School administrators have proposed the smallest spending increase in at least three years, unveiling a $54.3 million school budget proposal before the Joint Finance Committee last week.
If the budget passes as proposed, the budget would necessitate a $364,062 increase in spending over the current year. That’s just over half a percentage point.
“Every year’s a tough one” at budget time, superintendent Dr. Mario Andrade said. “But there’s a few things we always look at; first and foremost, where we can allocate funds while not impact the students. “It’s a very tight budget, but a fiscally responsible budget, we believe.”
The district’s budget is a bottom line number, meaning that it doesn’t specify how much each town will pay. With state aid expected to account for about $16.68 million, and $800,000 in excess funds rolled over from last year, the towns of Bristol and Warren will share about $35 million in local costs.
How that money is doled out, though, has yet to be determined. The towns of Warren and Bristol have asked for a meeting with the state Department of Education to clarify how much each town should contribute this year; Dr. Andrade hopes the meeting will be held prior to the next Joint Finance Committee meeting on March 31.
Dr. Andrade said one of the more significant savings this year came from a $300,000 reduction in debt service. In addition, the district proposes eliminating two teachers and one support personnel position.
What of the school lawsuit?
Warren, Bristol and the regional school district are still waiting for final word from a state Superior Court judge on a crucial school funding question. Last year, Warren asked the court to rule on whether local education aid was being equitably spread out between Warren and Bristol taxpayers; Warren officials alleged that it was not, due to what they said was a flawed interpretation of the state’s educational funding formula. Though the judge issued a preliminary ruling in Warren’s favor 11 months ago, local officials are still waiting for Judge Luis Matos to release his final written decision. Judge Matos was expected to file that decision in January but to date, he has not. At issue is as much as $2 million per year in local aid Warren says it was unfairly and incorrectly ordered to pay, due to an error in the funding formula’s application.