Jesse Floyd
Next spring, Belmont residents will decide on a Proposition 2 1/2 override to cover a gap in the general operating budget.
The outcome — pass or fail — will have far reaching impacts on the amount of money available for town departments in fiscal year 2025. On Nov. 14, school committee members got a first look at what may happen if the override passes or if it fails.
Three possible budgets were presented Tuesday night. Each one is speculative because the size of the override isn’t known. Superintendent Jill Geiser, stepping into her first budget process for Belmont, provided the three different scenarios:
- A level-services budget of $66,472,383, the amount needed to maintain the current level of services at Belmont Public Schools.
- If the override passes: $67,529,383, an amount that would, Geiser said, allow for restoration and improvement to the schools.
- If the override fails: $61,950,994, which will entail sharp cuts across the board.
“I want to emphasize that there will be further discussion of this budget among the school committee after we hear feedback from the community and other boards, and again, once we actually have an override number,” said committee chairperson Meghan Moriarty.
Same Services, Increased Funding
The level-services budget requires an increase of $3.6 million — the increase is driven in part by cost of living increases, inflation and moving fourth-grade students to the Chenery Upper Elementary School (CUE).
“You’re operating the same schools, you’re making adjustments to reflect changes in enrollment, you are migrating the fourth-grade up to the CUE … and beyond that, there’s not much difference … you’re getting basically the same school you have now, you pay the extra $3.6 [million],” said committee member Amy Zuccarello.
Override Allows for Growth
If the override passes, the school system could see restoration of more than $1 million in positions, eliminated or reduced in past years.
Among the positions Geiser listed include: an assistant principal at a cost of $138,000; a wellness director at $138,000; an evaluation team leader at the CUE for $138,000; and two math interventionists for students needing math support in the elementary school at a cost of $196,000. All the numbers given are for salary and benefits combined.
Moriarty pointed out any additions are contingent on money being available if the override passes.
No Override Will Mean Difficult Changes
The toughest conversation — what will come out of the budget if the override does not pass — was saved for last.
“Coming out of the last school committee meeting and finance subcommittee meeting, we were directed to make [up to] $5 million in reductions. We’ve gotten up to $4.5 [million in cuts] and we’ve hit some major pain-points in our discussions,” said Moriarty.
The advantage to talking about possible cuts now is clear: If the override does not pass, the school committee will have several months of discussion under its belt about what and where to cut to meet the new budget reality.
The possible cuts were broken into tiers, which would stack up as more reductions are needed.
- Tier 1 would see cuts to professional development and transportation totalling $405,413.
- Tier 2 cuts include extra-curricular programs — eliminating some and merging others, totalling $597,198.
- Tier 3 cuts include technology, instructional materials and limiting or eliminating some electives at the high school, $651,742.
- Tier 4 would mean cuts in staff, including instructional staff, $1,934,887.
- Tier 5 would mean closing an elementary school and redeploying the students into other buildings, $932,511.
Throughout the evening, the chairperson pointed out numerous times the list of possible cuts under the defeated-override-budget scenario are not recommendations, but a working list of possible spots to make reductions should the need arise.
“This is the beginning of the conversation, the beginning of an iterative process,” Moriarty said.
The next step in the conversation is a budget summit Nov. 30.
