School budget cut despite OK by Town Meeting

Residents in Wakefield have voted to cut approximately $850,000 from the town's 2009 budget, bringing it in line with lower spending levels recommended by the Finance Committee earlier this year.

Town officials say 711 people, less than 5 percent of the town's 16,393 registered voters, turned out at a Special Town Meeting on Monday to vote on 22 articles on the budget and salary increases for the town's union and nonunion employees.

Article 1 received a majority vote and the most attention, setting the school budget at $25,512,430 - just under $2 million less than the $27,437,670 authorized at Town Meeting in April.

Voters had already rescinded that budget in a referendum held in May, effectively level-funding the budget at the fiscal year 2008 amount of $25,980,430. Monday's vote set the budget $468,000 below the amount on the referendum, more in line with the original 2.15 percent cutback proposed by the Finance Committee.

While Finance Committee member Joseph P. Ber trand said the cut was necessary and an immediate priority, the article was met with mixed emotions from some residents.

School officials had earlier warned Town Meeting that budget cutbacks would lead to severe cuts in school services and identified $1.79 million in cuts it could make without collective bargaining, which included full-time support staff and several teaching positions.

School Superintendent Joan Landers said she had been planning for the cutback since January.

"I needed $2.1 million, but I knew that the Finance Committee was going to cut us 2 percent," Landers said.

So in January, Landers began eliminating jobs: 16 teachers, the director of technology, two adjustment counselors, three elementary school librarians, 4.5 kindergarten aides, two library aides, one middle school special education aide, and full-time staff positions in custodial, administrative, and crossing guard services.

The schools also reached collective bargaining agreements required to change the schedule at the high school, allowing for the elimination of eight teaching positions, and instituted a Wednesday half-day schedule at the elementary schools.

The high school has also cut several low-enrollment classes.

"I am hopeful we will be able to work to solve these problems in the future," Landers said. "As it stands, we are still going to have to look at a major redistricting programs going forward. I also recognize that this is not new - programs will face cuts in the future, so we need to start planning now for it."

The library budget will be reduced by $25,000, leading to some concern over whether it will be eligible for state certification in 2009.

The state requires that town libraries adhere to certain staffing levels and hours of operation to qualify for certification. However, library director Sharon Gilley said she is confident the library will be certified for fiscal year 2009. "It's FY10 we have to be concerned about," she said.

"I have sat through a number of hearings of town libraries that were marginal for certification." She added that town officials' support of libraries plays a big role in the success or failure of the certification process. She expressed confidence that the town administrator will do all he can to help.

Town Administrator Stephen Maio added that library hours would not be changed because of the budget reduction.

The fiscal year '09 budget also cuts the fire and police departments and the Department of Public Works.

Both the police and fire departments will see cuts of $90,000. Maio said residents might experience longer response times for nonemergency services and cutbacks to certain community outreach and education programs. But he added that emergency services should not be affected by the cuts.