The School Committee approved superintendent Barry Rabinovitch's fiscal year 2011 budget after an emotional public hearing Wednesday, Jan. 27.

The budget totaled $26,586,684, an increase of 3.9 percent over fiscal year 2010, but cuts were necessary due to increasing costs associated with insurance, unemployment, workers' compensation, and administration.

Among the cuts were middle school and freshmen interscholastic sports and three, high-school teaching positions.

School Committee chair Robert Brousseau said he hadn't seen so many people attend a public hearing on the budget in quite some time.

Many parents voiced their concerns about the $25,000 cut to sports.

"Part of the reason the kids are in school is because of the sports program," said parent Mike Cote. "Freshmen, they have the option of playing Tigers Football. Guess what? They don't want to. They want to be up there on the big field" playing for their school.

School Committee vice-chair Clifford Sylvia stressed that the problem is much bigger than the cutting of sports.

"It is so far beyond sports that it's absolutely unbelievable," Sylvia said. "Keep in mind now that these modest cuts in sports, $25,000, is part of a total cut package of over a million dollars. And even with that cut package, we still have a deficit ... of $400,000."

Even if the $400,000 was restored, "We wouldn't be any further ahead," Sylvia said. "That's how severe it is right now."

The state of Massachusetts determines a "foundation" budget, made up of state aid and a minimum amount the town must provide the school district, called "net minimum contribution". The net minimum has annually increased, on average, 1.68 percent over the past six years, Rabinovitch said.  Because this increase is less than the average rate of inflation, net minimum funding has less impact each year.

Of the more than 350 school districts in the state, only 14 or 15 are funded by their towns at the required minimum contribution, Brousseau said.

"What minimum school spending means, from the state of Massachusetts, is that this is the least allowable by law," Sylvia said. "This is the lowest you can go. That's not a place to be."

Frustrated parents wondered why the School Committee and superintendent make cuts, rather than ask for more money at Town Meeting.

"Why can't you walk in there and say 'Damn it, this is what we need?'" asked Jamie Pelletier, a parent and member of the Village PTA.

School Committee member Geoff Swett explained. "The reason it doesn't happen on the Town Meeting floor is because procedurally, and I'm hoping this year will be different, ... whatever number the School Committee gives to the Finance Committee and the Town Administrator is basically ignored and then they put their own number in and they present a balanced [town] budget," he said.

The School Committee can then ask for more money, Swett said, but because the [town's] budget is balanced, "someone would say, ‘Okay, what would you like to cut?'" Swett said no one on the committee is in the position to tell anyone where to cut.

So the district is forced to make difficult cuts to teaching and enrichment programs, "we're slowly dismantling the integrity of Wareham Public Schools," Sylvia said.

In his 15 years on the School Committee, Brousseau said, "I've not seen it this bad."

Rabinovitch said the only way the district's revenue problem will change is "if the parents in the audience go out and talk to ten other parents and make sure they get active in our community. That means going to Town Meeting. It means getting out to vote."