School Committee balances FY12 budget

Already drained from the previous two weeks of budget deliberations, the five members of the Canton School Committee donned a brave face and slogged through their final round of cuts last week, eliminating the equivalent of three full-time teachers to help close a projected $1.5 million deficit in the 2012 operating budget.

Saving the toughest cuts for last, committee members once again made it clear to the packed audience how difficult and stressful this particular budget season has been. Liz Salisbury even addressed a group of golf team members directly, acknowledging their hurt feelings over the potential loss of their sport. “We’re hearing you loud and clear,” Salisbury said.

Fortunately for the golfers — and for the gymnasts, swimmers and freshman baseball players — the School Committee opted to preserve all programs and instead voted 5-0 to raise the athletic user fee to $195 per athlete per sport. The committee had previously approved an increase from $125 to $150 and had also added a $250 surcharge for hockey players and a $50 surcharge for swimmers to help offset rink and pool expenses.

CHS Athletic Director Danny Erickson reluctantly supported the additional fee increase; however, he urged that the committee accept it “with the understanding that the program cannot sustain itself at its current size.”

He also recommended that the committee establish an advisory board to review the athletic program, adding that the schools “really need to have a better plan for athletics than annually alarming kids, alarming coaches, and alarming parents.”

Committee members agreed with Erickson’s suggestion and voted to create a subcommittee that would examine and make recommendations for athletics as well as extracurricular activities and programs.

Moving on to other cuts, the committee voted 5-0 to eliminate $22,000 in proposed stipends for after-school supervision at the middle and high schools and before-school supervision at the elementary schools. Building principals had recommended the stipends, citing safety concerns.

Committee member Reuki Schutt acknowledged those concerns, but summed up the committee’s decision with what has become an oft-repeated phrase: “We just can’t afford it right now.”

Before moving on to their list of positional cuts, committee members approved a $7,000 reduction in the budget for mentoring stipends and also agreed to borrow $20,000 from the CHS athletic revolving account.

Having already cut a full-time teacher position at the Hansen and Kennedy schools and a 0.6 English teacher at the high school, the committee had no choice on Thursday but to tap into its “level 2” cut list, which included another full-time teacher (1.0) at the Hansen school and a 0.6 middle school computer tech position. The committee also approved four teacher cuts at the high school: 0.4 business/tech, 0.4 science, 0.4 foreign language, and 0.2 English language arts.

The committee did manage to save a 0.2 art and music position and a 0.2 library position. They were also able to preserve the PACE program, which serves over 100 gifted and talented students at the elementary level.

In addition, committee members decided not to reduce or eliminate department head positions at the middle and high schools. The idea was raised at their previous meeting; however, several administrators, including Superintendent Jeff Granatino and curriculum director Jen Henderson, characterized the positions as invaluable and simply too important to do without.

Galvin Principal Tom LaLiberte, who will retire at the end of the school year, spoke passionately on behalf of middle school department heads and the unheralded but critical work they perform.

“In my strongest way of presenting publicly, I urge you not to do this,” LaLiberte said.

After the teacher cuts were announced, several Canton High department heads addressed the committee on behalf of their departments. By that point, however, committee members had made their decision and had little to offer but their empathy.

“It’s shameful what we are unable to provide here,” said Schutt to CHS foreign language chair Karen Augenstern. “It is a terrible shame we are going to be cutting these programs.”

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Posted by Jay Turner on Apr 21 2011. Filed under News, Schools. Both comments and pings are currently closed.