Schools pleased with response to full-day K plan

School Committee members were pleased with their initial meeting with the Finance Committee concerning their proposal to fund tuition-free full-day kindergarten beginning in the next school year.

School Committee Chairman Bob Golledge said at the board’s January 21 meeting that he is optimistic that they will gain the support of the FinCom and the Board of Selectmen prior to the May town meeting.

Golledge said he recently received positive news from Finance Director Jim Murgia, who researched the proposal and concluded that the town could be eligible for additional Chapter 70 aid by implementing the full-day kindergarten program.

The latest estimates by School Business Manager Barry Nectow peg the first-year costs of the program at $700,000, which is down from an initial projection of $750,000. However, Golledge said that once the initial investment is made, the town stands to receive at least 80 percent of the $700,000 expenditure from the state in the second and subsequent years, leaving roughly $150,000 to be funded by the school budget.

In the meantime, the School Committee will continue to work with the FinCom and the BOS in advance of town meeting to explore funding options for the first year of the program.

Last month, the School Committee submitted a “placeholder” warrant article that requests funding for the kindergarten program but does not specify the amount needed or the source of the funding.

What is clear at this point is that the $700,000 will not be part of the school’s operating budget in the next fiscal year. The committee did recently file a preliminary budget of $38.304 million, which is 5.64 percent higher than the current year’s budget.

Murgia had set an initial target figure of $37.67 million for the schools with the understanding that the financial picture would likely change over the next several months as state aid projections and local tax receipts came into focus.

Golledge said he anticipates a final budget that settles somewhere in the middle between Murgia’s target and the committee’s requested budget. He told fellow committee members to prepare for a 4 or 4.5 percent increase rather than the requested increase of 5.64 percent. The preliminary budget filed by the committee on Friday remains fluid until the public hearing scheduled for April 7, and even then it is subject to change based on the results of the May town meeting.

The committee continues to examine the budget and wants to ensure that there is adequate instructional funds to increase MCAS math scores, particularly at the middle school. Also, the committee is hoping to add a part-time social studies position at CHS so that Athletic Director Danny Erickson can be a full-time administrator. Out of 20 nearby communities, Canton is currently one of only three that has an AD who teaches a class.

In other news Thursday night, Golledge informed his colleagues that he will not run for another term on the School Committee in the upcoming town election and encouraged other residents to run for his seat …

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Posted by Mike Berger on Jan 29 2016. Filed under News, Schools. Both comments and pings are currently closed.