SOUTHWICK – The school committee voted 7-0 in favor of approving the FY2018 budget for the school district at Tuesday night’s meeting. The favorable vote was for a proposed budget of $24,532,362 which was more than $200,000 less than the prior year’s approved budget. Superintendent Jen Willard’s intentions on the budget were due to the shrinking enrollment in the district.
“We really tried to be fiscally responsible this year,” said Willard. “We had to be responsive to the taxpayers but put together a budget that best meets the needs and programs of our district.”
In last year’s FY2017 approved budget, the costs totaled to $24,754,747, a difference of $222,385 from this year’s proposed budget.
The school district’s business manager, Stephen Presnal addressed the school committee indicating that the difference puts the budget at a 0.90 % decrease, which is unheard of for most school districts.
Superintendent Jen Willard proposed the FY2018 budget to the school committee on Tuesday night. (WNG File Photo)
According to Willard and Presnal, school consolidation, which involves the closing of Granville Village School, was a main cause to the difference in the proposed budget this year from last year.
Before completing the budget, there was an additional $50,000 that was taken out of the Excess and Deficiency Fund for more initiatives that the district felt was necessary to add.
In the budget, there is also around $17,500 for students that could potentially attend Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School, as part of school choice. Southwick Regional High School is a part of (Lower Pioneer Valley Educational Collaborative), where most of the students can choose to go to Smith Vocational for a particular program that they may offer. Willard pointed out that if Smith Vocational doesn’t offer the program, the student can also attend Westfield Technical Academy.
Therefore, the district has to pay expenses for those students.
“We pay tuition to one of those two schools, and provide transportation for our students,” said Willard.
Although the school committee voted in favor of the budget, there is another step in the process before it can be fully approved. At the annual town meeting in May, there will be warrant articles asking the three towns (Southwick, Tolland, and Granville) to appropriate their share of the FY2018 budget.
