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Three committees talk about money in October
As budget preparation season gets under way, school officials began laying out their case for a spring override in a meeting with other town boards this week.
While there are 266 more students in the Walpole public schools than four years ago, there are 10 fewer teachers.
The actual gap is 20 or so teachers, Supt. Kathleen Smith said at Tuesday night's meeting, because the higher number of students traditionally would have meant 10 more teachers, not 10 fewer.
At the joint meeting with selectmen, school committee and the finance committee, school officials said it will take $1.9 million more just to provide the same level of services in 2007-08 as now. That amount is about what town finance director Mark Good is projecting as the entire increase for next year's school budget -- a hike just under 7 percent.
In addition to the $1.9 million, school committee members said there's a need for $800,000 to restore some of this year's cuts, including media staff in the elementary schools and middle school teachers. Another $1.9 million is warranted for meeting critical needs, including reducing class sizes and adding AP and elective courses at the high school, according to the school presentation.
School committee chairman Michael Ryan said Walpole High students earned the highest SAT scores in a decade last spring. "But we should not expect that kind of performance going forward unless we do something," he said.
After hearing selectmen talk about lobbying on Beacon Hill and seeking more business to add to the tax base, two school committee members said such long-term efforts are worthwhile, but that the needs in the schools are immediate. Members Nancy Gallivan and Ellen Nadeau said the town has to act -- and the action should include an override on next June's town election ballot.
"The problem is here and now," Nadeau said, adding that she does not want to be in the same position as last spring, cutting $1.3 million in school spending. Gallivan said it would be irresponsible to cut again "without going to the public."
There were no responses from selectmen to the school committee members' override comments. Last spring, selectmen took no action on a request from the schools to put an override on the ballot.
At Tuesday night's meeting, Town Administrator Michael Boynton noted that even if the schools won an override for $1.8 million or so for 2007-08, higher expenses would mean another million-dollar-plus shortfall the following year.
"The system is broken," Boynton said. Walpole town government and the schools, he said, have provided strong service in the face of the big cutback in state aid four years ago and forced reliance on the property tax, the "most regressive" of all taxes. "We've done it, but I don't know how long we can keep doing it."
In his budget project, finance director Good estimates the cost of insurance benefits for town employees will increase by $1.4 million next year, about $100,000 more than the estimated increase in town revenue from all sources.
Boynton noted that on the municipal side, there have been cuts in the engineering department and public works, the latter reflected in the maintenance of fields and cemeteries.
On the school side, committee chairman Ryan said, families have been paying higher fees to partially compensate for the past four years of shortfalls. Bus, activity and other fees now bring in $1.3 million a year.
The three committees will discuss the issues further in a joint meeting next month.
-- Tom Glynn
School committee seeks an override amount
School committee members said Monday night that they want to arrive quickly at a budget for 2007-08 around which they can rally support for an override in the June town election.
As interpreted by committee members at their Monday night meeting, the budget numbers presented by town finance director Mark Good could mean that the schools can count on no more than a $1 million increase in town funding for 2006-07.
But according to the committee's own budget analysis, it will take $1.9 million more than this year's $28 million just to provide the same level of services in 2007-08. And the current level, committee members said again, is inadequate to the point that it's unlikely Walpole schools can sustain their high level of achievement on the MCAS and other standard tests.
In addition to the $1.9 million to continue existing services, the school administration and committee have been looking toward an additional $1.9 million for new programs they say are needed and $800,000 to restore some of the cuts made in this year's budget.
Committee members also said they want to reduce some of the fees imposed on parents in the aftermath of state budget cuts five years ago. In a step in that direction, the committee voted 4-2 to roll back school lunch prices by 25 cents in January, half of the "emergency" increase imposed a year ago. Because it turns out to be possible to rehabilitate rather than replace a big refrigeration/freezer unit, last year's 50-cent hike if left intact would have resulted in a $58,000 surplus in the lunch program by June.
Adding it all up -- including a $500,000 rollback in fees -- and the number comes to just over $5 million, committee vice chairman John Desmond said. Subtract a $1 million increase in town funding, and the result would be a potential $4 million override request.
But Desmond and other members were quick to recognize that a request of that size would be unrealistic. Members noted that in addition to unmet school needs, the town side is also looking at service cutbacks that have yet to be restored. At a joint meeting of the school committee, finance committee and selectmen last week, Town Administrator Michael Boynton said the 2002 cutbacks are still being felt in park and cemetery maintenance.
School committee chairman Michael Ryan said he wants to find out soon how big an override selectmen might be willing to put on the June ballot. Last spring, selectmen took no action on the committee's request for an override ballot question.
Committee member Nancy Gallivan said that by arriving at their own budget quickly, the committee can have input rather than waiting for some one else to come up with a number.
Another meeting of the three boards is to be scheduled for December.
-- Tom Glynn
Override to be discussed next week
School committee members plan to let selectmen know next week that they'd like to get a response from them as early as January on the outlook for getting an override tentatively pegged at $3 million on the June town election ballot.
Meeting in a workshop session Tuesday night, school committee members said a $3 million override, first of all, would avoid the need for another 20 to 25 layoffs in the next school year because of what they see as a $1 million-plus shortfall looming for 2007-08. Another million dollars or so from the override would go to restore some previous cuts and to add new staff with an emphasis on reducing class size.
The override would also allow the schools to eliminate all bus fees and charges for student parking at the high school.
Finally, $3 million would allow for a carryover into 2008-09, and the new annual revenue would be enough to meet needs and add some services through 2012, according to school estimates.
Committee members stressed that a $3 million hike in annual revenue would not be enough to bring all class sizes within the 25-student guideline.
The school committee will meet with selectmen and the finance committee Tuesday, Dec. 12, to discuss dollars for the fiscal year that begins July 1. That's a long way away -- but the budget process takes months: Town Administrator Michael Boynton submits his spending plan in February; the FinCom holds weeks of hearings on individual components before Town Meeting votes in May.
The $3 million would be just for schools. School committee members said they would welcome an effort that added a request to June voters for money for the municipal side of government.
Only the selectmen can authorize placement of an override request on the ballot. The school committee asked them to do that last spring, but selectmen took no action. Faced with a shortfall, school committee members say they had to make over $1 million in cuts for the current school year.
Next Tuesday night's meeting is scheduled to start off with a visit by Walpole's legislators, who will be pressed to deliver more state aid to take some of the burden off property taxes. In previous meetings, school committee members said the state is not going to solve the town's immediate budget problems, so local action is needed.
At this week's school committee session, allocation of $1.2 million in override money next year was discussed with the caveat that any final plan is months away.
In the elementary schools, override money would bring on three new classroom teachers and 2.4 reading teachers. Four media aides would be hired, and support for art, music and physical education increased.
In the middle schools, override money would go to hire a classroom teacher, a technology teacher, a foreign language teacher and two MCAS staffers. A custodian would be hired.
At the high school, five new teachers would be hired, plus a guidance counselor and technology specialist. Without the additional staff, Walpole High could run into trouble when it's up for re-accreditation in a couple of years, school committee members said. The student/teacher ratio at WHS has increased by 20 percent in the past few years.
The only debate Monday night came over what fee cuts should be rolled into the override package.
Members agreed that fees totaling $735,000 for full-day kindergarten, extended day and pre-school were off the table because those programs are self-supporting.
Nancy O'Neil suggested elimination or reduction of fees for athletics ($182,000) and extracurricular activities ($13,000), pointing out that sports and extracurricular activities are important and integral parts of an education.
But the majority of the members favored elimination of fees for buses ($291,000) and high school parking ($40,000.)
Part of the reason involves getting an override passed, members said. Parents who are paying $500 in bus charges are not going to vote to raise their property taxes unless they see some relief from the fees, Ellen Nadeau said.
-- Tom Glynn
Three boards meeting Dec. 12
Putting an override on the ballot for the school budget would kill chances for a new public safety facility, Selectman Cathy Winston said Tuesday night at a meeting of three boards to discuss the town budget for next year.
School committee members say they will vote formally Monday night on an override request. A study committee that favors a combined police and fire facility downtown could take a vote Tuesday that would be a step toward an override request to cover the cost of the building, estimated at $18 million.
Last spring, with their (unsuccessful) override for a stand-alone police station on Robbins Road already on the June ballot, selectmen took no action on a school committee request to also place an education override before voters.
This time around, the school committee is requesting an early answer from selectmen.
In response to Winston, school committee member Ellen Nadeau said she understands the concern about the public safety facility, but is also concerned about operating cuts in municipal services as well as in education.
If there is to be a referendum on an override, some town officials are wondering whether it might make more sense to call a special election for a Prop. 2.5 vote than to wait for the annual town ballot in June.
The possibility of a special election on an override surfaced at a meeting among the school committee, finance committee and selectmen Tuesday (Dec. 12)
The meeting of the three boards came a week after school committee members said they'd be letting selectmen know at the Tuesday meeting that they want a response as early as January on whether the selectmen will vote to place an override on the ballot. At their workshop meeting Dec. 5, school committee members indicated they favored a $3 million override for education and would welcome joining it to a request for additional municipal-side revenue as well.
School members a week ago emphasized an early decision by selectmen would give override advocates time to present their case to townspeople. At this week's meeting, other town officials emphasized that an early up-or-down town override election would allow work to proceed on a single budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1.
The June town election comes a month after the Town Meeting that will set the FY '08 budget. If Town Meeting can't know how much revenue will be available until June, there will in effect be two budget plans when TM representatives vote in May.
Town Administrator Michael Boynton indicated at this week's meeting that no one wants a repeat of what happened the last time a Town Meeting voted a budget without knowing which way voters would go on an override the following month.
In 2001, Town Meeting in May voted a budget that assumed passage of an override in June. But when voters rejected the override, Town Meeting had to reconvene to cut services. Then pro-override interests rallied and won its passage in a second vote in September. Some override opponents said selectmen were far out of line in authorizing that second vote and unsuccessfully sought to recall four of the five board members. The vote in September, 2001, was the last time an override request for the operating budget went on a Walpole ballot.
FinCom Chairman Thomas Jalkut said an early decision on an override would avoid the need for his committee to consider competing budgets -- one balanced without an override, the other a "wish list" based on an assumption that an override would pass in June.
In contrast to the tone of their meeting a week ago, school committee members were subdued Tuesday night. Speaking for the committee in the absence of its chairman and vice chairman, member Nancy Gallivan asked selectmen Chairman Joseph Denneen when his board would like to get the request to put an override on the ballot. "That's up to you," Denneen responded.
The school committee expects to vote formally Monday, Dec. 18, on whether to ask for an override. The three committees plan to meet together during the first week of January. A special election can be held no sooner than 35 days after it is requested.
Two of the three members of the FinCom's budget subcommittee, Mark Gallivan and Steve Rose, said they saw advantages in joining a request for added revenue for the municipal services -- fire, police, DPW -- to the schools' quest. It's not just a school override, Mark Gallivan said. Rose said that by folding the school request into an overall town measure, it would not be a school override.
Neither Boynton nor the selectmen mentioned any possibility of an override to run municipal services.
In response to remarks from Mark Gallivan and Rose, Jalkut noted to Denneen that the FinCom's budget subcommittee's function is to advise the FinCom, not the selectmen.
If the entire FinCom were polled on an override, the answers would be all over the place, Jalkut said. The FinCom is not leading an effort on any particular direction, he said, and in all likelihood would not take a stance on an override.
Two other FinCom members questioned the rationale for an override.
Carol Lane said that many households have to cut back on expenses and make do with less. It's time for the town to think about how we can save something, she said.
FinCom member Tom Bowen said all the talk at Tuesday's meeting about special education, health costs and other expenses obscures an underlying cause of the schools' financial difficulties -- a three-year teachers' contract in 2003 that contained raises that both the school committee and the union acknowledged at the time would force layoffs.
The two sides at the time were willing to take the cuts, Bowen said. When it comes to an override, he said, "the voters might say you've made your bed, now you're going to have to lie in it."
-- Tom Glynn
Seeking to get an override on a townwide ballot, the school committee is on the agenda for the selectmen's meeting Tuesday night, Jan. 2. Under state law, it's the selectmen's call whether an override request goes to the voters.
Based on discussion at a school committee workshop Wednesday night, Dec. 27, it appears that the committee will not request a formal vote by selectmen Tuesday night, but will instead ask for a commitment in principle. The committee's intent is that the formal vote with an amount and date come later in the month, when firmer numbers are available for the 2007-08 fiscal year.
The school committee is working with an estimate that it will receive $600,000 more for 2007-08 than in the current school year. That's about $1.3 million less than the $30 million schools estimate will be needed to continue the current level of services next year.
The schools say a further $1.3 million is needed for essential unmet needs, adding 25 or so teachers and other staff members after big cutbacks in recent years in the face of growing enrollment.
The committee proposes to eliminate bus and parking fees next year, reducing revenue, the schools say, by $341,000. Committee members see those fees as an unfair burden on parents. They also see the fees as an obstacle to winning an override: Parents paying $500 a year for buses would not want to take on that much more in added property taxes through an override.
The committee would like to include $140,000 or so that, members say, could handle needs for three years. In addition to providing budget stability, a multi-year override would have a better chance of passage, according to committee members.
Committee members said that without an override, there would be bigger layoffs than ordered last June after selectmen took no action on the schools' request for a ballot measure. Of the 22 cuts made in June for this year, there was only one classroom teacher. As a result, the next time around there would be no alternative to cuts in the classroom, committee members said Wednesday. It's the selectmen's responsibility, school members said, to present so important a choice to the voters.
Adding the tentative override numbers up comes to about $3 million. But committee members note that there's a possibility that all additional town revenue for next year might have to go for higher assessments and benefit costs, notably health insurance. The town's legislators have cautioned town officials not to count on another round of big increases in education and prison mitigation money for FY '08.
So before requesting a firm number, the committee wants to see what if anything the town administration is estimating will be available for added school spending next year. If the number is less than $600,000, the override request could be higher.
In addition, the committee would like to see an override that adds operating revenue to the municipal side of town government as well as for the schools. Because insurance and other benefits for school employees is paid on the municipal side, adding school positions would boost municipal costs. It would also take $700,000 or more for the municipal side to restore cuts made in recent years.
In total for the municipal and education sides, school committee members Wednesday night were talking override amounts on either side of $5 million.
Each million dollars of an operating override would add $112.50 to the taxes on a home assessed at the town average. A $5 million override would increase that tax bill for that home by $562 a year; an operating override is permanent.
School committee members favor a special election for the override, perhaps at the end of March. One difficulty of waiting for the June town election, they said, is that faced with uncertainty for 2007-08, the schools would have to plan for layoffs and resignations. Other town officials have said an early override vote would allow May Town Meeting to focus on one budget rather than two.
School committee members said they would like a formal selectmen's vote as early as that board's next meeting after Jan. 2. That would be Jan. 16, the date that members of the public safety facilities committee said last month they'd like to be on the agenda to present their plan for a combined police and fire station downtown. That committee has been working toward a June override to cover costs of the facility, estimated at $16 million or more.
-- Tom Glynn
If selectmen put an override on the ballot and if the municipal side of government were to seek to restore critical jobs as the schools propose doing, the total could run $4.8 million, Town Administrator Michael Boynton told selectmen Tuesday night, Jan 16.
If a $4 million override went on the ballot and if voters approved, it would add $450 to next year's tax bill for the owner of a home assessed at the town average of $457,000. Add in the normal tax increase, and that homeowner's bill would grow a total of $623, Boynton said.
He suggested that the numbers be scaled back "across the board" if an override moves forward. He provided the estimates at the request of selectmen on the suggestion of the schools.
Selectmen have not taken a position on the schools' request for a special election for a $2.65 million override to save 20 jobs and add 30. Benefits for the new school employees could total $400,000, to be paid by the municipal side.
Boynton's estimate is for a million-dollar townwide shortfall, an amount that could shrink if state aid grows. An override could cover that amount, heading off layoffs and service reductions.
He identified eight municipal positions cut in recent years that merit restoration: two in the police department, one in engineering, a custodian, a mechanic, and park, cemetery and highway workers. Expense items also could be restored, from police patrols to new books for the library.
In addition, Boynton said, an override could allow $500,000 in state prison mitigation money to be moved out of the operating budget and add $200,000 for snow removal next winter.
The big issue under discussion at Tuesday night's forum was whether selectmen should agree to the school committee's request to put a Proposition 2.5 override on a townwide ballot.
But there was a secondary issue that came up repeatedly in questions and statements by members of the standing-room-only audience in the Walpole High School auditorium: Just when should an override vote or votes be scheduled?
Selectmen have two override proposals before them: one from the schools, the other for a $16 million combined fire and police station on Stone Field.
At Tuesday's forum, Town Meeting representative Cliff Snuffer was the first to raise the timing issue. Some "politically savvy people," Snuffer said, will try to separate the two questions, putting them on ballots at different elections. He supported putting the questions to voters, but urged selectmen to place them on the same ballot.
That point was developed by other speakers, one of whom said the school committee's suggestion for a special election in is an effort to get ahead of a station override, adding that calling an election in March would create the likelihood that seniors would be deterred from voting by the weather.
But other members of the audience made the same observation as have some town officials over the past several weeks: Deciding the school override question before May Town Meeting rather than in the June town election would be a big help in setting the budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1.
In their brief remarks at the end of the forum, selectmen did not state positions on either of the override possibilities, nor was there a date announced for their votes on whether and when to put a question or questions on the ballot. The expectation has been that the proposal is heading for a spot on the June ballot; there's a placeholder article for the project in the draft warrant for the May Town Meeting.
While the school committee is seeking an early election on its override, selectmen have yet to address just what a ballot measure would include. At the Tuesday night forum, Town Administrator Michael Boynton said that if a measure were to include money for the municipal side of government in addition to the schools, the request could total $4.7 million.
The annual bill for the average homeowner for an override of that size would be close to $550, not including the added taxes allowed without an override. As speakers noted Tuesday night, an operating override is permanent.
Tuesday night, seniors said that those living on fixed incomes just cannot afford higher taxes. Many seniors in Walpole cannot afford taxes now, and are forced to move in with their children or leave town, speakers said. Selectman Cathy Winston noted that when that happens, a house that had been occupied by seniors often becomes the home of families with schoolchildren.
Override supporters noted that many class sizes are above guidelines, that in the face of a growing enrollment, Walpole has been cutting back rather than increasing staff. Without an override, 20 teachers could lose their jobs. Recent MCAS scores in the lower grades are reason for concern, school committee Chairman Michael Ryan told the forum audience.
While opinions differed, the audience Tuesday night was cordial, warmly applauding townspeople speaking on either side of the issue.
Selectmen said they are continuing to press for more state aid and for business development. Selectman Michael Caron said some additional revenue could be brought in through the Walpole Mall's expansion plans and a utility project.
-- Tom Glynn
Selectmen set March 31 as the date for a special election on an override for the town's operating budget, but did not specify or even hint at an amount to be sought.
Selectmen Chairman Joseph Denneen said the decision on an override "is beyond a five-member board; it belongs in the hands of the voters." Selectman Cathy Winston cast the sole "no" in the 4-1 vote. Winston said she is keeping her promise to voters who re-elected her in June that she would not support a general override.
Without an amount, Town Administrator Michael Boynton noted, the board's vote Tuesday night amounts to a formality. To seek an override under state law, the board is required to vote a specific amount to be included in the ballot question.
As explained by Town Clerk Ron Fucile, under state law selectmen must provide 35 days notice for a special election. So the selectmen's next every-other-week meeting, Feb. 13, would be the last regularly scheduled session at which they could vote an amount and meet the school committee's request for a March 31 ballot.
There were some clues Tuesday night that the amount to be sought will be below the $4 million or so that's been talked about at past meetings.
Boynton said that his estimate for a townwide shortfall has dropped again as savings are identified, this time by about $50,000. He indicated that the latest projection of $950,000 (in a $60 million budget) is at the high end. If health insurance costs come in lower than he's projected, the shortfall will be lower, perhaps by an amount in the six figures. The town could have the insurance numbers by the time the selectmen must vote.
Addressing the selectmen Tuesday night, school committee member Nancy Gallivan indicated the schools might lower their request for $2.65 million. "We understand that we have to look at the numbers differently." (School officials met with Boynton and the town's finance director last Thursday.)
Gallivan said that rather than doing all of the new hiring for 2007-08, the effort to rebuild staff and catch up with enrollment might be spread over three years. (Close to half of the $2.65 million would go to hire 30 teachers and other staff for the coming school year.)
As required by the Town Charter, Boynton will present a balanced budget for the fiscal year (2008) that begins this July 1 in a WCTV-televised session at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 5. His shortfall projection means that to be balanced as required by the Charter, the budget includes the elimination of positions, he said. (The final budget for FY '08 will be voted by the May Town Meeting.)
At the request of the school committee and direction of selectmen, Boynton previously estimated how much money the municipal side of government might seek if an override request goes on the ballot. In mid-January, he presented a list that added up to almost $5 million for the schools and municipal side. It includes filling eight positions eliminated in past budget crunches, among them a police officer and park, cemetery and highway workers.
At this Tuesday's meeting, Boynton did not make a request for inclusion of municipal-side money in an override, but rather noted to selectmen that such decisions were up to the board.
After the vote, Al Crosby asked from the audience whether selectmen would guarantee if an override fails in March that it would not return on the June town election ballot. He said he believes the opportunity for taking a second shot is why the schools have pushed for the special election. He noted that's what happened in 2001, the only time Walpole has approved an operating override: the measure was defeated in June, but approved in September after selectmen called a special election that still rankles many townspeople.
Crosby, who said at last week's override forum that he's still working at 78 in order to pay the property tax, said that seniors cannot afford an override.
Chairman Denneen said that under the law, he cannot provide assurance against a repeat override request, but told Crosby he had made his point.
Earlier in the meeting, school committee member Dot Bergen said one reason for a March vote is that it allows time for orderly hiring if the measure passes. Selectman Al DeNapoli said that waiting until June would result in pink slips, some costs and a morale problem.
Police Chief Richard Stillman and Fire Chief Timothy Bailey sat in the audience but did not speak. Addressing them, DeNapoli said the early election is not a move to get the school request out in front of the public safety facility committee's recommendation for a $16 million combined station on Stone Field -- a project that would require an override.
The facilities committee made its recommendation in early January in keeping with a schedule for getting the proposal into the normal pre-Town Meeting review process that begins next week. Tuesday night, for the second straight meeting, selectmen did not discuss the facility committee's recommendation.
Town Administrator Michael Boynton presented a balanced budget Monday night that he estimates could require a total of $353,000 in cuts for municipal services and the schools.
The shortfall is $600,000 less than was estimated at the Jan. 23 public forum on the school committee's request for an override. Health insurance cost increases came in last week at 10 percent rather than the 18 percent in the earlier projection. Boynton's balanced budget is 3.8 percent higher than
But even with the smaller shortfall, an override amount still would top $4 million if modeled along the lines of what the school committee has proposed, according to figures presented by Boynton. Selectmen have set a March 31 date for an override referendum; the board could vote next week on the amount to be sought.
The town administrator is required by the Charter to present a balanced budget at the start of February to provide time for reviews before the May Town Meeting. Monday night, Boynton noted that the $353,000 shortfall, a small number in a $60.5 million operating budget, could turn into a $72,000 surplus by the start of the fiscal year July 1 if the breaks, notably more state aid than now projected, go Walpole's way.
The town's practice is to apportion revenue and deficits two thirds for the schools and one third for police, fire, DPW and the other municipal services. So, by Boynton's numbers, the school share of the cutbacks needed to bring a level service budget into line with revenue is $233,000.
But, he said, the schools' estimate of what they need to provide level service is $500,000 higher than his. He includes that amount for the schools in his potential override numbers, but as in the past did not state a position on an operating override.
On the municipal side, which would take $120,000 in cuts below level service, Boynton said his budget calls for the elimination of a full-time parks craftsman position, other personnel reductions and constraints on maintenance.
He said that swinging an additional $500,000 to the schools would mean an equal amount would have to be cut from municipal departments. "That is simply not an option."
Boynton said an override would be needed for a proposed $16 million police and fire building on Stone Field. "It cannot be stressed enough that if this project is not commenced soon, the cost to taxpayers will continue to soar," he said. "These are serioius needs for both departments, and given a minimum design/permitting/construction period of 18 months, it is not unrealistic to suggest that this matter be given top priority for spring action."
Selectmen Tuesday night, Feb. 13, set $3.9 million as the amount to be sought in an override referendum March 31.
If approved by voters, the override would avert the loss of a municipal worker and up to 18 school positions at the start of the fiscal year 2008 July 1. In FY '08, the added money would restore or add 20 school positions, mostly teachers, and three municipal positions: a police officer, mechanic and parks worker.
The referendum request includes $1.3 million intended to carry the town for three years without another operating override. The amount sought would allow some additional hiring two and three years from now, bringing the total for the schools to 28 and on the municipal side to eight.
Without the override, the schools would have to cut 14 to 18 positions a year in each of the next three years, school committee member Nancy Gallivan told selectmen before the vote.
If passed, the override would add $438 to the annual tax bill of a home assessed at the town average. An operating override is a permanent addition to the town levy.
An article on the warrant for May Town Meeting would authorize construction of a combined police and fire facility on Stone Field at an estimated cost of $16 million, to be paid by borrowing funded by an override. The cost for a homeowner might run at $150 or so a year, declining modestly until the bonds are paid off in 20 years, Town Administrator Michael Boynton said. Once the debt is paid, the override for a project, unlike an operating override, goes away.
Without any override, the average single-family tax bill will be going up by $176 for the fiscal year that starts July 1.
The amount to be sought March 31 is close to the $4 million that has been talked about for months. It's less than Boynton's high-ballpark number mainly because the schools plan to phase in additional hiring rather than fill all the posts next year and because it does not include $500,000 in town money as a hedge against loss of state prison mitigation funds.
The schools also will use $100,000 left from last year's surplus for supplies, rather than seeking that amount through the override, and drop a high school media aide and technology specialist from the planned hiring list. While elimination of all bus fees remains in the package, the schools are no longer proposing to end parking fees for high schoolers that bring in $41,000 a year.
But the total to be sought does not go down as much as might have been expected because the cost of the three-year approach turns out to be higher than estimated, Gallivan said.
Before the vote, Boynton said that the estimated total FY '08 shortfall for the schools and municipal services has fallen by another $100,000 in the past week and now stands at $255,000 -- down $740,000 from what had been projected at last month's override forum in the high school auditorium.
The shortfall estimate is based on how much money it would take to maintain this year's level of service in FY '08. The schools' estimate remains $500,000 higher than Boynton's; the higher amount is included in the override. There was no discussion Tuesday night about the $500,000 difference.
Given the numbers that came in during the past week, Boynton indicated he wanted to cut $75,000 -- an amount he could be sure of -- from the override request. Selectman Al DeNapoli suggested that instead, $75,000 be allocated to the snow-fighting amount included in the request, which Boynton had previously cut from $200,000 to $100,000.
Boynton said he'd prefer to stick to the methodology that's been used all along, winning a commendation from Selectman Cathy Winston who said a matter of credibility is involved.
The board voted 4-1 for the $3.9 million, $75,000 lower than the figure at the start of the discussion. Winston voted no, renewing her request for a performance audit of the schools to identify where money could be saved.
Boynton projects a surplus
Anticipating good news on local aid in Governor Patrick's budget plan, Town Administrator Michael Boynton told selectmen Feb. 27 that his projection for the coming fiscal year has improved by $500,000.
Based on Boynton's numbers from two weeks ago, the swing means that instead of a deficit, the town's $60 million-plus budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1 is projected to run a surplus of $250,000 or so.
The change from deficit to surplus does not affect the amount to be sought in an override referendum March 31, already set by selectmen at $3.9 million.
In addition to covering what had been projected as a deficit, the override seeks close to $1 million for new hiring for the schools, $1.3 million intended to avert the need for another override for three years and $300,000 to eliminate school bus fees.
The schools have estimated they need $500,000 more than Boynton's number to provide the same level of service next year as this. The $3.9 million override includes that $500,000.
An additional million dollars in state aid for Walpole in Governor Patrick's budget proposal has given Town Administrator Michael Boynton the confidence to plan on filling three municipal positions in the coming fiscal year.
But the school committee makes its own budget, Boynton reminded the finance committee Thursday night. The school committee's budget could still show a shortfall of about $285,000 if an override fails March 31, resulting in layoff notices to teachers in April, he said.
Boynton's month-ago run-through of what town revenues and expenses might look like in the fiscal year that begins July 1 assumed a $500,000 increase in state aid -- only half the boost the governor proposes, from $9.4 million this year to $10.4 million, in the FY 08 budget plan he unveiled Wednesday. Walpole does considerably better than many communities under the governor's proposal, Boynton said, adding that it's reasonably certain that the Legislature will not reduce the amount.
The additional state aid swings Boynton's projection from a shortfall to a surplus, which together with some lower than expected costs, would provide $444,000 more for the schools and $229,000 more for municipal services than he projected a month ago -- a projection that envisioned layoffs to balance the budget.
The school committee's budget assumes that to provide level services next year will take $500,000 more than Boynton estimates it would. Based on their number, Boynton said, the schools would be $285,000 short of what they say they need to maintain existing services. He told the FinCom he does not know why the schools' level-service numbers are $500,000 higher than his.
With the additional $229,000 he is now projecting for the municipal side starting July 1, Boynton is planning to fill a parks maintenance position that had been targeted for elimination under his earlier projection. He plans to restore a DPW mechanic and a civilian police dispatcher; money for those two posts is included in the $3.9 million override request. Boynton would add expense money to department budgets, including $22,000 for building maintenance and $7,000 for the library.
Boynton cautioned that it appears Governor Patrick's budget does not include prison mitigation money for Walpole that this year brings the town $750,000 -- $500,000 in the operating budget and much of the rest used to reopen Plimpton Street. That money has never been in a governor's budget plan but has been added later by Legislature, in some years over a gubernatorial veto, Boynton noted. But this time, with a Democrat in the office, it might not be as certain that the Legislature would go against the governor on the Walpole money.
In addition to making up what had been seen as a shortfall of $849,000 (including the schools' $500,000), the $3.9 million override includes $793,000 to hire 20 new teachers and other school staff next year, three additional municipal employees, $291,000 to eliminate bus fees, $312,000 for fringe benefits for new employees and $1.3 million to carry the town for three years without another override.
Based on the governor's budget, Boynton agreed with FinCom members that the $3.9 million is more than is needed to meet the stated purposes of the override. With the amount firmly fixed under state law by the selectmen's vote, there are options about what to do with any override extra, Boynton said. Among them: not appropriating an amount at Town Meeting and thus not billing taxpayers for it or putting the money aside as a hedge against loss of prison mitigation money.
At Thursday night's meeting, the FinCom approved a $19,000 reserve fund transfer to the town clerk's office to cover costs of three unforeseen elections this spring: the March 31 override and a primary and final in Precinct 8 to fill the seat of Rep. Robert Coughlin, who took a job with the Patrick administration. Of that amount, $12,000 is for the override and $3,900 for a temporary employee in the clerk's office.
With some FinCom members indicating unhappiness with the transfer request, especially in view of the governor's aid numbers, Town Clerk Ron Fucile explained that Walpole is bound by law to hold the March 31 election. Refusal of the transfer would not cancel the election, but his office would have to close its window this spring, he said.
With that, the FinCom voted 10-2-1 for the transfer, which had been approved by selectmen two days earlier.
The abstainer was FinCom Chairman Tom Jalkut. While not offering it as a reason for abstaining, Jalkut said he's been waiting for weeks for a response from the schools on his written request for an estimate of how much money they expect to have left over when the current year ends.
When Boynton said the schools could maintain they still face a shortfall of $285,000, Jalkut shot back, "You have no way of knowing how much they're down."
Jalkut noted that the Town Meeting appropriation of $31 million, the one that gets reviewed by the FinCom, is not the schools' only source of revenue.
The schools in recent years have had $100,000 or $200,000 left over at the end of each June, he said. The schools ended last year, 2005-2006, on June 30 with several hundred thousand dollars more than they estimated to the FinCom just before the May Town Meeting, he said.
While the prospect of more state aid than anticipated is good news, school officials said March 5, it doesn't diminish the need for the override that's on the ballot March 31.
Based on Governor Patrick's budget unveiled the previous week, the schools will be down $285,000 from what they say they need to provide level services next year. That's more than $500,000 below the shortfall projected when selectmen voted last month to place a $3.9 million override on the ballot.
At the school committee meeting March 5, business manager Fred Azar said a $285,000 shortfall would force the elimination of seven positions, adding to the number of classes with sizes above the guidelines.
Trends in MCAS scores are one indication that just standing pat isn't enough, committee Chairman Michael Ryan said, noting that this year, there are 77 classes at Walpole High with more than 25 students, more than double the number of four years ago.
In addition to covering the shortfall, the override request includes $793,000 to add teachers and other staff for 2007-08 and $291,000 to eliminate bus fees. It also includes $1.3 million intended to avert the need for another override for three years.
Town Administrator Michael Boynton told the Finance Committee March 1 that based on the governor's budget, Walpole no longer faces a shortfall. Asked Monday night to explain the difference between the town administrator's numbers and the schools' estimate of a $285,000 shortfall, Azar said Boynton's approach is based on revenue estimates while the schools calculate the actual cost of providing services next year.
Many of you have been asking what the Finance Committee's position is on the Proposition 2.5 override vote scheduled for March 31. As you know, the Finance Committee is appointed by the Moderator to make recommendations on the budget and other matters to Town Meeting. While some individual members have advocated for, and some against, the override, we believe that it would not be consistent with our duties under the Town's Charter for us as a Committee to take a position on this admittedly very important issue. What we can do, however, is give you an objective, dispassionate view of the Town's current fiscal situation and the ramifications to the budget if the voters approve or disapprove the override.
The primary revenue source for the Town is the property tax which, because of the limitations of Proposition 2.5, can be fairly accurately forecasted on a year to year basis. Next in line is State aid, which is harder to predict and comes in various forms for education, road projects, library, and the Town's general fund. Under the budget submitted to the Legislature by Governor Patrick on February 28, Walpole stands to receive $500,000 more in State aid than the Town Administrator anticipated in his budget message on February 5. That additional revenue, coupled with post-February 5 reductions in assessments for health insurance and other benefits, means that Walpole's municipal (i.e. non-School) government should have the funds necessary to deliver the same level of services in FY 2008 as in this year, whether or not the override is successful. In fact, assuming that Town Meeting continues the past practice of allocating 34% of new revenues to municipal budgets and 66% to the School Department, there should be enough money on the municipal side to restore some positions cut in prior years.
The same cannot be said for the School Department. Even with the 66% allocation of new revenues, the School Committee is projecting a shortfall in FY 2008 of approximately $252,000 if the override is not passed. Although this deficit could potentially be satisfied from the surplus that the Schools expect to have left in their budget at the end of this fiscal year, that surplus is made up of "one time" monies that will not be available in the future. Thus, the School Committee anticipates using the FY 2007 surplus for much needed textbooks and other non-recurring expenses in FY 2008. As a result, if the override fails it may be necessary for the School Committee to cut another 5.3 positions to balance its budget. These cuts, on top of the 19 positions lost in the FY 2007 budget process, would adversely affect class size and compromise the School Department's ability to deliver a quality education to the children of Walpole.
If the override is successful, the Town would be permitted to raise an additional $3.9 million through property taxes in FY 2008. While it would be up to Town Meeting to determine how to deal with this money, an ad hoc group composed of representatives of the School Committee, Finance Committee and the Town's Finance Department has proposed that less than 50% of the override funds be spent in 2008, with the balance to be deposited to the Town's Stabilization Fund for use in future years. This multi-year approach is intended to defer the need for another general override for at least three years. If Town Meeting goes along with this plan, the School Committee has indicated that it would phase in the hiring of an additional 28.7 positions as it seeks to build back staffing levels to where they were in FY 2002. Class sizes at all levels would be reduced and busing (but not parking or athletic) fees would be eliminated. At the same time, the municipal government would have the means to deal with the chronically underfunded snow and ice budget and to address its burgeoning capital needs.
No one can guarantee that the money that is proposed to be left in the Stabilization Fund until 2010 if the override is passed will not be needed sooner. The forecast used by the ad hoc group for revenues and expenses includes certain assumptions about collective bargaining, State aid, health insurance and SPED costs, etc., which will be reviewed by Town Meeting and ultimately tested against what actually transpires. By law, any override money appropriated to the Stabilization Fund would require a two-thirds vote of Town Meeting before it could be withdrawn and applied to budgets.
While we take no position on the override itself, the Finance Committee does favor "banking" a portion of the proceeds if it passes in the Stabilization Fund. We think the requirement of a two thirds vote of Town Meeting will serve as a restraint against spending the money sooner than contemplated by the forecast without tying Town Meeting's hands altogether if there is a compelling need to access the funds.
Tom Jalkut
Chairman
Walpole Finance Committee
Half of the $3.9 million override on the ballot Saturday would not be spent next year but instead be saved to balance budgets in 2009 and 2010, according to the final pre-election figures from the schools.
If the override passes, $250,000 would go to eliminate what school officials see as a level-service shortfall in 2007-08, $800,000 would go for 07-08 additional staff and $291,000 would cover the elimination of bus fees. In addition, $600,000 would go to the town side of government, much of it cover health insurance and other benefits of new teachers and other staff. The total expenditure from the override for 2007-08 (FY'08) is $1.95 million.
The other $1.95 million would go into reserve to help fund level services and hire a small number of additional staff in the following two years.
The intent, according to school officials, is to provide reasonable assurance to townspeople that if the override passes Saturday, there should not be another request for three years.
Here's how the $800,000 for 19 additional 2007-08 staff positions would be spent, according to a presentation by school officials to the finance committee last week and repeated at Monday night's school committee meeting.
The high school next year would gain 3.4 teachers and a guidance counselor. School officials point to the fact that while the number of students has grown, the number of teachers has not, leading to many classes well above guidelines. The guidance counselor, among other reasons, is seen as necessary to meet upcoming WHS reaccredidation needs. Total: $198,000
The middle schools next year would gain three teachers (classroom, technology and foreign language) and two MCAS support specialists. There is reason for concern about middle school MCAS math scores, according to school officials. The new teachers would help revivify the middle schools' exploratory programs, the heart of their curriculums. Total: $225,000.
The elementary schools next year would gain four classroom teachers, a reading teacher, two media aides, 1.6 instrumental/band positions and a .8 art/music/physical education position. Elementary class sizes reading scores are a concern; without restoration of the instrumental band program, WHS band and music programs would lose their "feeder," according to school officials. Total:$349,000.
Systemwide next year, a .5 English as a Second Language position would be created as a start toward meeting state requirements. Cost $21,250.
In the following two years, nine positions would be created, including two custodians.
If the override fails, the $250,000 shortfall in next year's budget would mean the loss of five positions, according to school officials.
In the following year, 2008-09, without an override, the shortfall is $1.5 million, requiring elimination of 30 positions. In 2009-2010, the shortfall without an override would be $2.7 million, requiring 47 cuts. The total number of jobs lost over three years would be 82, not counting the proposed new positions on top of the 19 cuts made for this year, according to the officials.
Of the $8.4 million the schools would receive as their direct share of an override over three years, $4.4 million would go to avert the need to cut existing positions; $3 million would go for the new positions.
Pct 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 total
Yes 305 465 376 408 295 302 412 374 2937
No 547 564 592 681 379 604 673 505 4545
Tot 852 1029 968 1089 674 906 1085 879 7482
The school committee will meet Monday night, April 9, for a preliminary discussion of how to adjust a 2007-08 budget that had assumed passage of the override. The override was voted down March 31, with 4,445 no and 2,937 yes votes.
School officials estimate the system will be $250,000 short of what it will take to maintain level services, a shortfall that they have said could require the elimination of four or five positions.
At Monday night's school committee meeting, business manager Fred Azar estimated there will be something under $400,000 left at the end of the current school year, a remainder from a 2005-2006 surplus. School officials have said they do not want to spend that one-time money on ongoing expenses and have favored using it for underfunded items next year, specifically textbooks, professional development and curriculum development.
Monday, curriculum director Maureen Murray estimated that those three additions would cost a total of $111,000 in 2007-08.
No layoffs
Town Administrator Michael Boynton told selectmen April 10 that he can offset a $90,000 drawback in state aid without cuts mainly because the school committee has decided against layoffs in the aftermath of the defeat of a Proposition 2.5 override March 31. The school committee, which met in a workshop session April 9, will use a current surplus to cover what it sees as a $250,000 shortfall in next year's budget, according to Boynton.
The shortfall could have forced the layoff of four or five school employees, according to statements from school officials in weeks past. But with the decision that there will be no layoffs, Boynton said he is able to cut his unemployment compensation budget for 2007-08 by $50,000. In addition, with interest rates now expected to be stronger in FY 08, Boynton is upping his estimate of how much the town will earn on its cash by $40,000 -- still a conservative number, he told the board.
Announced last week, the Legislature's FY '08 local aid figure for Walpole is $90,000 less than proposed by Governor Patrick, but still $900,000 more than the comparable amount for the current fiscal year. The lower numbers for Walpole and some other communities are the first instances he knows of that the Legislature is to provide communities less local aid than proposed by a governor, Boynton said.
On a big number, he said he has been told by the town's legislators that the outlook is "very favorable" for Walpole to get prison mitigation money again. In previous years, the amount was $500,000; in the current fiscal year, it's $750,000.
Boynton's FY '08 budget assumes $500,000 in mitigation money will be available for municipal services and the schools. If the mitigation money doesn't come through, there's enough money in free cash to fill the gap, but only for one year.
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