Deficiency fund holds down members’ increases
For the second year in a row, the Minuteman School Committee has adopted a budget for the coming year that is smaller than the previous one.
On Jan. 31, the School Committee voted to adopt a budget of $19,449,466. That’s $278,631 — or 1.41 percent — smaller than the fiscal 2017 budget. The vote was 12-0. The new budget runs from July 1, 2017, to June 30, 2018.
“With this budget,” Superintendent Dr. Edward A. Bouquillon said in a news release, “we are continuing to move toward a smaller school designed for fewer students.”
The fiscal 2018 budget continues a multiyear transition to a new school with a smaller student enrollment. The new budget continues to phase out two vocational-technical education programs, merge two others and phase in two new programs: advanced manufacturing and multimedia engineering.
It eliminates or keeps vacant a total of three full-time positions. It includes $100,000 for the school’s stabilization account and sets aside $50,000 for other post-Employment Benefits.
By using $600,000 in excess and deficiency funds, the committee will hold the aggregate assessment increase to member towns to $607,744. The 5.55-percent increase in assessments is primarily caused by a decline in nonresident tuition revenue, a decline attributed to the lowering of nonresident tuition rates by the state commissioner of education and an overall reduction in nonmember students attending the school.
Arlington’s assessment
Arlington’s projected assessment for fiscal 2018 is $4,291,333, up from 3,649,349 in fiscal 2017. That is a rise of $641,984.
The expected amount is about $197,000 more than is shown in Town Manager Adam Chapdelaine’s 2018 budget message, released in January — $4,099,059.
The reduction in nonmember student enrollment is because of a new state regulation requiring ninth-graders to “explore” vocational programs in their home district, even if the home district does not offer what the student wants.
Minuteman officials noted that the school’s operating budgets and assessments have not increased significantly over the past 10 years.
For the second year in a row, Minuteman also received a glowing annual financial audit from Melanson & Heath, its auditing firm. That audit included no findings and no recommendations.
The Minuteman district currently includes 16 member towns: Acton, Arlington, Belmont, Bolton, Boxborough, Carlisle, Concord, Dover, Lancaster, Lexington, Lincoln, Needham, Stow, Sudbury, Wayland and Weston. Leaving the district July 1 are Boxborough, Carlisle, Lincoln, Sudbury, Wayland and Weston. Belmont leave July 1, 2020.
The fiscal 2017 budget totaled $19.7 million, $103,000, or 0.52 percent lower, than the fiscal 2016 budget of $19.8 million.
Minuteman High School provides students with a high-quality career and technical education, coupled with a rigorous grounding in mathematics, English, science, and social studies. This combination gives students a competitive advantage in the new economy.
In its accountability ratings, the state ranks Minuteman as a “Level 1” school, the highest rating possible.
Minuteman is an accredited member of the New England Association of Schools & Colleges.
This announcement was published Friday, Feb. 3, 2017.
