Clarksburg School Draft Budget at $2.6M for Fiscal 2017By Tammy Daniels, iBerkshires Staff
01:15AM / Friday, March 04, 2016 | |
 The School Committee is reviewing a draft budget for fiscal 2017 and talks with the teachers' union. |
Julia Jammalo tells the board of her experience with Project 351.
CLARKSBURG, Mass. — School officials are reviewing a preliminary budget for fiscal 2017 that is up 3 percent over this year.
The proposed budget is $2,564,996, up about $77,000 over fiscal 2016.
"There aren't a lot of changes," Superintendent Jonathan Lev told the School Committee on Thursday. "This represents maintaining the current programs at the school and maintaining the staff."
Like many governmental districts, health insurance has continued to rise apace; Clarksburg is looking at about $331,000. Lev said the district's insurer had cautioned that if "we continue our current insurance plan there will be a 5 percent increase."
The budget adds in a teaching assistant position expected to be needed for the next school year. The salaries line includes step and column increases for teachers but not raises. Lev said the first round of negotiations with the Clarksburg Teachers Association has been held, and the Committee went into executive session at the end of the meeting to discuss those talks and a letter submitted on behalf of non-union employees.
State aid has not kept pace with costs, Lev said, although the state House and Senate have been discussing increasing Chapter 70 above what Gov. Charlie Baker has proposed.
While vocational/technical and charter schools saw increased funding, public schools were being given 1.7 percent over this year.
"That 1.7 percent increase comes out to $20 a student and we have about 160 students," he said. "You do the math."
Clarksburg anticipates getting $1.78 million in Chapter 70 education aid, or about $3,500 more, with a required net school spending of $2.4 million.
Nine eighth-graders are expected to attend Drury High School for a net enrollment increase of four, or about another $44,000 in tuition to North Adams.
Last year, town officials pressed the school district to cut up to $80,000 out of its budget.
"There are some chages that can happen and we will be meeting with the Finance Committee and the selectmen in the next few weeks," Lev said. "When the contract is settled [with teachers], we will be aware of our numbers."
He added, "It's not a bad budget. I certainly hope something will happen over the next few months to lower it more."
The district also in the next few months hopes to hire a consultant and project manager for the school feasibility student. Clarksburg was accepted in the Massachusetts School Building Authority late last year after a number of attempts.
But its taken some time for the state agency to approve the feasibility study agreement with the town that will allow it to post a request for proposals. Lev told the committee that he had finally been given the go-ahead on Tuesday but had not yet read through the lengthy document.
The School Building Committee, which was appointed but hasn't had much to do yet, will do the interviews and hiring.
"I would like to be able to get a timeline on when we'll the results of the feasability but I don't know how it will take," he said, pointing to the years-long projects in North Adams and for Mount Greylock Regional. "But we are moving forward and it will be a very interesting time for Clarksburg."
In other business, Principal Tara Barnes showed the committee the upcoming schedule for testing and events at Clarksburg. The spring's timeframe may be tighter than usual because the lack of snow days has moved up the final day.
The school year is expected to end on June 14, "which gives us very little time to do all thing things Clarksburg loves to do," said.
• The school will continue is piloting of the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers testing. Barnes said the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System "2.0" is expected to integrate PARCC elements, which will put the school ahead.
 • Eighth-grader Julia Jammalo reported to the committee on her activities with Project 351 Day of Service and Student Council. Jammalo attended events in Boston recently for Project 351, a state-sponsored program in which selected eighth-graders learn about community service. (The photo above from the governor's office was taken at Faneuil Hall.)
Jammalo met with the governor and other leaders and participated in a service learning project making hygiene kits for homeless people at the Pine Street Inn. "It was a very busy day," she said.
Her project will be a collection drive for children's clothing and shoes to benefit Cradles to Crayons.
The committee thanked her for her efforts. "You've been a great representative of Clarksburg in this Project 351," said Lev.
• The committee approved spending $650 from the maintenance budget to replace a failing condensor on the cafeteria's cooler. Committee member John Solari abstained because the repairman is a distant relative.
Clarksburg School Budget Draft FY2017
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