Schools may lose 30 teachers, other staff to pinched budget
Bracing for the worst, the Watertown school district has notified 30 teachers that they may not have jobs in the fall.
Nonteaching positions also could be on the chopping block if the school department and the town fail to agree on a budget that absorbs increased costs for salaries, health benefits, special education, and utilities, officials said. The worst-case scenario assumes the schools receive only a 2.5 percent budget increase -- the amount that Town Manager Michael Driscoll told the department to expect.
The School Committee voted Wednesday night to ask Driscoll and the Town Council for a 4.5 percent increase to $30.6 million, up from $29.3 million.
Even that increase is well below the 9.1 percent increase recommended by Superintendent Steven Hiersche.
At least six or seven teaching positions will be eliminated regardless of the final budget figure, said Hiersche.
The district has about 225 teachers.
"We're going to try to save classroom teachers no matter what," said School Committee chairman Anthony Paolillo.
The $30.6 million budget include s a $300,000 cushion to cover unexpected special education costs.
In the current school year, more students than anticipated sought expensive services or placements outside the school district, throwing the budget off kilter, Hiersche said.
This year the schools are spending $9.3 million for special education, nearly a third of the overall budget, and anticipate spending $10 million next year, according to Allie Altman, director of business services.
"It's very hard to predict" special education costs, said School Committee vice chairman John Portz. "Without that, we have very little left" in the budget, he said. If some or all of the reserve is not used, the money would go toward buying computers and other technology.
The new budget absorbs a $200,000 shortfall in this year's budget, plus adds $260,000 for utility costs and $196,000 for new programs.
The School Committee is banking on a new teachers' contract to save $700,000 to $1 million in health insurance costs, according to Paolillo.
The proposed three-year pact raises employee copayments, thus keeping down an increase in premiums.
Paolillo hopes the town lets the schools use the savings to offset salary increases.
The contract creates a reimbursement account for employees to cushion the blow of the higher copayments.
The committee wants to cap reimbursements at $250 for individuals and $500 for families.
However, the Watertown Educators Association, which ratified the contract last month, says it never agreed to a cap.
Without a cap, the town would have to set aside a much larger amount of money in reserve, depriving the school department of much-needed funds and setting in motion "significant layoffs" in order to pay the bills, said Paolillo.
The School Committee has put off ratif ying the contract until the two sides settle the dispute.
Meanwhile, as one way to generate revenue, the committee plans to raise the hourly charge for the town's full-day pre kindergarten and other pre school programs. It rejected charging students for playing on sports teams.
Christina Pazzanese can be reached at cpazzanese@ globe.com. 
