The proposed budget does not eliminate any full-time teaching jobs, she said, but there will be a reduction – though not eliminations – in technical, math and English programs.
Isabelina RodriguezGRANBY – Schools superintendent Isabelina Rodriguez proposed a school budget of $10,509,045 for the fiscal year that starts July 1 at a recent meeting of the School Committee, an increase of $374,750 over last year.
The town will be asked for $4,039,609 of that total. This would be $91,451 more than was requested of the town in FY 2011.
The request will come before Town Meeting on June 13. Granby’s Town Meeting was divided into two meetings this year because the 44 articles were deemed too many to be handled at the meeting on May 9.
Rodriguez said she had to make some reductions to arrive at that figure. A total of $498,914 funds are no longer available this year because of the end of sources such as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
The proposed budget does not eliminate any full-time teaching jobs, she said, but there will be a reduction – though not eliminations – in technical, math and English programs.
Afifth-grade teacher is retiring and will not be replaced. The positions of part-time psychologist at an elementary school and paraprofessional in the Junior-Senior High School will be eleminated.
There will also be reductions in “professional development,” such as workshops offered to teachers to sharpen their skills. Special programs at the elementary level, including physical education, art, music and library programs, will be reduced though, again, not eliminated.
In addition, school supplies will be reduced by $10,000 throughout the district.
“We took this very seriously,” said Rodriguez. “We looked at programmatic needs, but first and foremost we looked at the needs of our students.”
She is concerned that if the cost of heating oil rises, the increase for which she has budgeted will not be enough. Rodriguez is also worried about “school choice,” the program that allows students to choose another school than the one in their district. Schools get paid tuition for students who come into the system, but they have to pay tuition if students “choice out” to another district.
The basic budget for the schools consists of what the town contributes plus what the state contributes, which is referred to in shorthand as “chapter 70” because that’s where the topic appears in the General Laws of Massachusetts.
Other sources of revenue for the schools include school choice funds from incoming students, as well as fees that are charged for certain activities and state and federal grants. Chapter 70 funds, which come from the state government, contribute at a level almost equal to the town’s contributions.