WESTBROOK – The Westbrook School Department’s proposed fiscal year 2014-15 budget now faces a series of meetings and public hearings heading toward final approval and adoption by the School Committee, which is scheduled to move it to the City Council on April 16.
Last week, as city officials unveiled municipal budget numbers, the proposed school budget was also released, reflecting a 7.7 percent increase.
The proposed budget of $34,800,000 is a $2,506,359 increase from this year’s budget of $32,293,641. However, prior to releasing the proposed number, school officials still did not have projected revenues, which stood at $15,788,856 this year.
Superintendent of Schools Marc Gousse said Wednesday that while revenues are still not set in stone, the department is expecting an increase of roughly $740,000 over this year’s state subsidy.
“It’s certainly good news because we had some areas that were increased in our proposed budget,” he said. “There is a lot of work left to do.”
This Saturday, the School Committee’s Finance Committee will host a second round of budget discussions beginning at 8 a.m. in Room 114 at Westbrook High School, with Gousse giving a more detailed look at the department’s revenue projections.
Gousse said that while the proposed budget has been released, he is certain that the committee’s review will produce changes to the initial figures.
“I’m certain that the number we arrive at in the end is going to look different, it always does,” he said. “The bottom line will definitively be impacted by revenue.”
During a preliminary budget discussion in January, Gousse pointed out his department’s challenges this budget season, including a jump in the number of immigrant students who speak English as a second language, the steady increase of students eligible for free or reduced lunches, and the reality that 70 percent of the school department’s budget is in fixed teacher salaries and benefits.
At next week’s School Committee meeting, on Wednesday, March 26, a public hearing is scheduled to allow for comment on the proposed budget.
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