Tough choices to make as HWRSD faces budget gap

Date: 3/15/2011

March 14, 2011

By Chris Maza

Reminder Assistant Editor

WILBRAHAM — School Committee Chairman Peter Salerno made sure to emphasize that parents and staff of the Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District (HWRSD) should not reach for the panic button just yet, even with a $1.5 million budget shortfall.

HWRSD Superintendent M. Martin O'Shea laid out his proposed budget for fiscal year 2012 (FY12) at a public hearing on March 11. The $39.7 million budget is an increase from fiscal year 2011's (FY11) budget by just over $2 million. He admitted that at the time of presentation, the district still had to make several decisions as to how to make up a $1.5 million deficit.

O'Shea proposed a solution that Salerno told Reminder Publications was a "worst-case scenario." If the district is unable to come up with any solutions for the deficit that solution could include the cutting of more than 35 positions throughout the school system, which could result in larger class sizes.

"We don't have a class size crisis. That's what I want to make sure everyone knows," Salerno said. "We have a lot of work to do to get $1.5 million taken out of the budget in the right areas. Is it a concern? Everything in the budget is a concern."

O'Shea said the district is looking into several cost-cutting measures, including the reduction of electives and related arts programming, taking advantage of savings from teacher retirements and working to provide appropriate services and access to the curriculum in the least restrictive way possible.

"The more we can do that, the better it will be for the kids and the better we'll be able to manage our resources effectively," O'Shea said. "More specifically, we would want to look at whether there are programs that are currently serving kids out of district that we could bring into the district. So instead of 'tuitioning' students out, can we serve those students more inclusively [and] more appropriately here in the district?"

Should these measures fail to bridge the gap, the district could face cuts of more than five teachers in Minnechaug Regional High School, more than five teachers in the district's middle schools and up to five teachers in the elementary schools. In addition, up to 20 paraprofessional positions could be eliminated and at least one clerical position.

If all of these cuts are deemed necessary, it would make up an estimated $1.21 million of the deficit.

Residents of Hampden and Wilbraham can expect assessments of 7.89 percent and 7.50 percent, respectively. O'Shea pointed out that the majority of that number includes the debt related to construction of the new Minnechaug school building. Hampden's capital assessment is proposed to be 5.65 percent, while Wilbraham's figures total 5.54 percent. The operating assessments of the towns — 2.24 percent in Hampden and 1.96 percent in Wilbraham — are on par with assessment increases in recent years.

After the presentation, the School Committee voted to approve the budget, which needed to be done at least 45 days prior to the Annual Town Meeting.

The School Committee also voted to add 23 new school choice slots, including opportunities at the lower grade levels not available in the past.

The committee approved the addition of two school choice slots in Mile Tree Elementary School's first grade class, two slots at Soule Road School and six slots at Green Meadows School — three apiece in second and third grade. Seven new slots will be added to Wilbraham Middle School's eighth grade. Six slots are also available in Minnechaug's freshman class next year.

With these additions, the district will be the home of 121 school choice students next year, two more than are currently in the district. Twenty-one school choice students are graduating this spring, allowing for the addition of the 23 slots.