Marblehead schools manage balanced budget

MARBLEHEAD – Superintendent of Schools Paul Dulac continues to maintain a balanced level services budget for next year.In a March 12 memo to the School Committee Dulac submitted a spread sheet showing $488,750 in budget additions, matched by $488,750 in reductions. The committee ran out of time before they could discuss the memo March 12 and the changes are scheduled to be updated and discussed Thursday evening.The major additions included $130,000 for two out-of-town special education tuition students, $90,000 for two Grade 5 teachers, $54,000 for a computer technician, $29,000 for teacher professional development, $25,000 each for contracted plumbing services and supplies for a “hands-on” Grade 4 atom science program and $22,500 for a part-time Spanish teacher in Grade 5.Dulac plans to save $341,000 by not replacing a retiring history teacher and cutting a world language teacher, a kindergarten teacher, a clerk, a custodian, a maintenance department plumber and half a media technology job. Another $96,000 in salaries will be funded by the schools? Title I grant. The rest of the reductions will come from hiring new teachers at a lower pay grade.?This budget continues to be tentative for two reasons,” Dulac said in his memo, noting that the town is still waiting to hear about stimulus revenue and further mid-year budget cuts. The town still anticipates a 15 percent reduction in state revenue and a 10 percent reduction in local revenue.If the town receives additional stimulus money in its Title I grant, Dulac listed $75,800 in possible uses for the money, including $57,000 for tutors in math, literacy and English language.