Beverly Schools Propose 5.74% Budget Increase

BEVERLY, MA -- School officials are seeking a 5.74% budget increase to $58.3 million from $51.1 million for the fiscal year beginning July 1. The bigger budget includes 17.4 new full-time positions and a sharp increase for the new Beverly Middle School, which opens in September, according to a draft budget that will be considered by the school committee.

The budget includes 38 new positions at the middle school. Those will be offset with reductions in elementary schools, with fifth grade teachers moving to the middle school and other adjustments made based on enrollment. The staffing levels are fluid at this point, according to the draft budget, as enrollment can fluctuate throughout the summer and right up to the first day of school.

About $7.9 million of the budget would come from state funding, with the remainder coming from the city. That means Beverly taxpayers will foot $49.8 million of the 2018-19 budget, up from $47.2 million this year.

The district is projecting 4,252 students to enroll in 2018-19, down from 4,523. Based on anticipated enrollments, all five of Beverly's elementary schools would see budget cuts, with a combined reduction of 8%. The high school budget is increasing 1.3%. Since the 2005-06 school year, Beverly has tried to target classroom sizes of 22 students in kindergarten, 25 students in first and second grades, and 30 students in all other grades.

"As elementary enrollments vary over the years, the number of teachers for a particular grade in a school can increase or decrease as administrators seek the proper class sizes," the budget said. "It is not unusual for one grade or school to need an additional teacher and another grade or school to need one fewer teacher; thus no overall increase in staffing would be required."

Other big bumps in the proposed budget include a 19.27% increase for administration and a 11.03% increase in special education spending. There are no proposed fee increases, but the district is proposing a tuition cut for its full-day kindergarten program to $3,200 from $3,600.

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Patch file photo.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).