Schools
Superintendent: Upcoming Budget Will Be "Very Difficult"
"This is going to be an extremely difficult budget to put together suggestions for you," said Superintendent Bill Lupini.
Every year the becomes harder and harder to construct, Superintendent Bill Lupini noted during the School Committee meeting Thursday night.
This year is no exception.
“This is going to be an extremely difficult budget to put together suggestions for you,” said Lupini during his presentation on the fiscal 2013 budget issues.
And the main problem continues to be the ever-increasing enrollment in the Brookline school system. There will be a need for six new elementary classroom sections next year under the current assumption of an enrollment of 600 kindergartners. But as the superintendent pointed out, this is most likely to change--and more sections will have to be added.
“Obviously, the main issue for us is enrollment,” said Lupini. “There are many, many issues that are connected to enrollment.”
The superintendent commented that he and his staff will also be looking to find efficiencies in grades 6, 7, and 8. This includes sharing teachers between the grades and providing more support, such as secretaries and interns.
“The answer here is not as simple as more staff,” said Lupini. “It can be more support.”
This is a solution, Lupini remarked, that could be used across the school system.
Other issues for the include:
- Whether to continue using contract services in some places or switch to an in-house method
- Upgrade assistive technology
- The status of federal funding
- METCO, where funding might remain at the present level, which is essentially a cut
“Those are the main issues we are talking about and that we are struggling with,” said Lupini, who will present the superintendent message to the committee Feb. 16.
