by law to service these children,” he said.
Rix said there is also a second payment of $80,000 in aid coming from the state for students from Puerto Rico who arrived following Hurricane Maria. He said the federal government has also released some funding, which will be similar to the state funding, another $80,000 or more that will go back to the city’s bottom line.
According to Rix, there is also an increase in $200,000 in the budget due to one student who is being transferred from a day placement to a residential placement, which the city is required to pay.
A motion to decrease the budget by $200,000 for a bottom line of $61,340,790 passed, and will go to the School Committee for a vote on May 21.
“I think it’s a transparent, fair number,” Diaz said following the meeting.
