School Committee Candidates Q&A: Easing The Burden on Taxpayers

(Editor's note: This is the third and final part of our Q&A series with School Committee candidates -- incumbent Krissy Polimeno and challengers Ray Lisiecki and Lisa Puccia.)

Question 3: The school department budget takes the biggest bite out of the fiscal budget each year. What are some practical ways  the school department can ease the burden on taxpayers?

Krissy Polimeno

I will continue to focus on fiscal responsibility and accountablility.  I will work to ensure that school materials and resources are allocated equitably.   Our district will continue to work collaboratively with other towns for savings by collaborative bidding on transportation, vendors, contractors and building services.   We will exhaust all resources for additional funding by pursuing opportunities including grants, business partnerships and any other available resources.

Lisa Puccia

First I would like to acknowledge that our Business Manager has done a remarkable job of working with the Superintendent of Schools and the Town Manager to close the $214,550 budget gap that our schools were facing in FY14.  But with that being said we need to look at alternative ways to bring revenue into our schools.  One way to do this is through our facilities rental which the school committee is currently working on.  We are also very fortunate to have a grant writer for our district.  I believe that we can utilize this position to seek out appropriate grants to supplement public spending which will take the burden off of taxpayers.

Also, as a school committee it is crucial, that we work collaboratively with our Superintendent, Board of Selectman, Town Manager and all other invested boards and committees, to petition our representatives to make sure that the impact of those federal cuts do not severely impact the general funding our town receives.

Overall, we need to remain diligent in ensuring that all the decisions being made on behalf of the Tewksbury Public School are fiscally responsible. 

Ray Lisiecki

I think everyone agrees that we need to work with our legislative team to address unfunded mandates. I also think that we need to start looking at our budget as a multiyear plan. We need to address immediate needs while considering the impact in 5 or 10 years. Specifically we need to address maintenance of the buildings. We have 4 elementary schools that are in need of major repair or replacement. Any plan should consider the retirement of existing debt.

More from the School Committee Race:

School Committee Candidates Q&A: What Big Challenges Are Looming?

School Committee Candidates Q&A: Better Preparing Students For College and Life

2013 Tewksbury Municipal Election Guide