HEBRON — RHAM School Superintendent Robert Siminski’s $24.74 million budget proposal for the 2011-12 school year calls for a 2.17 percent increase that avoids layoffs and maintains current programming, but adds fees for athletics.
Siminski said the spending plan, which increases by $525,512 over the current $24.22 million budget, makes a “major assumption” that state educational aid, known as Educational Cost Sharing, will be funded at the same level under Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s budget proposal. The $5.44 million in funding accounts for 22 percent of the district’s budget.
“That drove a lot of assumptions as we put the document together,” Siminski said during the budget presentation Monday.
“What we tried to do in the budget is continue the same level of programming that exists this year into next year” even with an increase in students, Siminski said. He added: “We’re absolutely bare bones.”
Siminski said the new athletic fees, $155 per sport each season and $50 for clubs, would generate around $115,475 and help fund the lacrosse program.
Enrollment for next year is expected to increase by 5.7 percent, or 70 students, from 1,156 to 1,226. The majority of the increase is in Grade 12. Three teachers will get an increase in their pay for taking on a sixth teaching assignment.
Much of the spending hike is the result of higher special education tuition costs, contractual salary and benefit increases, the increase in enrollment, legal fees for upcoming union negotiations, and an increase in transportation fuel costs.
Among the increases are $534,426 more in pay for principals, teachers, technology positions, bookkeepers, secretaries, aides, custodians, nurses, and a speech therapist. The increase will be partially offset in $258,905 in federal jobs funding.
Of the total $24.74 million proposal, 68.4 percent is for salaries and benefits. The superintendent’s $154,649 salary will not get an increase. Special education costs, 14 percent of the budget, are increasing $369,501.
Reductions were realized through a drop in the business manager’s salary due to a reduction in days, $43,209 less in health insurance costs, $50,220 less in purchase and lease costs, as well as reductions for vocational school tuition, software, library books, periodicals, and office supplies.
Siminski also outlined reductions to reach a 1.525 percent increase budget: the elimination of a secretarial position, a reduction in funding for board services, instructional supplies, textbooks, and library books.
Siminski said officials also are keeping a close eye on any other possible changes as the result of Malloy’s budget proposal, including a potential 10 percent reduction in transportation aid and a reduction in special education excess cost sharing.
To reach a no increase budget, Siminski said three teaching positions would have to be eliminated and reductions would have to be made to printing and binding and instructional supplies.
With the unusual amount of snow this winter, Siminski used $67,975 from the district’s $326,880 from the federal jobs fund to help pay for snow removal last month. He said that if the board chooses to make reductions in other areas of the budget, the 2.17 percent budget proposal would be reduced to a 1.88 percent increase.
Siminski also presented to the school board various “decision packages” that were not included in the budget proposal. One option was the purchase of two computer carts, each containing 24 laptops for $43,000. He also proposed creating an account that sets aside $500 in the first year to help fund the construction of an athletic field on Wall Street.
Siminski also proposed adding a technology computer technician position and making math and science coordinators full time in order to ensure curriculum continuity between the middle and high school.
According to Siminski, the district’s per pupil expenditure is $12,310, an amount less than the state’s $12,805 average. He also said there are 0.59 administrations per 100 students, compared with the state average of 1.56.
Based on the proportion of students from each of the three towns — Andover, Hebron, and Marlborough — contributions from two of them would increase.
Under Siminski’s 2.17 percent increase budget, Andover’s 16.60 percent share would amount to $4.10 million, Hebron’s 54.22 percent would be $13.41 million, and Marlborough’s 29.18 percent would be $7.22 million.
The shares represent a 0.61 percent increase in funding for Andover, a 0.15 percent increase for Hebron, and a 0.61 percent decrease for Marlborough.
The RHAM schools, also known as Regional District 8, serve students in grades 7-12. Last year, voters approved a $24.22 million budget that was an increase of 1.4 percent over the 2009-10 spending plan.
The budget will be presented Monday, March 7, at 6:30 p.m. at Andover Town Hall and at a later date in Hebron.
