Staff cuts projected in $1.2 million school budget shortfall

A proposed fiscal year 2027 school budget of over $36 million was outlined at a School Committee meeting Thursday, April 2 with a deficit just over $1.2 million. Proposed staffing cuts and grants could be the solution to bridge the gap.

The budget process began in December with a plan that increased spending by $2.15 million over the current year. Since then, rising costs like the $658,628 increase in out-of-district special education tuition alongside with over $170,700 in added elementary school supports, pushed the shortfall to $2.44 million.

An out-of-district placement is a specialized, publicly funded educational setting for students with disabilities whose needs cannot be met within their local school district.

The town has agreed to provide an additional $548,181, leaving the district to fund the remaining gap. Recent revisions lowered the deficit to approximately $1.21 million through a combination of budget reductions and anticipated revenue. 

Additional savings are expected from staff turnover and tuition from high-cost school choice placements. Superintendent Matt D'Andrea said that a student with a tuition of $75,000 might be leaving, giving the district more funds.

Plans to add new positions, including an assistant principal, additional paraprofessionals and a full-time athletic director, were removed from the budget. Technology costs were scaled back by spreading the purchases out over several years.

The plan also relies on using about $200,000 from the current year’s budget to prepay next year’s tuition, along with funds from revolving accounts. A revolving account in a school district is a self-replenishing account that money from things like student athletic fees.

An application has been submitted for state “extraordinary relief” funding due to a sharp increase in special education costs. $50,000 was built into the plan as a conservative estimate, though a larger amount is possible.

Up to $250,000 in one-time state funding is also being pursued for technology expenses, though approval is uncertain. If the funding does not come through, town leaders have indicated they may seek alternative ways to cover those costs.

Even with those adjustments, the remaining deficit could result in cuts affecting roughly 20 positions across the district if no additional revenue is identified. Decisions would need to be finalized before May 15, the deadline for staff notifications.

"The principals have each worked on what that will look like in their school and they're looking at all positions and all ways in which they can save money," D'Andrea said.

Committee members highlighted the broader financial challenges facing public schools in the state, including rising special education costs and limited increases in local funding. Concerns were raised about the unpredictability of out-of-district placements, which can significantly impact the budget from year to year.

Member of the committee, Apryl Rossi said that as a leader within the Massachusetts Association of School Committees, going over budget is not just a Wareham-centric issue. She said other districts are seeing $7 million deficits and need to cut over 60 staff members. 

The Massachusetts Association of School Committees is an organization to support, train and advocate for local school committees in the state. It provides policy development, legal guidance, superintendent search consulting and professional development to help school leaders govern effectively.

"I just really hope that as much work has gone into this that people see that and respect and understand that we want to keep everything as stable and as great for the kids in this town as possible," she said. 

The budget will go before town meeting Monday, April 27 at the Wareham High School Auditorium located at 7 Viking Drive for final approval.