SWAMPSCOTT — School Committee members are united in their disappointment over the school budget cuts presented by the town administrator for the fiscal year 2023.
Town Administrator Sean Fitzgerald presented his proposed budget for fiscal year 2023 to the Select Board last week. In his version of the budget, public-education costs amounted to $30.12 million, which is 2.53 percent higher than the FY22 budget.
However, the town administrator’s school budget is $283,000 less than what the School Committee has approved.
In the budget for FY22, the School Department was asked to cut $180,000. This year, the School Committee decided to add $180,000 back and use these funds for the technology needs, which were previously funded from the capital improvement expenses but were supposed to be transferred to the operational budget per an agreement between the town administrator and School Committee two years ago.
“We are back to normal (operation),” said School Committee Chair Amy O’Connor. “And there should be money allocated to keep our technology spending on track.”
In addition, the town administrator sent an email to the School Committee, saying that the town would like the school district to pick up 20 percent, or $103,000, of health insurance costs. Health insurance costs are expected to rise by more than 9 percent, reasoned Fitzgerald, and Swampscott Public Schools employees generate close to 80 percent of the total costs for this line item.
The email said that this was not a proportional burden, as the town is going to carry the rest of health insurance costs. The school district did not carry health insurance costs in the past and there was no agreement between the School Committee and the town administrator to take it on in fiscal year 2023, said O’Connor at the School Committee meeting on Wednesday evening.
“We are working with a further deficit,” said O’Connor.
Martha Sybert, director of finance for the Swampscott Public Schools, reminded the committee that an additional $351,000 was cut out of the school budget two years ago.
“We are not going to be able to save our way out of this problem,” Sybert said. “We don’t have an expense problem; we have a revenue problem. The pressures on the few dollars that we do have to share are only going to intensify. ”
Sybert suggested that the town and district work together to figure out what costs could be shared in the FY24 budget.
According to O’Connor, the town administrator suggested that the school district look into its Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) fund grant money and use the Circuit Breaker reserve to cover the deficits.
“We all fundamentally disagree with that specific funding,” O’Connor said.
Circuit Breaker is a state program that reimburses school districts for some of the incurred special-education costs. This funding can only be used for qualifying special-education expenses and school districts. The best practice is to have one year’s worth of expenses in a reserve because special-education costs are prone to fluctuating.
O’Connor expressed a concern that when the grant funding dries up but the school budget bounces back from the pandemic, the residents of Swampscott will question the School Committee and the School Department about the way they managed the funds. Sybert added that she is concerned that the end of the grants will coincide with the opening of a brand-new school and people will blame the school budget deficits on the new school.
Other members of the School Committee expressed their disappointment with the proposed budget cuts as well.
“Keep your hands off the Circuit Breaker, Mr. Fitzgerald,” said member Glenn Paster. “The school district is being placed in an untenable position.”
Another School Committee member, Carin Marshall, said that a Circuit Breaker is not a bucket of candy.
“Frankly, neither are the ESSER grant funds,” she said. “We know we need these to recoup what was lost during this pandemic. It’s not there to help the town balance its budget.”
Marshall suggested that the town needs to reconsider taxation or bring more businesses in to increase its revenue. O’Connor echoed her opinion, saying that the town prides itself on a lower tax rate when, in fact, it makes the town cut the services.
School Committee member John Gianti quoted a longtime Swampscott resident he had spoken with in saying “if this type of chipping away at the school resources continues, Swampscott won’t be such a great place for people to want to come with their families and move to because of the schools.”
The discussion wrapped up with Sybert and O’Connor saying that they look forward to reviewing the budget with the Finance Committee and the Select Board going into the Town Meeting.
“I think there are tremendous pressures on both sides,” said Sybert, adding that she has a lot of respect for the town’s finance team.
“I don’t underestimate the job that the town administrator has,” said O’Connor. “And it is not my job.”
