Tuition Free Kindergarten Cut from Proposed School Budget

MANSFIELD, MA - Tuition-free kindergarten was among the cuts to close the gap in the proposed fiscal year 2017 school budget.

Last week, the school committee voted to reduce the budget about to $48.59 million. In addition to free kindergarten, five paraprofessionals and three specialist positions were part of the reductions. The specialists were a math interventionist, a dean of students for Mansfield High School, and a technology integration specialist.

“That’s going to impact where we’re going with technology. It’s going to put us a year behind,” Superintendent Zeffro Gianetti said during a recent school committee meeting.

The reductions are part of an effort by the town and schools to erase a combined $2.4 million budget deficit. The cuts on the school side eliminate $579,300, with $376,000 coming from the removal of free kindergarten.

School committee members were unenthused about the vote but were reminded that if possible, cut positions can be returned to the budget.

“We got to start somewhere. We got a long way to go,” Chairman Michael Trowbridge said.