School Committee Backs $62.1 Million Budget

BRAINTREE, MA - A school budget with over $500,000 in new staff spending has been endorsed by the school committee.

During a quick 50-minute meeting, the board gave their blessing to the proposed $62.1 million fiscal year 2017 budget Monday night during a public hearing. The budget comes in 4.37 percent higher than last year’s budget, or about $2.6 million.

Included in the budget is about $162,900 in spending considered to be high priority and $534,907 in new spending. The additional spending includes $146,507 in special education tuition, a physical education teacher at the high school, a paraprofessional for the STRIVES program, a .5 position nurse, and an IT tech staffer.

At the middle schools, a .6 physical education/health teacher and a .6 foreign language teacher have been added to the budget to help eliminate shared staff and lower class sizes. 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 and .2 psychologist at the kindergarten center would turn the jobs into full-time positions.

In other committee news, the board voted to opt out of the School Choice program, citing crowding issues. The program allows students from outside of town to attend school in Braintree, with the town receiving state funding. A public hearing and vote are required for a school district to opt out.