Published in the April 11, 2017 edition.

By MARK SARDELLA

WAKEFIELD – School Superintendent Dr. Kim Smith last night defended the proposed $38 million FY 2018 School Department budget with its 4.84 percent increase over the current year’s budget.

Smith discussed the School Department budget with the Board of Selectmen last night. While the selectmen do not approve the schools’ budget, school officials annually present their budget to the board.

Smith began by reviewing various measures of success and student performance along with the results of a survey of school staff and the community regarding budget priorities.

Smith said that 80 percent of the School Department budget is salaries. She maintained that a “level services” budget – providing the same services as last year – would require at 4.15 percent increase.

Smith then talked about what had been added to the budget as well as what had been cut to make room for the additions.

Added were a Grade 5 teacher at the Galvin Middle School to eliminate odd numbered teaching teams along with a math teacher at Wakefield Memorial High School to address a bump in enrollment.

A behavior coach and board certified behavior analyst were added. Smith explained that these new staff positions replaced a contractual line item for the same services at approximately the same cost.

Also added was a World Languages Curriculum Coordinator.

A sum of $64,225 was added for increased professional development and a $60,000 line item was added for student intervention services.

Budget reductions were made in the computer hardware budget and the homeless account. The Leslie University Contract was restructured to bring in more money (Leslie uses the Galvin Middle School for night and weekend classes). By providing some of its own out-of-district transportation, Smith said, the School Department saved another $100,000.

Smith also talked about the School Department’s plan to reduce and possibly eventually eliminate user fees for extracurricular activities.

Smith defended the 4.84 percent increase in the budget, which exceeded the 4 percent cap that school officials had agreed to honor for three years in exchange for an 11.4 percent bump in the FY 2016 school budget.

That one-time 11.4 percent budget hike was intended to “right-size” some areas of the budget that were seen as lacking as well as fund the institution of full-day, tuition-free kindergarten. That outsized increase was recommended by the Finance Committee and approved by Town Meeting in 2015 with the understanding that the schools would come in with budget increases of no more than 4 percent in each of the next few years.

In defending this year’s budget, Smith cited an increase in enrollment in the form of 181 new students. She suggested that the addition of full-day kindergarten and the new Galvin Middle School were attracting and keeping families in Wakefield and kids in the schools. A decrease in charter school enrollment also supported this conclusion, Smith argued.

This increase in enrollment, she maintained, had contributed to a significant increase in the money the town gets from the state in the form of Chapter 70 funds.

Selectman Phyllis Hull told Smith that within a $38 million budget, there must be somewhere that the budget could be lowered to stay within the agreed-to 4 percent cap on budget increases.

“You did make the commitment that you would not go over 4 percent,” Hull said. “I really think you should do that.”

Selectman Ann Santos maintained that the 11.4 percent increase approved in 2015 was a necessity to make the schools better. She claimed that prior to that there had been “flight” from the Wakefield Schools. She insisted that the improvements that the 11.4 percent increase brought have “set us on a path where we can’t turn back.”

Selectman Tony Longo agreed with Smith’s assessment that families are coming to Wakefield for the schools. He said that he would support the school budget this year, but asked Smith to try to come back next year with an increase closer to the 4 percent.

Selectman Paul DiNocco agreed with Longo.

“Let’s see if we can knock it down next year,” he said. “Let’s work together as a team.”