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A Note from the Superintendent
on the PVRSD FY 2013 Budget Process
After the November/December
annual reorganization of the PVRSD (School) Committee, activity
surrounding the building of the FY 2013 budget picks up
significantly between December and the public hearing scheduled for
February 9th. The Budget Subcommittee recently held
a meeting to discuss the FY 13 budget process with representatives
from our member towns; three of four towns sent representation.
Budget Subcommittee members articulated their understanding of the
towns’ tight finances and their own challenge to deliver to students
the best educational opportunities possible, emphasizing their acute
recognition that the towns’ PVRSD annual assessment cannot break the
backs of district taxpayers. It seems timely to provide information
about the process that will take place in what continues to be a
very difficult economy. It is important we keep the lines of
communication open throughout. You are invited to both raise
questions and concerns, as well as provide thoughts, reactions,
ideas, and suggestions to inform the process. Budget
subcommittee meetings are open to the public and will be posted to
the district website. Phone numbers and email addresses can be
found, likewise, at the district web site:
www.pioneervalley.k12.ma.us/PVRSD or by calling 413-498-2911.
The PVRSD budget building
process can be thought of as divided into two phases: the
expenditure phase and the revenue phase. From now until the
February 9th
budget hearing, the spending needs (expenditure side of the budget)
are defined and quantified. The District Agreement mandates
that the budget hearing takes place the second Thursday in February
annually. Unfortunately, at the time of the budget hearing,
there is simply not enough information available to the Budget
Subcommittee about the level of the various funding sources to
determine what the consequent cost to towns would be. In
effect, the budget represents what the school committee believes is
needed to run the schools, but cannot be converted into a reliable
prediction of the assessments required of each town to fund the
budget until later.
Throughout February and into early
March, much more information about the various sources of revenue for the
budget becomes available including: state aid figures, state set
minimum contribution requirements of the towns, and refinements of local aid
revenue projections. Accordingly, the Budget Subcommittee can then
balance educational need with input from the towns’ select boards, finance
committees, and citizens to determine what a reasonable assessment to the
towns would be (revenue side of the budget.) It is only during this
period that a decision can be made to keep the budget passed at the budget
hearing or reduce it. State law prohibits increasing the budget above
the level passed at the budget hearing. So, in recent years, the
School Committee has always considered it wise to set the budget at the
level needed to support existing programs and services at the February
meeting, but be able to adjust to a lower number that the towns can support,
if needed.
This
year, the towns and the budget subcommittee have agreed to add an additional
budget subcommittee meeting between the budget hearing and the school
committee meeting at which assessments will be voted. This will allow
opportunity expressly for the sole purpose of discussing the capacity of the
towns to fund the district budget to inform School Committee’s assessment
setting vote at their March 22nd meeting. Following the
assessment setting vote in March, the budget approval process passes from
the district to the towns that use the information in preparing their annual
town meeting warrants. An affirmative vote of three of the four towns
determines the district’s operating budget. Each of the towns vote on
their own elementary school’s capital budget while a unanimous vote of the
towns is required in support of capital projects at the Central Office or
PVRS.
- Dayle Doiron, Superintendent
of School
November 22, 2011
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