State Budget Worries Lincoln-Sudbury School Committee

State Rep. Tom Conroy, a Democrat who represents Wayland, Sudbury and Lincoln, attended Tuesday night's Committee meeting to update the board on the current status of the state budget. 

Conroy said it would be a wise move for the School Committee to assume a five percent cut in state aid, even though the budget version released by Gov. Deval Patrick in January includes a $140 million increase in funding for schools, to the relief of Superintendents who were worried that Patrick would propose drastic education cuts as a way to close the state budget gap.

"When you stick a toothpick in the souffle, maybe you'll find that the souffle is not as robust as you assumed," Conroy said of the Governor's budget proposal, which is still pending in the legislature and is likely to emerge with a number of changes.  Conroy said state revenues are up, as more unemployed individuals find jobs and resume paying taxes.

"But the bad news is that we're spending that money as fast we're getting it, on safety net programs such as MassHealth," Conroy said. MassHealth, the state's health program for the needy, has seen sharp increases in enrollment as residents lost access to employer-provided health insurance.

Budget woes at Lincoln-Sudbury have been blamed in part on the rising cost of health benefits for employees and escalating out-of-district tuition costs for special needs students.  Health insurance rates are currently forecast to rise by 14.5 percent in the next fiscal year.  Superintendent Scott Carpenter forecast a reduction of 12.5 positions among teachers and counselors unless state figures are better than expected.

"The punchline here is we cannot cut 12.5 positions and have it not impact students," Carpenter said about the layoffs, which would take place in the fall.  He also said class sizes will have to increase and some course offerings reduced.  He mentioned a young women's self-defense course as one of the possible eliminations, along with an AP Statistics course.

The School Committee also heard a presentation on special education outplacements and their impact on the budget.  As of Oct. 1, 2010, 38 special needs students from the Lincoln-Sudbury district attended out of district schools.  Joanne Delaney, director of student services at L-S, said numbers are subject to change, due to students moving in or out of the district or aging out of the system when they turn 22.  Students who receive special services are entitled to the least restrictive environment, which could result in them moving from one program to another as their needs change.  Tuition for each placement can run into the tens of thousands of dollars.

"I am fully convinced that this is one of the best programs that exists for students with disabilities," said Delaney.

Lincoln-Sudbury's proposed $25.5 million budget for Fiscal Year 2012 was approved by the School Committee earlier this month and is headed next to the Lincoln Town Meeting in March and the Sudbury Town Meeting in May.

Board Vice Chair Nancy Marshall updated the Committee on the search for a permanent superintendent/principal. Scott Carpenter has been serving in that capacity on an interim basis for the past few years. 

A Screening Committee named Carpenter as one of three finalists, along with Andrew Keough, Principal of Wellesley Senior High School and Jonathan Landman, Assistant Superintendent in the Randolph Public Schools. Interviews will be scheduled with the three finalists:

• Andrew Keough, Monday, Feb. 28
• Scott Carpenter, Tuesday, March 1
• Jonathan Landman, Wednesday, March 2

L-S parents and community members are invited to attend a session with each candidate as follows:

• Andrew Keough, Monday, Feb. 28, 9.50-10.50 a.m., L-S Conference Room B
• Scott Carpenter, Tuesday, March 1, 9.50-10.50 a.m., L-S Conference Room B
• Jonathan Landman, Wednesday, March 2, 9.50-10.50 a.m., L-S Conference Room B

There will be an opportunity to provide written feedback at the end of each of these sessions.

The Committee hopes to make a decision by the end of March.