Published March 11, 2020
By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — For the second year in a row, the Board of Selectmen has instructed Superintendent Jane Tremblay to reduce proposed school spending for the next fiscal year.
Tremblay appeared before the selectmen on March 2 to pitch a $27,530,266 budget for fiscal year 2021, representing a 6.4 percent increase over FY20’s $25,875,345 allocation. She also requested a $300,000 capital budget for FY21.
“This proposed budget meets the ongoing academic, social-emotional and mental health needs of our students,” said Tremblay. “Our priority is to always move the district forward while demonstrating fiscal responsibility.”
Positions
Tremblay has requested seven full-time positions and four part-time positions in the recommended FY21 budget.
In the wake of the elementary school enrollment spike, Tremblay is requesting a full-time kindergarten teacher and a full-time paraprofessional for Summer Street School. She said Summer Street School will be running five kindergarten classes next year, which is the same number of kindergarten classes that will be running at Huckleberry Hill. She projects that 94 kindergarteners will be enrolled at Summer Street and 103 will be hitting the books at Huckleberry Hill.
“You could knock me over with a feather with these numbers,” said Tremblay.
Tremblay is also looking to add a full-time elementary special education team chairperson, who would be tasked with running special education meetings at each elementary school.
“A special education meeting is when parents and guardians come in and talk to faculty and staff about students who are on an individual education plan or a 504 plan,” said Tremblay.
Tremblay said an existing special education teacher at each school is currently overseeing the meetings.
“It is no longer a viable option because their caseloads are going up,” said Tremblay. “One of the things that we have noticed is that it is really important to have one person looking over both elementary schools. We have some really good programming at our elementary schools and if we don’t have one person looking them over, then one school doesn’t know what the other school has in terms of programming.”
Tremblay is also requesting two adjustment counselors for each elementary school in order to support students’ social-emotional needs. She originally requested the two positions as part of the proposed FY20 budget, but the positions were cut from the final spending plan. She said the adjustment counselor added to Lynnfield Middle School in FY20 has had a positive impact. She said the same would be true if the elementary positions are added next year.
“Adjustment counselors’ main priority are general education students,” said Tremblay. “They specialize in mental health crisis and intervention. They are responsible for working with students who have physical, emotional, behavioral and learning disorders.”
Tremblay is also requesting a full-time English language learners (ELL) teacher because the number of students who speak English as a second language has increased from 42 students to 54.
“Our numbers are growing rapidly and they are not going down,” said Tremblay. “Our school district is represented by 25 different languages. We currently have two full-time ELL teachers who serve students in preschool all the way through grade 12. We are struggling to meet the needs of all of those learners.”
Tremblay is also requesting a full-time technology support position and three part-time technology support paraprofessionals. She said the full-time position would support various technology needs across the district. She said the three part-time technology positions would troubleshoot technology issues.
Lastly, Tremblay is looking to reinstate a middle school media center aide into the FY21 budget. The position was cut from the FY19 spending plan.
Special education
Tremblay has budgeted $1,281,659 for special education out of district tuition for FY21.
“It’s not just special education services we are seeing with this,” said Tremblay. “It is mental health issues as well. This is not going away. It’s not just a Lynnfield problem and a Massachusetts problem. Everybody in the country is dealing with this right now.”
Tremblay has budgeted $439,256 for special education out of district transportation.
Selectman Dick Dalton inquired how many students are currently placed out of the district.
Finance Director Tom Geary said there are 28 students currently placed out of the district. He said the cost for each student varies.
“You can send a student out and it will cost $40,000 to $50,000 up to $300,000 and $400,000,” said Geary.
Capital budget
Tremblay has requested a $300,000 capital budget for FY21.
The superintendent requested $250,000 for technology expenses. She has also requested $30,000 to purchase a new bell system at Lynnfield High School and $20,000 for a new phone system at Summer Street School.
Budget cuts eyed
Before the selectmen weighed-in on the recommended school budget, Tremblay acknowledged the $27.5 million spending plan is “high.”
“We have some work to do, but we felt it is really, really important for the Board of Selectmen to know and understand our needs,” said Tremblay. “There is nothing in this presentation that is a want. We believe they are all needs. We think it’s important for the community to know what the needs are so that we can serve our students and families, and continue to offer them the very best education possible.”
Selectmen Chairman Phil Crawford said the School Department’s needs “are well founded,” but said the lack of new growth has made FY21 a challenging budget year for the town.
“The new growth in town is contracting,” said Crawford. “MarketStreet was a tremendous boost for our revenues, and our budgets have started incorporating most of that. You need reoccurring revenues to keep a 4 percent or 4.5 percent increase in the school budget every year. That doesn’t exist any longer. We don’t have another MarketStreet or a big project coming along that is going to give us reoccurring revenues that can keep that going.”
Crawford said Tremblay needed to reduce the school budget to a 3 percent increase over FY20.
“We certainly don’t want an override,” said Crawford. “We are looking at some large expenditures, including possibly adding some new rooms at the schools. We have to take that into consideration. The 3 percent range is what is affordable for next year. The operating budget has to be tight this year due to the lack of new growth.”
Dalton concurred with Crawford’s point of view.
“We have fiscal constraints and it is our obligation to come up with something that is not only fiscally responsible, but sustainable,” said Dalton.
Dalton said Tremblay, school administrators and teachers “have a lot to be proud of” in regards to the school system’s accomplishments.
“It’s quite impressive,” said Dalton. “I understand you have your challenges and it’s daunting to listen to quite frankly.”
School Committee Chairman Jamie Hayman said school officials were trying to balance being fiscally responsible with being “honest with the town” throughout the FY21 budget process.
“We want the town to know what our needs are,” said Hayman. “We recognize the 6.4 percent budget will have to come down. Superintendent Tremblay was working within the charge from the School Committee.”
School Committeeman Phil McQueen agreed.
“These are all needs,” he said. “They are not all wants.”
Crawford said the selectmen “certainly realize that.”
Hayman also noted if the town does need to build additions onto the elementary schools due to increasing enrollment, he said the School Department “is going to have to staff all of those rooms.”
“If we have to add new teachers every year, you are already looking at significant increases,” said Hayman.