Provide School Budget Feedback

The public forum to gain feedback on the proposed Andover school budget is TONIGHT. Please attend to lend your voice to the budget process and trade-offs being considered:

Thursday, March 19th beginning at 6:45pm

36R Bartlet St, 2nd floor (above the senior center)

 

Dr. McGrath, Superintendent of Andover Schools, has presented an FY16 Andover Schools budget of $72,873,529, which is the amount allocated by the Board of Selectmen and Town Manager.

This amount is a $1,969,077 (2.78%) increase over the FY15 budget, but still short the $2,896,405 (4.08% increase) Dr. McGrath requires to maintain “level services” for next school year.  Level services allow continuation from year to year of the “equivalent educational programs and services that are being currently provided to the entire student population including all contractual, statutory, and regulatory requirements/obligations” (see slide 7 of the budget presentation).

As a result, this shortfall has produced a budget proposal that would eliminate 21.5 full-time-equivalent (FTE) teaching positions for next year while adding 12.4 new FTEs, resulting in a net loss of 9.1 FTEs (see slide 12 of the budget presentation). As a summary:

Reduction of 21.5 FTEs

Addition of 10.2 FTEs to meet legal/mandates/safety (7.5 special education, 1.0 english as a second language, 0.2 human resources assistant, 1.0 custodian, and 0.5 crossing guard)

Addition of 2.2 FTEs toward the strategic plan (elementary digital learning specialists & middle school project based learning coach)

Net loss of 9.1 FTEs

 

At tonight’s meeting the School Committee and Superintendent will solicit feedback from the Andover community regarding this budget proposal. PLEASE ATTEND.

For more information, take a look at:

Slide deck from the Superintendent’s March 11th budget presentation to the Board of Selectmen & Finance Committee
Video of the March 11th tri-board meeting (budget presentation begins at minute 5:45)

Detail on the proposed school budget (“the budget book”)

“Teaching Jobs at Risk” article from the March 12th edition of the Andover Townsman

 

 The best scenario would be for you to attend tonight’s meeting in person. But if you cannot be there, it will be broadcast in Andover on Comcast channel 99 and Verizon channel 43. You can also watch it streamed live online from AndoverTV and then later in their video archive. Thank you!