School Department Reduces Current Fiscal Year Budget By $260,000

During Monday night’s School Committee meeting, Westford School Department Superintendent Bill Olsen released additional details on how the schools will help correct the town’s budget shortfall.

Due to lower than expected revenues, Town Manager Jodi Ross told Olsen and other department heads that Westford was facing a budget imbalance of approximately $600,000 for the current fiscal year, Fiscal Year 2016.

By Monday, that figure had been adjusted to $623,200 and Olsen provided several recommendations for the School Committee that would reduce the current fiscal year’s appropriations by $260,000.

Three full time equivalent (FTE) teaching positions that were anticipated to be needed were removed, saving $143,000. Olsen reported that recent school enrollment figures varied enough from previous projections to allow the line items for these positions to be removed.

The positions included a third grade FTE at the Crisafulli School, a first grade FTE at the Robinson School and an FTE for the Full Day Integrated Kindergarten staff, with a .5 FTE being added for a Kindergarten position at the Robinson School.

Olsen also told the board that the schools had saved an additional $117,000 over projections from recent net metering improvements coming in part to Westford becoming recognized as a “Green Community” by the state.

The reductions were approved by the board unanimously.

Olsen and Westford School Department Finance Director Kathy Auth also announced that it will be returning $328,426 to Westford taxpayers from the budget for Fiscal Year 2015, which concluded on June 30.

Although the School Department had to spend $77,000 more in custodial services due to the significant snowfall figures in February and an extra $380,000 in assorted maintenance costs, savings were spread out throughout the budget from a favorable school bus contract renegotiation to nearly a quarter million dollars not needed for expected substitute teacher days.

“This is a juggling act every year,” said Olsen.

The return to taxpayers was the latest in a long-standing tradition held by the School Committee in recent years.
“We don’t have a use it or lose it philosophy,” said School Committee Member Tom Clay.