The draft is only increasing expenditures by 0.9 percent.”

Chris DiIuro, director of school finance and administration

PORTSMOUTH — The School Committee Tuesday night got its first look at a $38.33 million school budget draft for fiscal year 2018 that requests a 2.2-percent increase in the town’s appropriation.

Under the draft, the school budget would increase from the current $37,996,278 to $38,331,068 in FY18, an increase of about 0.9 percent.

Chris DiIuro, the district's director of finance and administration, said he hopes the committee will approve the final budget — including any changes — at its March 14 meeting. After that it will be reviewed by the town's adminisration team and, ultimately, the Town Council.

Mr. DiIuro said the proposed budget accomplishes the district’s goals while keeping expenditures down as much as possible.

“The draft is only increasing expenditures by 0.9 percent,” he said.

Unfortunately, he noted, state aid continues to go down for local districts. Portsmouth expects to lose over $250,000 in total state aid, from $4.74 million in the current budget to about $4.48 million next year, a decrease of 5.3 percent.

“The pure math to make up that difference needs to come from the town’s appropriation for the budget,” he said, referring to the 2.2-percent requested hike.

Under revenues, the district is also expected to lose about $96,000 in tuition next year from Little Compton students who attend Portsmouth High School. (The current enrollment of 40 students from that town is expected to drop to 30 next year.)

The district is also anticipating a 13.3-percent drop in Medicaid reimbursements, from $300,000 this year to $260,000 in FY18. “Medicaid reimbursement is going down because our special ed costs … have been reduced dramatically over the last two years,” said Mr. DiIuro.

Salaries up 2.28%

On the expenditures side of the budget, salaries are climbing from the current $22.19 million to a projected $22.69 million — an increase of $505,000 (2.28 percent). The “biggest driver” of that increase is a 2.5-percent contractual pay raise for teachers, Mr. DiIuro said. 

“Benefits are actually going down,” he said, noting a 0.71-percent decrease, from $8.63 million to $8.57 million. Mr. DiIuro credited the district’s collective bargaining with NEA Portsmouth last year, which he said resulted in a “win-win” for both sides.  

Committee member Emily Copeland, sitting in as chairwoman for Terri Cortvriend, who was absent due to illness, pointed out another cost savings for the district: The new boilers that were installed in all school buildings are expected to reduce energy costs by about $82,000, she said.