Peter Clifford is keeping an eye on the bottom line.

The longtime Barrington resident and former member of the committee on appropriations believes that while the school department and municipal government are both well-run, there is still room for improvement with the property tax levy. 

Mr. Clifford recently filed an amendment for the May 23 financial town meeting, proposing a $500,000 reduction to the school department's operating budget. His draft of the amendment called for "a cooperative effort of the school and municipal management teams."

His amendment further stated: "They (school and municipal leaders) should set limits on increases then implement trade-offs and cost savings measures to achieve those limits. Instead of competing for resources, they should find ways to reduce cost through sharing of resources in areas such as finance, human resources, facilities, procurement & information technology."

Barrington Superintendent of Schools Michael Messore said he and town manager Jim Cunha have offered a response to Mr. Clifford's proposal. He said they went through the amendment point by point and discussed what's possible, in terms of budgetary collaboration, and what's not possible.

When asked how much of Mr. Clifford's proposal was possible, Mr. Messore said "None."

Officials said the municipal government and school department already work together in some areas — for example, the public works department maintains the athletic fields and other school grounds. But, Mr. Messore added, collaborating in information technology would present problems. The school department has an internal IT department, while the municipal government works with an outside company. 

"I think we've made great strides," Mr. Messore said. "We are working together as a community."

Mr. Cunha agreed with the superintendent, and he specifically refuted the idea of combining the finance departments for the town and schools, stating that both departments were already stretched thin. 

During a recent interview, Mr. Clifford remained steadfast in the merits of his amendment.

"It's really a matter of managing the bottom line," said Mr. Clifford. In his amendment, he wrote that the $500,000 reduction would "bring the property tax increase below 2 percent, a level deserved by the taxpayers, particularly after the 8 percent increase last year."

Voters will make the final call on May 23 when the proposed $500,000 reduction will be heard at the financial town amendment.  

What would happen?

So, what would happen if voters at the FTM supported Mr. Clifford's amendment calling for a $500,000 reduction to the school department's operating budget?

"It always comes down to personnel and programs," said Mr. Messore, adding that the loss of personnel might be the equivalent of five full-time positions. 

The superintendent said officials are already preparing a response to Mr. Clifford's amendment, showing what specific areas would be impacted by a half-million dollar cut. He said he would share details at Thursday night's school committee meeting.

Last year, members of the town's committee on appropriations recommended a $1.2 million reduction to the proposed school budget. The recommendation, said the former chairman for the COA Geoff Grove, was intended to send a message. 

School officials responded by painting a grim picture of how deep the cuts would go — they called for the loss of more than a dozen teaching positions, about a half-dozen classes, and the elimination of all middle school sports programs, and four high school sports teams. 

Just a few days before last year's FTM, the committee on appropriations changed its recommendation, calling for an $800,000 increase to the school budget. At the meeting, residents voted to give the school department the $1.2 million it initially requested.