Saugus school dept. budget deemed imperative

SAUGUS – Superintendent Richard Langlois has put forth a budget that is $2.4 million over what Town Manager Andrew Bisignani is proposing but insists it is not a wish list.”It is an imperative,” Langlois said.Langlois said his $25,965,858 budget is realistic, not idealistic and it reflects fiscal moderation and responsibility. What it does, he said, is address the needs of a school system whose needs are many.Bisignani’s $23,500,250 proposed budget reflects what the town allocated to the School Department in fiscal 2009. He promised, however, that if additional revenue comes in he would toss the schools another $800,000. The $800,000 is needed to cover contractual increases for teachers and other staff members. But Langlois said it won’t provide for a level-service budget.For an actual level-service budget Langlois said the number is closer to $1.5 million. A level-service budget, he said, needs to take into account an increase in busing for athletics/student activities due to the loss of a van. It also needs to address the busing of homeless students, which has also jumped from a budgeted $7,000 to a projected $138,669. Special Education tuition is up nearly $400,000 and inflation tacks another $89,775 to goods and services in general.To address critical needs, Langlois added another $750,000 to the bottom line. The critical needs include adding an English as a second language teacher/special-needs teacher, to meet the increasing needs of foreign students in the district. The School Department currently has no support in this area.He is also looking to add a guidance counselor, history teacher, math teacher and world language teacher at the high school to meet programming and legal requirements. On the lower level he would add four additional elementary- and middle-school teachers, two kindergarten teachers to allow for all-day kindergarten, fine arts teachers in order to bring fine arts back to the elementary schools and adjustment counselors to deal with behavioral issues.Under what Langlois deemed “important educational needs,” he is seeking another $259,000 for Special Education summer school because the School Department is responsible for providing education for 12 months, school psychologists, professional development and a school nurse.He called the total $2.4 million increase to Bisignani’s proposal practical and a good beginning to address a department that has been decimated.After rattling off a list of additional critical needs that included more textbooks, technology, curriculum maps and capital improvements such as electrical upgrades, broken bathroom stalls and sinks, roof leaks and security issues, Langlois said the town really needs to start working together.He admitted he was somewhat taken aback to learn that Bisignani had already proposed a School Department budget without hearing the needs of the School Department.School Committee member Rick Doucette said if residents or other town officials feel the School Department is asking for too much all they need to do is take a look at who they report to. The School Department is responsible for meeting Federal No Child Left Behind requirements as well as answering to New England Association of Schools and Colleges, which grants accreditations along with several local agencies.”You’re at a pivotal point, you’re on a peak,” Langlois said to the committee, but including the town at large. “You either need to support and sustain whatever momentum we have to push forward or slide back . . . this budget is imperative. We owe it to our kids.”