School Committee expects bare-bones budget

LYNN – Superintendent Catherine Latham told the School Committee Thursday that she and her finance team are progressing with the fiscal year 2010 budget, and hopes that Business Administrator Kevin McHugh can begin the process of pricing out supplies and materials soon.Expecting a bare-bones budget in terms of state funding in 2010, McHugh and Latham have been working to build the budget from the bottom up, pushing class sizes to the maximum and funding programs as lightly as possible.Federal stimulus money announced by Gov. Deval Patrick earlier this month is coming into the city, but Latham says she is still not positive how the department will, or will not be allowed to use that money.”The stimulus money is what concerns us now, we have been receiving guidelines from the state about spending,” she said. “The state is going to require the DOE process and track expenditures of the money separately with different funding codes and appropriation numbers.”Latham said she has been told the money would be available as early as April 30 for use beginning July 1, but all funds must be used in the fiscal year 2010 budget.The State Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has reviewed and returned the district’s response to a 2008 coordinated program review that detailed problems at Lynn Vocational and Technical Institute and within the Special Education Department.When the review was released to the district last summer, it asked the administrative staff to provide a response to each area of the report found to be below DOE standards, outlining what was being done to improve the situation.Latham said many of the responses were to the state’s satisfaction, but a few were returned as only “partially accepted,” meaning the district must review those areas and submit a second, revised plan of action.Latham did not detail which areas still needed work, but said overall the DOE was pleased with the department’s progress both at LVTI and in other areas.Fresh off and Eastern Massachusetts Division 1 Championship, the Lynn English High School Boy’s Basketball Team was honored by the School Committee and Mayor Edward J. Clancy Jr. Thursday night.With many of the players and coaches present, committee member Vincent Spirito joined Latham in handing out citations from Clancy to every player and coach, along with a plaque commemorating the team’s incredible playoff run from the committee.”I can’t tell you how proud (the committee) is this year,” said Spirito. “The team has done a wonderful job, believed in themselves and represented the city of Lynn very well at the state level.”The committee agreed to accept a donation of 50 computers with monitors from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The computers will be used throughout the department as upgrades.”That is wonderful news,” said Latham. “We will take everything that we can get right now.”Department IT Director Daniel McManus said the computers are refurbished models that became available when the Department of Housing and Urban Development upgraded their systems this year.