The good news and bad news of Marion’s education budget came out during the February 26 joint session to review and discuss the draft budgets for Fiscal Year 2021 with the Board of Selectmen, the Finance Committee and Old Rochester Regional and Sippican School Committees at the Town House.
Marion’s contribution of 82.5 percent for FY2021 is the most it can be.
The good news was prefaced by Town Administrator Jay McGrail, who took the floor from Board of Selectmen Chairman Randy Parker and informed the meeting that the town managed to maintain the requested growth rate.
“The Finance Committee came to me and said they want to see growth at 2 percent, and that’s what we tried to do here. (ORR superintendent Doug White) listened to that, that’s what I passed on to Doug, and as far as the Sippican budget and the ORR budget, he came pretty close to that,” announced McGrail.
When delving into the Sippican School budget, White explained that Chapter 70 (money that comes from the state into the Tri-Town area to support education in the local region and at Upper Cape Tech) gleans information from FY2018 and uses 2017 for income information.
The state also took into consideration residents’ property valuation and income and arrived at a contribution of 17.5 percent to the town’s public education. That leaves the town holding the bag for the other 82.5 percent.
“They’re funding us at the minimum number they possibly can,” said White of the state.
The Student Opportunity Act designed to bring additional education money into Marion will contribute no more than $30 per student, slightly up from the $25 the town had received per student (a 1.5 percent change).
“Education in our three communities and in Marion has been supported through the taxpayers and the citizens of the community, and they’ve provided the support and education that we’ve been able to do,” said White. “And we’re thankful for that because I think we’re supported well as we’re moving forward.”
Board of Selectmen Vice Chairman John Waterman asked for and received confirmation that the state’s formula to calculating aid is not subject to any influence from towns.
“We’re not getting a lot of support,” said White.
The budget was set on Oct. 1, 2019, then enrollment increased from 432 to 444 students in anticipated enrollment for the 2020-21 school year.
Sippican has from 18-22 students per classroom, three rooms at each grade level, a preschool with 23 students as a whole (some of those students for two days a week). White indicated that the same number of teachers will keep class sizes in the 20-22 range.
FinCom Chairman Peter Winters was not satisfied with the presentation because the format had income offsetting expenses before FinCom was able to see the numbers.
“The budget is offset by the circuit-breakers. There is an operating budget and a circuit-breaker budget. Those are net,” said Lincoln Lynch, who assisted White in preparing the budget for presentation.
“They don’t accurately reflect expenses,” said Winters. “We just got this tonight. How are we supposed to review this and figure out what the cost of something actually is?”
Judy Mooney, Assistant Town Administrator, explained that the method is necessary in the effort to arrive at a budget, and thus the presentation with offsets.
Waterman said that budget and analysis are two different disciplines, implying that analysis cannot force its way into the budget process without becoming counterproductive.
ORR Assistant Superintendent Mike Nelson explained circuit-breakers as “relief for students that are high needs fitting a certain fiscal (profile)”.
“So essentially the home district owns the first $45,000 of special-education services for a special-education student, and any cost above that foundation rate of $45,000, we put in for state reimbursement and typically we are reimbursed at a rate of 75 percent. Those funds then come back into the district and then we’re able to use them either for unexpected education costs such as a move-in or for budget offset because we have to use that reimbursement within a two-year window.”
The ORR school committee is asking for social and emotional support that goes along with its strategic plan. A couple of years ago, ORR moved from a social worker to a behaviorist. Differences between the two include a social worker works with DCF, whereas a behaviorist would not. A social worker would also support families by making connections with the community for shelter and food. Another program ORR has is transitioning sports teams’ coaches to the union contract.
Marion Board of Selectmen Joint Session with FinCom, School Committees, Water and Sewer
By Mick Colageo