Dear Wayland Voter,

The march to setting your fiscal 2007 tax level continued last
week. The Finance Committee is asking for further cuts from
town departments to reduce an expected override.

The Fincom met with the School Committee on Monday to
receive its school budget proposal. On Thursday each board met
again, the School Committee to present its budget proposal to
the public and the Fincom to review the status of the budget.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

The Fincom will meet again on Monday Jan. 6 to decide the
capital budget, and again on Monday Jan. 13 to review proposed
cuts within departments. On Thursday Jan. 16 it will hold a public
forum and vote its override recommendation. The Selectmen will
decide whether to accept that recommendation and vote to
present an override to the town by mid-March.

Reports below on the School Committee meetings are by Tom
Sciacca and the Fincom meeting by Molly Upton.


SCHOOL BUDGET PRESENTED TO FINCOM

The School Committee met with the Finance Committee on
Monday night to present the proposed FY 07 budget.
Superintendent Gary Burton made the main presentation, and
was careful to point out that his original proposed budget had
been increased by the School Committee. In speaking to the
choices made he said, "We can debate for a long time what are
the real core values of the school". He went on to say, "What you
learn on the football team is equally important as what you learn
in English class" although if forced to choose he would choose
English. "The reputation of the school is still intact", he said,
which could make it harder to convince people that a new
position needs to be created and significant work needs to be
done, for example at the high school.

Burton's statement is in contrast to statements made by some
parent advocates for increased spending and by Chuck Irving,
developer of the former Raytheon property. Irving told the
selectmen that recent declines in real estate prices were "all due
to our school system here, our accreditation issue, our lack of a
plan for a new high school, the threats of closing a grammar
school. People don't want to buy in Wayland." Irving and his
partners are pursuing either a housing/shopping or an
all-housing development at the Route 20 site.

In discussing the history of school spending Burton said that "at
the end o Bill Zimmerman's reign" there were many more
veteran teachers than currently. They were paid more but were
less likely to be out for maternity leave and get hefty raises for
new degrees and longevity. Teachers who retire from Wayland
also receive town health benefits, as do the replacement
teachers, so it may not save the town money to have a retiring
teacher replaced by a younger,lower paid one, he said.

Fincom Chairman Chris Riley asked whether the energy savings
recommended by the ad hoc budget committee of $86,000 were
included in the budget. Burton said no, because they didn't
believe the savings promised. He also asked if the extra Special
Education costs produced by the state order to place six
Wayland children out-of-district had been included. Yes,
$175,000 was the reply.

There were three fewer teachers hired this year than budgeted,
so although Burton asked for nine fewer teachers this year than
last, only six positions will actually disappear. Eight teachers will
retire\ this year, partly because state law allows early teacher
retirement. Wayland will get about $565,000 for Metco, and there
is $119,000 more in the governor's budget in Chapter 70 aid for
Wayland this year.

Special education costs are running $209,000 over budget this
year,so that extra cost is rolled into next year's budget. The
number of sports teams has expanded in recent years, as have
other extracurricular activities. The football team has grown from
29 to 116 boys. The total administrative budget is rising by 5
percent. and $65,000 is allocated for building maintenance next
year. The buildings are clean and safe, Burton said, and they
want to keep them that way.

On the capital side, the School Committee is asking for $1.1
million, including $700,000 to replace a leaking Happy Hollow
roof. But Riley said the town has only a $500,000 debt capacity
for the schools and all other town needs.

There is $2.6 million in total requests from all departments, so
something will have to give. The School Committee agreed to
supply a priority list for its requests.

Riley said the budget is more stressed this year than ever
before.

With this meeting the Fincom has met with all town departments.

HIGH SCHOOL BUILDING

The Schoolcom discussed a potential article to be presented at
an assumed Special Town Meeting within the April Annual Town
Meeting to expand and recharge the High School Building
Committee. Member Barbara Fletcher suggested that the whole
process to set up the HSBC might be started over, possibly with
equal representation from the School Committee, selectmen,
and the Fincom. Burton, however, said that the School
Committee has statutory responsibility for building school
buildings. "It's your power," he said.

Member Bob Gordon said he was uncomfortable with Fletcher's
proposal because building a high school is a School
Committee project. "It sends a very unfortunate message" that
the problem last time was the committee, he said. But Fletcher
argued that there should be a "fresh start".

Member Heather Pineault said, "I'm torn and I feel like we're in a
no-win situation". Existing members will be extremely strong
candidates, and if they're all re-appointed the Schoolcom will be
criticized anyway, she said. The HSBC's own survey of voters
showed considerable hostility toward the present committee.

The general feeling was that the current members represent a
wonderful range of talent and knowledge. As to what went wrong
last January, when the town rejected the $57 million high school
proposal, Chairman Jeff Dieffenbach said "the recommendation
was tightly bound to the charge" which didn't give them much
flexibility. Fletcher said "The goal changed, the process should
change." Gordon said that the best part of the previous (failed)
project was the HSBC. There were lots of other problems,
ncluding the School Committee, he said.

The group agreed to check with HSBC chair Lea Anderson as to
whether any current HSBC members really want to leave before
proceeding further.

The group also discussed a Town Meeting article rescinding last
January's vote forbidding expenditures on high school planning
pending the resolution of state funding issues so that
accreditation issues regarding physical conditions at the high
school can be addressed.

Gordon and member Louis Jurist agreed to work on a new
charge for the HSBC.

BUDGET HEARING

On Feb. 2 the School Committee held a budget hearing before a
sparse crowd at the Middle School. After a short presentation by
Fletcher the balance of the evening was devoted to Q and A. A
sampling:

Q. Will the increase in fees ever stop?
A. (Gordon) We're "coming close to the ceiling".

Q. Are we marginalizing students by charging fees?
A. We have scholarships.

Q. Might fees ever drop?
A. Maybe if state aid increases.

Q. Is there a family cap?
A. Yes.

Q. Are there discussions with the Planning Board regarding the
town center project?
A. No, but we've been watching it.

Q. Where is the enrollment drop and how is the per pupil cost
moving?
A. It's dropping at the elementary level, but still rising at the high
school. Per pupil costs are rising.

Q. Is closing Happy Hollow off the table?
A. Only if we get this proposed budget. Otherwise nothing is off
the table.

Q. Will this need an override?
A. Yes

Q. Will you negotiate with the Fincom?
A. Further cuts or increased fees will not be very acceptable to
most of us.

Q. Where will the 1.5 Middle School positions be cut?
A. There will be .4 from not filling a vacant slot. 1.1 from fractional
pieces of many positions.

Q. How are fees assessed?
A. Flat rates for activities and sports.

Q. Is that fair?
A. It would be very complicated to do anything else, but we're
looking at other options.

Q. Was the reduction in elementary specialists weighed with
anything else?
A. Yes, everything was weighed.

Q. How do our salaries compare to others?
A. Second highest in the state, and we're proud of that. But we
have slightly higher class sizes.

Q. What can we do to increase state aid?
A. Support the Acton initiative. Other towns are leading the
lobbying efforts to increase state aid, and we should support
them.

Q. What is the cut list if there's no override?
A. We will work on that over the next month.

Q. When will increased state aid have an effect?
A. In fiscal 2008.

Q. Will we need an override every year?
A. The Fincom is working on a three-year plan.

Q. What about high school accreditation?
A. We're working on a short-term plan and will need $50,000 to
do it. The HSBC is working on a long-term plan.

Q. What reductions did the schools make in the ad hoc budget
process?
A. Additional lunch fees, energy audits, and some class
consolidations.

Q. Is the new learning center (at the high school) an absolute
necessity? Can it be cut or manned with volunteers?
A. It saves money by avoiding some Special Education referrals.
Volunteers aren't reliable enough.

Q. Any chances of pooling resources with other towns?
A. We're part of TEC (The Education Collaborative) which does
bulk purchasing and provides SPED programs.

Q. Is there outreach to the larger community?
A. Yes, but we could do more. But property values are the biggest
benefit from having excellent schools.

Q. How will you get support for an override?
A. Public hearings, forums, through Save Our Services (a school
parent-run advocacy group), public education.

Comment from a school parent: This community should share
the burden across the board, and "good enough" is not good
enough for Wayland.

FINCOM ON OPERATING BUDGET

As of the Finance Committee's Feb. 2 meeting, the town's fiscal
207 budget was still a work in progress. The Finance
Committee has issued requests for budget cuts from the
schools and the town that would result in an override of $1.8
million. If voters are asked to approve that amount in an override,
the impact, including the allowed 2.5 percent increase, would be
a tax hike of more than 6 percent.

One committee member briefly mentioned that perhaps offering
voters a choice of amounts rather than an all-or-nothing choice
might be the way to proceed. Some towns use that method.

The ad hoc committee found $177,000 in savings, most of which
came from the town side. The Finance Committee is also using
some one-time revenues such as aggressive collection of back
taxes and anticipated sale of town-owned land in its efforts to
reduce the shortfall. Members of the Finance Committee plan to
attend the Selectmen's meeting to stress the need to realize
revenues from land sales. The Finance Committee recognizes
that by using such one-time revenues, these funds will not be
available in FY 08.

In order to reduce the shortfall to $1.8 million, the following
things have to happen: reductions in the town and school
budgets by $180,000 and $420,000 respectively, and the sale of
town-owned land valued at $400,000.

The School Committee says its budget is $235,000 less than
the "level-funded" budget requested. But much of that reduction
is due to declining enrollment, members of the Finance
Committee observed. The Finance Committee noted the
school's utility budget has risen by a much larger percentage
than that of the town, and felt the School Committee could
reduce its energy expenses by more than $100,000. At public
comment, one observer mentioned that busing is a potential
sizeable fee source that remains untapped by the School
Committee. WVN recalls Superintendent Burton told the ad hoc
committee he estimated the town pays $133,000 to provide
busing to students not mandated to receive the service.

Free cash, after having been tapped for several years, stands at
$871,000 and needs to be increased to continue the town's AAA
bond rating. Plans call for contributing $325,000 to free cash,
although for accounting reasons this may not be credited to free
cash until the end of FY 07.

The Finance Committee is still examining projections for local
receipts for next year, and the costs of the Town Pool. The
committee will meet Monday Feb. 6 to discuss the capital
budget, and Monday Feb. 13 to review the results of department
budget cuts. A public hearing on the budget is scheduled for
Thursday, Feb. 16, after which the Finance Committee will vote
on the final budget.

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Wayland Voters Network
Michael Short, Editor