School budget vote postponed

At the Board of Education’s third and final budget work session on Feb. 15 at Baldwin High School, the school board delayed a final vote on the 2012-13 budget. The board did, however, confirm that the Milburn and Shubert schools would be closed next school year, and promised to reach a decision on kindergarten cuts at its meeting on March 14.

The board also voted to set a tax levy increase of 2.4 percent. This was the maximum increase in taxes allowable for the spending plan to be approved by a simple majority of voters, though Schools Superintendent Dr. James Mapes said that the exact number could change as the budget process goes on.

Waiting game

The board delayed approving the final budget it will submit to residents in order to finalize aspects of state funding and staff negotiations. The deferment was granted in response to a request by Mapes, who said, “I request that the board delay the process to allow a number of situations to clarify.”

Board President Mary Jo O’Hagan told the Herald that the delay was granted to accommodate various funding figures that are still in a state of flux. “There are a lot of balls still in the air,” she said, mentioning negotiations with staff, state aid numbers and the fact that district teachers recently agreed to accept a pay freeze.

Mapes and the board agreed that some extra time was needed to weave these factors into the overall budget. “We must, as a board, show that we have done everything possible to present a fiscally responsible budget to this community,” O’Hagan said. “We could not have done that without the delay we approved tonight.”

Some closure

The board informed attendees that it would close two schools, Milburn and Shubert, next year, and stated that this would not change regardless of how other aspects of the financial picture crystallized.