Proposed Braintree School Budget Up Over 4 Percent

BRAINTREE, MA – More teachers at the middle schools are among the additions in the proposed fiscal year 2017 Braintree Public Schools budget.

Revealed during Monday night's school committee meeting by Superintendent Frank Hackett, the budget comes in at about $62.1 million, about 4.37 percent higher than this year's budget.

Included in the budget is about $162,900 in spending considered to be high priority. The positions include a .6 physical education/health teacher and a .6 foreign language teacher for the middle schools. According to Hackett, the positions would help eliminate shared staff and lower class sizes at the middle schools. South Middle School would also receive a .6 guidance counselor and an instrumental instructor that would be shared with the high school.

The funds for a 0.38 reading specialist at the kindergarten center would turn the job into a full-time position.

The maintenance of effort portion of the budget includes special education tuition, a physical education teacher at Braintree High School, a paraprofessional for the STRIVES program, a .5 nurse, a .2 psychologist for the kindergarten center, and an IT staffer.

Addressing spending per pupil, Hackett noted that the state average is $14,919.84 per student, higher than Braintree's $13,837,58 but closer than recent years.

"When you look at the difference between fiscal year 2010 and you look at fiscal year 2015, you see that the gap is closing. The difference between the state average and what we're spending has closed significantly," Hackett said.

The budget was construction on some assumptions for state aid and retirements, according to Hackett, meaning that the final number could change.

The public will have their say on the budget during a public hearing next Monday at Braintree High School.