Peabody school board seeks ways to trim $750G from proposed budget

PEABODY – Somewhere in the middle of discussing the 2009 school budget Tuesday night, Mayor Michael Bonfanti had asked Ed Charest to the prom, Brandi Carpenter discussed her fond memories of suspension, and Ed Nizwantowski cracked April Fool’s Day jokes.This was no ordinary School Committee meeting. In fact, it might be the one to set the record straight that this board actually does get along, despite years of carrying a negative reputation.All joking aside, members got down to business and worked their way through nearly five pages of the budget, looking line-by-line for ways to cut $750,000 from the proposed $60.23 million.”I’m absolutely not about supporting cuts,” Bonfanti told the board, after informing them of the amount to be reduced. “But we have to reduce it, period. It’s up to you to decide what goes?I know what we can afford.”Bonfanti cautioned the Committee that if Peabody keeps spending the way they do, they’ll end up in the same financial rut that other communities are currently trying to dig themselves out of.”If we watch our money today, we won’t get ourselves into those situations,” he said.One of the first debated cuts, at the suggestion of Bonfanti, involved elementary school guidance counselors, who account for nearly $458,328. He said they were “unique to Peabody.””It’s another administrative position I’d be looking to reduce,” he said.Another position that might face the ax is the in-school suspension teacher, who would earn a proposed $70,410 to watch and assist approximately 5-20 high school students each day with their class work.Carpenter questioned why students were given an in-school suspension when the purpose, as she remembered it, was to punish the student by making them stay home all day with their parents.”Kids would rather have out of school suspension,” said Nizwantowski, who recalled having to “go home and face the wrath of a Polish woman” if and when he was suspended.He said kids today don’t always have parents to face at home, and that an in-school suspension would be more worthwhile, as they’d have to keep up with their workload.”It’s not a picnic,” he said.One official reduction came in charging tuition for Peabody’s summer school program, which had been previously funded by the district. The decision will save the department about $30,000.Before coming to a close, Beverly Ann Griffin Dunne got emotional when thanking Superintendent Milton Burnett for his great improvements to Peabody Schools.”As a parent, I can’t thank you enough,” she said, fighting back tears. Dunne’s reaction came after discussing the possibility of hiring a Guidance Director, a position she feels will greatly improve the schools.The Committee will continue their careful speculation of the budget at their next meeting scheduled for Tuesday, April 8 at 7 p.m.