Former School Committee Members Urge YES for Override

As former school committee members, serving in some combination since 1998, we share a deep understanding of the current budget situation faced by our schools and our city. In many ways, it is not unlike the situation we’ve been faced with for so many years leading up to this one. State aid and revenue from the city are limited and the cost of providing a quality public education is increasing at a rate greater than the revenue available under proposition 2 1/2.

For years, when met with this scenario, the school committee and superintendent would spend months refining the budget, finding cost savings and efficiencies, maximizing revenue, eliminating positions, and underfunding important initiatives. That is how we balanced the school budget each year, reluctantly, but in response to the limited revenue available from our community. We made years of slow and careful reductions, implemented with the least possible impact to our students. And now, with school spending hovering barely above the minimum required by the state for the past 10 years, we find ourselves in a situation that is not a surprise to any of us. It’s been coming for years. Our district is solidly and chronically underfunded.

But last year, the situation changed. The school committee was faced with an impossible situation. When the school budget ran up against limited revenue, there was nothing left to cut. To balance the budget, the committee scraped every reserve account and ultimately had to lay off teachers and cut services to make ends meet. We are now filling classrooms with too many students, freezing supply budgets, deferring curriculum upgrades to meet new requirements, underpaying educators and loosing our experienced teachers and administrators to more competitive and supportive districts right next door. With the number of students continually increasing, mandates from the state unfunded, and city revenue capped, at this point, the school budget situation is unsustainable and borderline irresponsible.

This is no way to run a school district. There is too much at stake. Our students and teachers deserve more. Our community expects more. Yet our school committee’s hands are tied. With our combined historical perspective balancing school budgets since 1998, we are here to tell you and this community that there’s nothing left to cut without cutting into the core. Collectively as former school committee members, we have already turned over every stone and found every cost savings. Without additional revenue, the next step is a huge step backwards for the Melrose Public Schools.

We share our utmost respect with the current school committee as they have laid out a clear picture of the current situation in our schools and the budget options ahead. The only thing left for them to do is to respond to the will of the voters on April 2. If our community finds its way to supporting this override, the committee will be able to rebuild. If not, our community will have to lower its expectations for our schools and the committee will have to make drastic cuts to our already reduced levels of educational service. Knowing this, we are beyond committed to the solution before us. We will cast our YES votes in next Tuesday’s special override election and we implore the rest of this community to do the same. Please Vote Yes!

Submitted by:
Chris Casatelli, School Committee Member 2001-2017, Linden Road
Don Constantine, School Committee 2001-2015, Island Hill Avenue
Jessica Dugan, School Committee Member 2014-2017, Crescent Avenue
Don Lehman, School Committee Member 2006-2013, Lincoln Street
Mary Beth McAteer-Margolis, School Committee Member 1998-2006, Stowecroft Road
Jaime McAllister-Grande, School Committee Member 2015-2017, Tappan Street
Kristin Thorp, School Committee Member 2005-2015, Wentworth Road