Schools to make budget without laying off teachers

By Sara Brown, Town Correspondent

As the school year draws to a close, it appears that Burlington teachers won’t have to worry about getting pink slips. 

Despite previous budget discussions that mentioned the possibility of laying off six or seven teachers, Superintendent Eric Conti said that the district will likely be able to meet their budget for next year through reorganizing staff and leaving vacated jobs empty.

At the June 8 school committee meeting, Conti said that retirements and reorganization of teachers will make up the $800,00 budget gap the school committee had to bridge for fiscal 2011. 

“We’re very close to closing the deficit,” Conti said, noting that the school district will still lose 11.5 teachers, eight from attrition.  The remaining positions come from eliminating the elementary school Italian program. 

Conti and the school committee members said an emphasis on maintaining programs, small class sizes, and student-based positions guided their approach to the budget.  The student to teacher ratio, he said, is slightly more than 18:1. 

Conti said that a K-8 social studies coordinator has accepted a job in Lexington, and a departing elementary reading coach and elementary librarian will not be replaced.  After the retirement of a hearing and vision staff member, Conti said the district will look at provide those services differently. 

Additionally, a kindergarten teacher is moving from Pine Glen Elementary to Francis Wyman Elementary to make up for enrollment needs, Conti said.

The district is in good shape at the end of the 2010 fiscal year, which ends June 30, Conti said.  While there is no surplus, he added, the district is not underfunded.