School Committee Chair Refuses to Present Approved Budget

Marblehead – Tuesday evening, School Committee chair, Meredith Tedford, announced that she would not present the budget approved by the full committee to the public at the budget hearing scheduled for this Thursday April 4th.

This unprecedented move followed a very contentions debate over reducing the budget deficit which has fluctuated over the past several weeks from a high $1.2 million to a low of $166K and which stood at $800K by the beginning of the meeting.

David Harris opened the meeting saying that there are no cuts to the budget this year; explaining that this year’s guidance from the Finance Committee (FINCOM) allotted a $1.5 million increase in funding. He further pointed out that he would not support a forever Prop 2 ½ override to fund the deficit.

Harris then went on to say that the town had generously offered an additional $350K from the Free Cash account to help the schools close the self-inflicted $700K shortfall incurred by illegally transferring SPED funds this year. That transfer, and resulting scandal, resulted in the early retirement of the Superintendent, resignation of the school finance director, and a referral to the District Attorney.

Mr. Harris then announced that he had a “whole list of motions” to make that would bring the deficit much closer to zero. The chair added that she would not be supporting “any cuts.”

Thus, began a litany of motions by Mr. Harris detailing specific deficit reductions (see list nearby) that were seconded, debated (sometimes hotly), and approved. The deficit reduction motions passed by either 3-2 or 4-1 one votes; with Tedford voting against them all.

In the end, the list of reductions totaled $419K resulting in a remaining deficit of $381K

It was at this time that Meagan Taylor produced a list of further reductions supplied by the “lame duck” superintendent as described by David Harris. Superintendent Maryann Perry was asked to meet with the principals and come up with their own set of deficit reductions.

The list provided by Perry amounted to just about $800K in reductions, but failed to itemize them, which frustrated some on the committee. They ordered the Superintendent to fix the list by adding line item details and as David Harris added “keeping in mind that the deficit is now only $381K.” He expressed hope that if the Superintendent's list is prioritized then it is quite possible the deficit can be brought to zero.

Tedford again complained that these “arbitrary cuts” as she had called them earlier, were undoing all the good work that had been done over the past four plus years. As a result, she said that she could not, and would not, present this majority approved budget to the town at the upcoming budget hearing.

This angered Harris as he expressed disbelief that the “Chair of the Committee is refusing to put forth the officially voted budget” even suggesting that perhaps the chair should be replaced.

Things quieted down and the remaining members of the committee agreed that they would come up with a plan as to who would present at the hearing.

But Harris had one more motion. He moved that the committee vote to indefinitely postpone the School Department’s placeholder Prop 2 ½ override article on the town warrant. David argued that he fully expected to get the deficit down to zero and that this board needed to “send a message that we are not going for an override.” The motion passed three to two with Harris, Taylor and Gold voting yes and Schaeffner and Tedford voting no, effectively killing the override.

The School Budget hearing is scheduled for Thursday, April 4, at Marblehead High School, 7:15 P.M. https://www.marblehead.org/sites/marbleheadma/files/events/marblehead_school_committee_agenda_4-4-19.pdf

Significant Deficit Reductions Summary - The following list summarizes the deficit reduction motions made at the meeting.

1. SPED Plan - $50K – Eliminate the planned district wide SPED review by a third party. Given a new SPED director is being recruited; wait until he/she is in place and has time to regroup before the study – Passed
2. New Truck – 39K - Defer getting a new pick-up truck to plow parking lots and use the current truck. If one breaks down Schools would rely on the Town to help with snow removal. – Passed
3. Substitute Teachers - $49K – Level fund the substitute teacher line items at the 2018 level for all schools. Most schools had asked for an increase and current data showed that across all schools for 2018 they had not exceeded the budget. – Passed
   
   
4. Out of District Placements - $231K – Current deficit included expectations of 3 new out placements at an average of $77K per student. Suggested that since the town has a $250K emergency SPED fund which would cover three students, if they materialize, then remove the $231 budget expense. – Passed
   
   
5. HR Director - $110K – Delay the hiring of a new HR director for the schools and look towards some combination with the town or at least wait until next year. (Note they schools would still hire an assistant HR Director.) – Failed
6. Assistant HR Director - $50K – Delay the hiring of an assistant HR director for one year. - Passed