What’s at Stake for the Proposed Worcester School Budget

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Ashley Klann, GoLocalWorcester Contributor

As City Council prepares to vote for the 2013 school budget, hopes are high that the group will uphold their responsibility to the city’s education. Jobs are on the line, and all involved agree that education is too important to overlook.

“The open question is whether the number will put us at zero percent of our foundation or more than that,” said school committee member, Tracy Novick. The vote on next fiscal year’s budget will take place today.

The Worcester Public School Fiscal 2013 general fund budget is recommended to be $284,501,812. This funding level represents an increase of $11,414,601 from Fiscal 2012 general fund level of $273,087,211.

As the date nears, Novick is optimistic about the Council’s vote on the issue, despite the slow recovery from a recession that has taken its toll on government funding. “In the last three years, we have seen our State Local Aid decline by more than 32% (or more than $20 million annually), while local receipts have dropped nearly 15%,” said City Manager Michael O’Brien in his presentation to Council.

Thanks to cost cutting in healthcare and municipal spending, O’Brien is hopeful that the 2013 budget will supply Worcester Public Schools with the funding they need.

What’s at Stake

Although Council’s vote is only to secure an amount of funding and not allocate those funds, the vote is still responsible for maintaining the bar of education in the city and providing jobs.

“The main concern I’ve been hearing from my colleagues is restoring elementary school positions. We’re always setting aside five positions in the summer, but we try to set aside ten for issues of mobility,” Novick said. “The first place we will go in the budget is to put back at least three of those positions at the elementary level. We will be finding out where in the budget that will come from.”

The budget will be sent to committee members June 1st, when it is made public.

“Then we will be more able to look closely at the allocations and suggestions. We have a bit more power on our side to add money to accounts or take money away from accounts. The first budget hearing is June 7th,” she said.

“The biggest question and concern I’m hearing is the money going to be directed to our classrooms,” said Councilor Tony Economou. “Education in my opinion should be at the top of the scale. If you have a great education system, everything else falls underneath it.”

High Hopes

Novick has high hopes that this year’s City Council will make good choices for the city’s schools, citing that councilors who have children in the public school system will understand the importance of the issue firsthand.

“Public education is clearly a priority for our community and for this City Council,” O’Brien said. “The Fiscal Year 2013 budget recommendation reflects this priority, with more than 57% of funding and 80% of all net new revenues dedicated to the Worcester public schools.”

“I will say that I think there’s more support on this Council for education than in the past,” Novick said. “There are councilors that see education as being their responsibility which hasn’t always been the case.”

“We always want to see more money going towards our schools it drives our education. I certainly have an open mind. I’d like to see the Manager find some savings he could put toward our schools. It’s too important of an issue to not give it the attention,” Economou said.