Melrose School Budget Tighter Than We Thought?

MELROSE, MA — In Reading Tuesday night, residents approved a multimillion dollar override that will partially help fund the school department. Just a few miles away in Melrose, some members of the School Committee were suggesting it's nearly time time for residents to foot more of the school bill.

There were a few things on the table at Tuesday's meeting, but as School Committee member Lizbeth DeSelm said, the budget deliberations were the "main event." That they were, and they painted a fairly grim picture - one that extends beyond just this coming year.

At the end of the nearly two-hour meeting, this much was clear: The budget problem in the school system is real. It might be more real than any of us have given it credit for.

"There is nothing in this district that anybody wants to give up," Superintendent Cyndy Taymore said. "If you gave me 2-3 million dollars more not only would it go to salaries, it would go to all the things we want for all our children. It's not there. So what you're facing are some hard choices."

That's about $800,000 worth of hard choices that need to be determined within the next several days. And Taymore wasn't pussyfooting around the facts.

"There are going to be programatic cuts and there are going to be people cuts. Whether old or new positions remains to be seen," she said. "What is more valuable to you? A high school teacher or another ESL teacher? A kindergarten teacher or a health teacher? A guidance counselor or a speciality teacher for the elementaries? Do you need to have gym every week? I'm not saying this is going to happen - I'm just trying to think of examples."

Those choices could get harder and harder as Melrose attracts more young families. And while no one explicitly said the taxpayers need to shell out more money, it was clear what direction the situation is headed in.

On Tuesday night in Reading, voters passed a $4.15 million override. That came less than 18 months after voters there rejected a $7.5 million override. Farther away in Attleboro, residents voted to approve a new high school.

"It's almost time to reach out to the community," Mayor Gail Infurna said at the School Committee meeting. "We need help.

"Anybody who says this is not about money, they are being disingenuous."

The situation in Melrose has been laid out: There are more students coming in than there is space. And there is not enough money to sustain the growth along with everything else that goes into funding a school district. There could be nearly 4,000 students by the fall, Taymore said.

About half of the $800,000 budget shortfall is tied up in positions needed to handle the rising enrollment.

Salaries make up close to 90 percent of the budget, Taymore said. The district gets a break in some other instances: Maintenance and facilities is under the Department of Public Works budget. Nurses are under the Department of Public Health's budget. Some legal obligations are on the City now.

Tough decisions will likely be made in the coming days. The 2018-19 school year will go on as planned. But then what?

"We're looking at this as one-year issue," School Committee member John Obremski said. "But it's a long-term issue."

The long-term answer is getting more and more obvious.

This story is a brief update from Tuesday's School Committee meeting. More information on this topic to come. Subscribe to Melrose Patch for more on this and other local news, and sign up to post directly to your community's readers.

Photo of Superintendent Cyndy Taymore and School Committee member Lizbeth DeSelm. Credit: Mike Carraggi, Patch