Medway school budget to be unveiled tonight

MEDWAY

Better do your homework.

Medway residents might want to review their figures before the cash-strapped town's much-anticipated school budget is unveiled at tonight's School Committee meeting.

Superintendent Richard Grandmont and his staff have worked for months to buttress their argument for more funds and have made information, including the past three years' budgets, available on the school department website at medwayschools.org.

Among the data is a graph that shows Medway spending less than $7,000 to educate each student each year, putting the district ninth among 12 nearby towns. The site also states that the amount of property taxes funding the school budgets has decreased in recent years, from $13,746,000 in 2004-2005 to $12,607,000 in 2006-2007.

The schools need over $700,000 more than last year to maintain services, the documents say, but they'd like another $800,000, or about $1.5 million over this year's nearly $20 million budget to make some necessary improvements in the system, including adding some teachers so high school students can have elective classes and eliminating student activity fees.

The public hearing on the budget is set for 7 p.m. in the School Committee room at 45 Holliston Street.

-- Alison O'Leary Murray