School Committee Met March 3, 2010

by Erica Plunkett 3/7/10

Dear Friends and Neighbors, 

The School Committee meeting Thursday night primarily focused on the FY11 budget process.  We strongly urge you stay informed. And please pass along this information to anyone you think may be interested.  Important dates in the budget development calendar are listed below.  

The Superintendent and the Committee acknowledged the -3% and -2% targets that all town departments are facing. Dr. Jackson then summarized some of the difficulties associated with discussing gap closing strategies when the gap is as large as it is. The committee is attuned to the public perception of either "finding" revenue when new numbers become available, as they surely will, or in putting together a list of perceived scare tactic items. The Committee is also very sensitive to the impact on morale when discussing ways to close the gap, particularly as they relate to staff reductions or program elimination. Therefore, the Committee’s general approach will be to work the revenue side first, await more concrete information from state budget process, and then begin to prioritize reductions against the final gap vs. an interim gap. 

Specifically, we are looking at general strategies to minimize the impact of potential bad news and slow down the budget process as we wait for more complete information:

We will be focusing our initial efforts on revenue generation and “belt-tightening” (a bit of a euphemism since we have already lost 23.5 positions in the past two years). This will allow enough time for the state aid picture to firm up so the actual gap becomes clearer. We will internally develop a list of program reductions and eliminations We will publicize and discuss this list once the true gap is established. 

Our revised budget development strategy:

We will be reviewing revenue sources and exploring any available fund to minimize the gap between the Superintendent’s recommended budget and the Finance Committee guideline.

We will await a Local Aid Resolution from the State to solidify Holliston’s local aid package.  This will allow the Fin Com to re-adjust their guideline. Current indications are that this will happen mid to end-March.
We will prepare a list of budget reductions to meet the new adjusted guideline.

On behalf of the entire School Committee, if you have any questions please feel free to contact any Committee member or Central Office.  We cannot stress how vital community input is to the budget process, particularly given the current fiscal constraints.  Everyone has a stake in our public education system. 

Reminder: The next School Committee Office Hours are Friday, March 19, from 9-10 at Coffee Haven.

Kindest regards, 

Erica Plunkett

School Committee Vice-Chair and Communications Liaison 

Did You Know?..... 

1. Holliston has the third lowest administrative cost per pupil in **TEC (The Educational Cooperative to which we belong) with only Canton and Walpole lower (there are 17 communities in TEC). 

2. Holliston's administrative cost per pupil is almost $200/pupil lower than the average for all TEC communities. 

3. Holliston's administrative cost per pupil is almost $72/pupil lower than the average for ALL communities in Massachusetts. 

Posted in Schools.

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