Sharon School Officials ID $221K In Potential Cuts

Sharon school officials have put potential cuts totaling $221,042 on the table, responding to the finance committee's budget recommendation.

. The priorities and school committees and the board of selectmen are recommending 2.41 percent increases.

"Under no scenario do we want to support the 2 percent," Jon Hitter, who serves on the school and priorities boards, said during Wednesday night's school board meeting.

School Superintendent Barbara Dunham presented the school board Wednesday night with administrators' list of possible cuts.

That list includes cutting teaching positions at grades five and six, based on final enrollments; reducing supplies and materials for coordinators and at Sharon Middle School; cutting a part-time technology specialist; cutting scholarships for kindergarten, bus and athletics; and establishing fees for student activities: $100 at and $50 at , and raising the athletics fees cap to $825.

Those options total $221,042, Dunham said. The school board would have to cut $145,151, or $75,891 less, to meet the finance committee's figure.

Cutting any teachers at fifth and-or sixth grade would increase class sizes there to 25 or 26, Dunham said.

"These are not scare tactics," she said.

"It's what we need to do to cut the budget by $145,000."