Maylor says budget deficit in Swampscott can be reduced

SWAMPSCOTT – Town Administrator Andrew Maylor told Selectmen Tuesday night that a nearly 50 percent increase in the number of students enrolling at vocational schools has led to an $85,000 budget deficit. But he was optimistic the next day that the gap could be closed to present a balanced budget to Town Meeting.”There’s a little wiggle room in the budget,” Maylor said Wednesday. He said that last year’s budget for vocational school tuition allocated $15,000 more than was necessary. Furthermore, he said that the regional dispatch agreement with Lynn appears that it will cost significantly less than the $250,000 budgeted for the project.But the enrollment spike demonstrated how an increase or decrease in a relatively small number of students can impact town funds.Maylor said that enrollment was steady at about seven or eight students per year previous to his tenure, costing the town $130,000 annually. But enrollments have fluctuated from a peak of $394,000 to last year’s $235,000 since he has been Town Administrator, he said (The town rather than the School Department pays for the students’ tuition because they are not attending public schools in the Swampscott School District but regional public schools).Furthermore, with students not deciding where to attend school until March, and per-pupil tuition costs dependent on levels of state aid provided to the vocational schools, budgeting for the next year can be difficult, he said. But he expressed confidence on Wednesday that working with the Finance Committee to find “additional budget cuts” would make up the deficit. He also expressed relief that the jump wasn’t the biggest the town has seen. In the mid-1990s, he said that the enrollment figures went from eight students to 24 students.