override 2007

[Tom]

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

[Tom]

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

[Tom]

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

[Tom]

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

[Tom]

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

[Tom]

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.

[Tom]

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

[Tom]

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.

[Tom]

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."