Saugus super presents FY13 school budget

SAUGUS – Saugus Schools Superintendent Richard Langlois presented the FY13 school budget of $27.15 million to the Finance Committee Wednesday night, in what was at times a confrontational meeting between Langlois and committee members.Langlois said the budget is $1.44 million more than last year and is “level-serviced.”?This just keeps up with the mandate and keeps us moving into next year,” said Langlois. “We need to sustain everything we have or everything I showed you on the last three slides will go away. There?s no need for us to apologize, this is what we need.”With the town facing as much as $3 million in deficits next year, Langlois said a level-funded budget would have a major impact on the schools including increases in user fees, the loss of 20 to 25 positions, increases in class size and decreases in busing.?My job is to provide a needs-based budget,” said Langlois. “I didn?t know I would come under scrutiny for trying to provide for the students. You will devastate this school (by level-funding the budget.)”Finance Director Sam Rippin said the budget is “what it costs to protect us from exposure and do what we do now,” and noted there are no additional employees in the figure.In other business, Town Manager Scott Crabtree said the Department of Revenue will not be requiring the town to make corrections and absorb previously unreported deficits beyond fiscal year 2012.?Based on the agreement to some of their suggestions ? they?ve agreed to go back to just FY12,” said Crabtree at Wednesday night?s Finance Committee meeting. “That?s a major help to us from them.”After a forensic audit found $1.4 million in misappropriated funds in the water and sewer accounts from 2012, Crabtree said the town would have to absorb that money though the general fund, and had previously stated the town may have to go back several years to see if there were any additional deficits to pay off.Finance Committee vice-Chairman Kenneth DePatto called the news “significant.”?It takes a little bit of an ouch out compared to what it could have been,” said DePatto.Crabtree said the final two phases of the audit, one dealing with procurement and the other with personnel, should be ready in about a “week or two.”Matt Tempesta can be reached at [email protected].