Fournier hesitated to identify specific positions because he said employees have not yet been told.
Gerald FournierPALMER – School superintendent Gerald A. Fournier has proposed laying off eight teachers to reach the $14.1 million target budget figure for fiscal 2012 set by the Town Council and town manager.
Fournier hesitated to identify specific positions at Wednesday’s School Committee meeting because he said employees have not yet been told.
But School Committee member Gary A. Blanchette said the public should know what’s on the table for cuts, and Fournier said the information will be public in time for the May 18 budget public hearing. Affected teachers will be notified by the week’s end, Fournier said.
Of the eight positions, two, a fourth grade teacher and a special education teacher, are at Old Mill Pond Elementary School. Three positions are at Converse Middle School, including one each in grade 6 and grade 7. Three positions are at the high school, including an English teacher and science teacher. The third positions respectively at the middle and high school were not revealed because doing so would identify the teachers, Fournier said.
The cuts represent $401,000. Last year, the budget was $14.6 million, which was 3.5 percent higher.
Blanchette questioned the 26 percent increase – $182,000 – in the category for textbooks, software and supplies, and asked if the administration could review that area, to perhaps save a teacher from losing his or her job.
Gary A. Blanchette“My first priority are the people in the classroom,” said Blanchette, himself a casualty of budget cuts two years ago.
“We’re talking about teachers. We’re talking about human beings,” Blanchette added.
School Committee Chairwoman Maureen R. Gallagher questioned enrollment figures, which Fournier said have been declining steadily at all three schools. Gallagher asked Fournier to provide enrollment figures at the next session.
Budget increases were driven in part by a 20 percent jump in special education costs (due to new students and higher rates for private schools that some students attend), the 26 percent increase in discretionary spending for books and supplies, and nearly $300,000 in extra health insurance costs.
Fournier lamented that the budget decreases each year. He said this budget is less than what the district had in 2001. There are also 40 fewer teachers from when he first started five years ago.
Utilities were a bright spot, with costs down 5 percent, in part due to the use of more energy-efficient lighting, and the use of less expensive natural gas at the elementary and high schools.
The committee also briefly discussed replacing Fournier, who will retire at the end of the school year. A Massachusetts Association of School Committees representative will attend the next meeting to discuss services it provides for superintendent searches. Its fee is $10,500.
