Join the discussion.

Inklings News

Join the discussion.

Inklings News

Join the discussion.

Inklings News

Board of Education debates budget proposals for next year

Board+of+Education+debates+budget+proposals+for+next+year
Justine Seligson

The Board of Education (BOE) has proposed a 2014-2015 budget that reflects an increase of nearly six or barely five percent, depending on whether or not the finance board votes to help reduce a recently-discovered shortfall.

The BOE continues to try to cover a nearly $2 million shortfall, which left a $600,000 healthcare account deficit, due to errors in forecasting and an overdrawn reserve. The amount of this year’s percent budget increase will depend on whether or not the Board of Finance helps cover part of the shortfall.

The overall BOE increase accounts for inflation and salary increases built into employees’ contracts. It includes some increases in programs, as well as cuts to areas like supplies and technology.

“My priorities were maintaining programs and health and safety,” Superintendent Elliott Landon said. “I’m quite pleased as any reductions will not jeopardize these areas.”

The $603,000 in increases includes: an expansion of middle school STEM engineering, an additional elementary school paraprofessional and also bus run changes, according to BOE chair Elaine Whitney.

The expanded STEM program introduces an engineering course once per week to 6th and 7th graders; 8th graders, who participated once per week this year, will now have the class twice per week, science department chair A.J. Scheetz said.

Initially, the Superintendent’s proposed 6.15 percent budget had not cut anything from the past year’s budget, only adding increases. However, the BOE ultimately trimmed $699,000 from areas including technology and instructional supplies, cut one permanent substitute in each school, and deferred classroom refurbishments.

Although shortfall accounting and reductions in bits and pieces may not be directly felt by Staples students, this year’s budget feels painfully tight, Principal John Dodig said. “For the last six years, we have been unable to move the district forward. At the same time, we’re saying that we are transforming into a school of the future,” Dodig said.

Before Landon makes his initial proposal, he holds a meeting with administrators, who ask for certain supplies, according to Dodig. Many of these requests will never be fulfilled in order to keep the budget low. For example, Dodig’s request for supplies like chairs and microscopes was cut from the proposal.

The tight supply budget is felt further by teachers. The science department usually orders supplies at the beginning of the year and then orders a replenishment mid-year. “This year, we had to be very careful in what we ordered for the replenishment,” Sheetz said.

This trend of tightening the belt frustrates Dodig. “The stock market is up,” he said. “We need to make up some of what we lost over the past six years.” Whitney also noted the difficulty of cuts. “It’s harder to find things that won’t harm students,” she said.

Board of Finance chair John Pincavage had a different opinion. “Nothing drastic ever really happens with the budget,” he said. “We only nibble around the edges.”

And BOF member Tom Laserson referenced the needs of taxpayers. “We look at maintaining a cost structure that is sustainable,” he said. “We can’t increase taxes at twice the rate of inflation. That’s the issue.”

The Board of Finance ultimately must decide whether to appropriate over $1 million to both pay insurance claims and to establish a reserve, all of which was requested at an early February BOE meeting.

The BOF will vote on whether or not to appropriate the money in March; later that month, the BOF must vote on the entire budget.

Leave a Comment
More to Discover
About the Contributors
Eliza Llewellyn, Web Managing Editor
Eliza Llewellyn ’14 is driven and well-rounded. Now that it’s her third year on Inklings, she’s ready to take the lead. As web managing editor, Eliza is excited to advance the Inklings website with innovations in media and graphics. It’s not going to be easy, and fortunately her experience as co-captain of the Staples JV tennis team has taught her the valuable leadership skills necessary for the job. Not only this, but her position on the yearbook committee and her commitment to playing piano constantly puts her time management skills to the test. While her job on Inklings may also be extremely time-consuming, she puts it above all else. “If I’m doing homework at 10:30 p.m. and a new e-mail pops up with an article, I stop what I’m doing to read it,” said Eliza. “It’s one of my first priorities.” When Eliza isn’t editing articles, she’s writing them. Last year she wrote a news story, "Legacies: Investigating a College Application Controversy," which she considers one of her best works. “It felt good to talk to guidance counselors and college admissions officers because I was finding information that people would not get otherwise,” said Eliza. This year she hopes to pursue writing in-depth and research-based articles, as well as find a good balance among all her extracurriculars. With her dedication and drive, there’s no doubt Eliza will go above and beyond.
Justine Seligson, Photo Coordinator
Being a self-described political junkie and a teen travel writer, Justine Seligson '15 is not only, without a doubt,  a well rounded student and basically a mother's dream, but also a very unique addition to the staff. Seligson is extremely modest about her accomplishments, but it is very clear that her extensive journalistic experience outside of Inklings has largely influenced her presence on the paper. "I have a column on teen travel on my parent's website, which is called Farewell Travels," Seligson said. "It's a very different type of writing [than Inklings] but it's definitely helped me to grow as a journalist overall." Seligson goes on to describe the plethora of exquisite articles she has written for her column over the years. Seligson further explained how her experiences in traveling have shaped her journalistic presence in a large way. She explains why she is nonchalant about the amazing experiences she has had traveling the globe, explaining that it has always been a way of life for her and her family. "My family travels all the time," she said. "It's just part of our business." However, Seligson says that "...[she] would a much different writer if [she] hadn't traveled so much." She casually mentions how much of an impact a pre-college Kenyan writing program had on her, as what an honor it was to be featured in the National Geographic Student Edition. "It made me realize that even though journalism may supposedly be a dying business, there may be some hope for me to pursue my dream career," she said. With her in-depth knowledge of travel and politics, Seligson is sure to be an interesting voice on the paper this year. She hopes to improve her writing and photography even more this year, as well as to help other staff members to increase the quality of their own photographs.

Comments (0)

All Inklings News Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *