Mr. Deak left the meeting at 7:15 p.m.
The request for Lincoln is $8,177,324 which represents an increase of 5.3%, and Hanscom is $9,173,055 which represents an increase of 8.6 % that is offset by a 4% increase from the federal contract.
The Finance Committee’s guideline for Lincoln’s FY05 budget is to provide a base budget representing a 0% increase with the opportunity to also submit a ‘Recommended Budget’ with an override option.
Mr. Brandmeyer reported that there continues to be a downward trend in the State’s economy and expects a potential reduction in Chapter 70 and other state aid.
Mr. Jack gave an overview of the District Expenditures and the Revenue Projection for FY’05. Mr. Jack stated that 80% of the FY05 expenditures are spent on salaries. Other significant increases are in the following areas: Special Education, Curriculum Renewal, Professional Development, Utilities, Transportation at Lincoln, and Health Insurance and Benefits at Hanscom.
Sue Hollingsworth asked for the Pre-School and Sped non- salary costs to be broken down. Mr. Jack will expand more on the SPED specifics at the next scheduled School Committee Meeting.
Mr. Naso reported that the SPED increases are seen in three areas:
Collaborative Costs, Contract Services and Curriculum Renewal/Professional Renewal.
The Superintendent reviewed the strategies the Administration will use to close the gap in the Hanscom and Lincoln budgets some of which are:
The following School Committee dates are scheduled for the remainder of the budget discussions prior to presenting the Proposed Budget to the Finance Committee on December 11th: Meetings begin at 7:00 p.m. except for December 11th which will begin at 6:00 p.m.
October 30, 2003- Hartwell Building Multi-Use room
November 6, 2003 - (Meeting in Boston- Franklin Park Golf Clubhouse)
November 20, 2003 – Budget - Phase I Reductions
December 1, 2003 – Budget - Phase II Reductions
December 4, 2003 – Vote on Base Budget
The School Committee presentation to the Finance Committee will take place on December 11, 2003, along with all Town departments. This meeting will be held in the multi-use room in the Hartwell Building.
Ashton Peery expressed that it is critical to let the community know the School Committee is discussing the FY05 budget. Julie Dobrow replied that the most effective way to communicate this information is to send a letter home in the children’s backpack and to submit the same letter to the Lincoln Journal outlining the meeting dates.
A member of the audience requested that the dates also be posted on the Lincoln School’s web page.
Mr. Schultz presented the FY05 budget for the Lincoln School.
This budget recommends five sections of grade two and five sections of grade K with an additional 26 hours of teaching assistant time. $5,000 is in the budget to add to the collection started for the K-3 Reading Book Room. In addition, Mr. Schultz requested replacing nine cafeteria tables for the Smith Cafeteria. Other items for review were the non - employee related budgets for consumables and other line items.
Ms. Randy Davis presented the FY05 budget for the Hanscom Primary School.
This budget recommends four sections of grade three for FY05 based on current enrollment numbers. The current area of focus for Hanscom Primary is on mathematics instruction. Requested is a teacher position for mathematics enrichment, remediation and professional development. A .5 FTE teacher would be used at the Primary School and this position would be shared with Hanscom Middle School for the remainder .5FTE.
Ms. Davis also outlined some thoughts on moving to wireless technology in the future budget planning beyond FY05, and the planning for building maintenance and facilities upkeep.
Mr. Barry Hopping presented the budget for Hanscom Middle School.
This budget recommends adding a section in grade five for FY05. Also requested is a .5 Library Aide position to be placed back in the budget that had been taken out for FY04. Mr. Hopping also mentioned the .5 FTE shared mathematics teacher for enrichment and remediation. Mr. Hopping is requesting that the field trip budget be re-instated along with funding for transportation for athletics at the Middle School. Some discussion ensued about the age of the middle school (oldest in the district) and the maintenance of this facility.
Each school district must comply with the Massachusetts Department of Education Program Quality Assurance requests for documentation and program review to meet the federal requirements and to ensure the uninterrupted access to special education funds.
Sue Hollingsworth asked Sherice Horton, METCO Representative, if many parents from Boston were planning on attending the Thursday, November 13th informational meeting and the Saturday, November 15 METCO Forum.
Ms. Horton stated that many parents are planning to attend and that there has been some concern as to the messages the children are receiving in school. The children and some of the parents are wondering if they need to look for schools outside of Lincoln for their children next year.
Julie Dobrow encouraged the Boston parents to attend the November 6th School Committee meeting in Boston. Mr. Brandmeyer stated that the Administrative Team is currently writing a statement about the School District’s commitment to the METCO Program. School Committee members will be looking at the current School Committee Policy and will craft a statement to bring to the next School Committee meeting, speaking to their commitment to the students that are currently enrolled in the METCO Program. Dennis Picker stated his total support of education at the Lincoln School for Boston students currently enrolled.
Respectfully submitted by
Stephanie Brown