King Philip budget worries town officials

But officials in the district’s member towns, Norfolk, Plainville, and Wrentham, contend the School Committee approved a budget that draws too heavily on municipal funds. And they say it hinges upon almost $1 million from a stabilization fund, potentially setting the district up for big cuts next year if similar money isn’t available.

“Putting all of that money into the budget is not the right move — I’d like to see them tighten their belt,’’ said Wrentham Town Administrator Jack McFeeley. “The sooner they start making the cuts they have to make, the better we all will be. Otherwise, it will be a lot worse next year.’’

The town administrators also believe the School Committee did not properly disclose its budgeting strategy, particularly an additional draw on its stabilization account, before residents approved the use of municipal funds that exceeded their state-determined assessments.

“It’s Town Meeting’s money to spend as it sees fit, but they ought to have the facts as known to the School Committee in front of them,’’ said Joseph Fernandes, town administrator in Plainville.

Members of the King Philip School Committee bristle at these allegations. They say it’s their responsibility to produce the best educational program — even as they acknowledge that they, too, are concerned about next year’s budget — and maintain that they were upfront with residents and officials.

“Kids’ educations can’t wait,’’ said Wendy Wagner Robeson of Norfolk, chairwoman of the School Committee. “You can put some things off . . . but you can’t tell a child they can’t have an education.’’

“In terms of transparency, what we said at Town Meeting is no different than what we’ve been saying since the beginning of the budget process,’’ said Patrick Francomano, a School Committee member from Plainville. “I am concerned about any characterization that implies that the King Philip School Committee or administration was anything but forthright in the budget presentations.’’

Faced with a $1 million gap this spring that could have meant the loss of 30 teaching positions, the School Committee committed to spending $560,000 from a stabilization fund that collects cash when the district’s revenues exceeds expenses. The board also asked Norfolk, Plainville, and Wrentham to make contributions exceeding their state-determined assessments of $5 million, $2.8 million, and $5.1 million, respectively.

In response to the School Committee’s request, Town Meeting in Plainville approved an additional $56,000, while Wrentham’s OK’d an extra $94,000. But Norfolk put its $78,000 portion on the ballot as part of a $1.07 million Proposition 2 1/2 override vote, which voters turned down June 22.

In King Philip’s case, if two of the three districts approved their portion of the funding, the third must provide its share as well, Robeson said.

Norfolk Town Administrator Jack Hathaway hopes the town can come up with the additional funds through its new local-option meals tax, which could pull in $60,000. The balance would likely come out of the town’s free cash — making that money unavailable to in-town schools, he said.

“We end up pitting the elementary schools versus the high school,’’ Hathaway said.

After these funding boosts, the School Committee decided to withdraw an additional $382,000 from its stabilization fund, bringing the total to $942,000. These measures, as well as stimulus money and teacher retirements, helped close the budget gap. At its June 28 meeting, the committee approved a $24 million level-service budget that contained minimal cuts and even included the addition of a foreign language lab.

McFeeley said that using so much stabilization cash to prop up the operating budget is fiscally irresponsible. “They should be taking fiscal action now, not passing it along to the next year,’’ he said.

Francomano acknowledged that these funds might not be available the following year, but feels the committee has a duty to provide level services if possible. When the other choice was “to sacrifice the educational program we’re providing our students, there didn’t seem to be an alternative when the funds were there,’’ he said.