State school trims to hurt

LYNN – State education officials have approved a 7.7 percent cut in the state education budget for fiscal year 2010, a widespread reduction totaling $17.5 million that will hamper the state’s efforts to pay for special education, improve dropout prevention and expand learning time.The budget request of $569 million, approved Tuesday, is down from $616 million in fiscal ’09, a number that has already been reduced by $30 million by Gov. Deval Patrick who made widespread cuts in the state budget last month.Officials say that while this reduction is painful, it is not the end, predicting the cut would likely be doubled before the proposal is submitted to Patrick next week.While the cuts do not include Chapter 70 aid to cities and towns, that funding is expected to drop as well, which puts most communities, including Lynn, in a difficult position when negotiating the next budget.Lynn is also one of several communities in the state looking for extended-day funding at some schools, something that could also be put on hold if grants dry up.Lynn officials have already predicted the next budget will be the worst yet, as they are negotiating with a budget that has already been stripped to bare bones.In fiscal ’09, Lynn closed two schools, combined several programs and cut more than 90 teaching jobs. This time around, Business Administrator Kevin McHugh has said he doesn’t have any under-enrolled schools to close or any more programs to combine that will alleviate the problem.As part of the budget proposal, the board highlighted several programs that would receive budget increases should revenues exceed projections, including full-day kindergarten grants, extended learning time grants, and funding for the Office of Educational Funding and Accountability.Given the state of the economy and the gloomy outlook for 2010, the possibility of revenue surpassing expectations is slim at best, which could mean that even more programs across the state could be in trouble.”It is going to be a pretty sober reality,” said Education Commissioner Mitchell Chester.Even as Superintendent Nicholas Kostan prepares to retire he continues to fight to struggle with the slim budget. Kostan said Wednesday he would hold off on hiring a new technology administrator until the budget situation becomes clearer.”I want to be cautions with the new positions given the current state of the budget,” he said.Education Secretary Paul Reville said exploring areas of new revenue is essential to keeping the budget afloat, and urged state officials to look at the situation long-term, rather than make panicked decisions.”I’m not sure anybody in society contemplated this level, this depth of cuts that we have to cope with,” he said. “I think our job is to navigate these choppy budgetary waters and frame a vision as a sort of lighthouse in the distance that we are aiming toward. This will pass eventually. It may take a year. It may take two or three years. But it will pass and it is important to have a destination and not get caught up in the immediacy of these budget cuts.”