Published in the March 12, 2020 edition.
By MARK SARDELLA
WAKEFIELD — School Superintendent Douglas Lyons unveiled his recommended $43,976,659 budget at Tuesday night’s School Committee meeting. The School Department will be asking for a $2,045,611 (4.88 percent) budget increase for FY 2021. Lyons noted that the budget funds a faculty and staff of 567, which educates 3,510 students.
Lyons said that feedback from parents, school staff and the community were listened to in the creation of a budget that he called “fiscally responsive and sustainable.” Surveys completed by staff, parents, students and others in the community helped to shape budget priorities, Lyons said.
One of the priorities was what Lyons termed “direct service in the classroom.” Five new full-time equivalent (FTE) position will be added, including two full time science teachers at the elementary level, one full-time special education teacher at the Dolbeare School, one full-time position at the Galvin, a half-time position at the Greenwood and a half-time position at the Doyle.
The budget also includes a new nurse coordinator stipend and new funding for teachers to work with formative data, Lyons said.
Lyons said that personnel costs comprise 80 percent of the school budget and reflect an increase of $1,781,905 (4.25 percent) in FY 2021. He indicated that while the teachers’ contract was not yet settled, the budget accounted for estimated costs associated with a new contract.
Operational costs are up by $211,572, Lyons said.
Regarding special education, Lyons said that the School Department continues to develop and support in-district programming to support all learners. He said that it was costing more to build in-district special education supports, but saving money in the long term by avoiding costly out-of-district placements. He said that the budget included a $168,813 increase in special education personnel, but special education out of district tuitions were down $116,697.
The superintendent said that the Governor’s preliminary budget shows Chapter 70 state aid coming in at $6,849,798, which would be an increase of $129,249 over FY 2020. However, Lyons said that he expected that the Chapter 70 increase may well come in higher than that.
Lyons also talked about collaborating with town leaders to create a long term (7-10 year) Facilities Master Plan. Such a plan would create a data and budget plan to accommodate facilities including a new high school, a renovated Greenwood School and an aggressive Preventative Maintenance Schedule jointly managed with DPW.
Lyons also talked about completing an enrollment study to look at the impact of new residential development on school enrollment.
There will be a public hearing on the FY 2021 school budget Wednesday, March 18. Lyons and the School Committee will present the school budget to the Town Council on March 23. The School Committee will vote on the budget on March 24 and the budget will be presented to Finance Committee on March 26. The school budget will go before the voters at Town Meeting in May.
