FY 2018 Updates

The FY18 budget cycle began on Tuesday, January 10th with presentations from the principals and program managers that allowed for the School Committee to hear requests directly from district administrators. For each school, these requests were presented alongside the School Improvement Plans which outline the goals and objectives for the upcoming year. In addition, all district administrators presented their budget requests to the committee. Meetings were held on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings, January 10th – 12th.  Documents from these presentations are available at the links at the right, or on the tab titled ‘FY18 Requests’.  The School Committee held a public hearing on the FY18 budget proposal on Wednesday, March 1st, and voted a final FY18 budget at their meeting on Wednesday, March 15th.

Final Budget

The School Committee voted the FY18 Final Budget at their meeting of March 15, 2017.  A public hearing on the FY18 Budget was held on Wednesday, March 1, 2017.

The FY18 Final Budget was prepared in accordance with the budget development timeline set out in the Regional Agreement with our member communities of Newbury, Rowley and Salisbury.  The School Committee held a public hearing on March 1, 2017, and subsequently reviewed the input received along with the implications of the Governor’s Budget and the impact of changes in town enrollments.

The budget process proved challenging, as we attempted to balance the needs of our students with the financial constraints of our member towns. Federal entitlement grants have dwindled down along with other sources of funds, and Chapter 70 state aid has simply not kept up with the normal cost increases of doing business. This year we again found ourselves in a very difficult position in regards to our member towns’ abilities to fund an appropriate and effective education for our students.

The budget document includes:

  • An Adequate Budget that would support the level of programs and services considered typical of a free and appropriate education for all students (Page 6)
  • The changes in programs and services we are able to offer between the FY17 Adjusted Final Operating Budget and the FY18 Final Operating Budget (Page 10)
  • An overall breakdown of Operating and Capital Expenditures and associated assessments to member towns (starting on Page 12)
  • The Foundation Enrollment figures used to calculate member town assessments, along with 4 years of history (Page 16)
  • A breakdown of spending by location, function, and logical categories along with details on line by line budgets with 4 year historical spending data. (starting on Page 18)
  • Supplementary data on Circuit Breaker funding, Healthcare costs, and a projected Grant and Revolving Account details for next year. (starting on Page 35)

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