School Supporters Press Selectmen To Fill $3M Gap
Crowd into Selectmen meeting to ask for possible override for April town election.
They sat on the floor in the alcove of the room, stood against the wall in the back and peeked in from outside the doorway of the Selectmen's Room.
More than 100 parents and supporters of the Belmont schools came to the Board of Selectemen's meeting Monday night, Jan. 31 - many wearing stickers on their clothing stating “Save Our Schools, Save Our Town” - to express their apprehensions about the school budget and ask that an override be put on the April 4 ballot to cover the shortfall.
“We’re feeling very concerned about what’s going to happen to our children,” said Ellen Schreiber, one of the leaders of a new group that formed in less than 24 hours after a Sunday night organizational meeting.
“Three million dollars (the amount Superintendent Dr. George Entwistle recently presented in his budget report as the shortfall for providing the same student services as last year) is a lot to make up,” she said.
See a video of Schreiber's and selectmen's remarks on this webpage.
The only way to do it, Schreiber said, is for the selectmen to put an override on the April ballot.
“You have until Feb. 28 to make that decision,” she told the board.
“The gap will only get bigger and bigger until we have an override. Only that will cover the rising costs at least for the time being.”
The parents and supporters of Belmont's schools at the meeting fully support the entire town including fire and police, the Department of Public Works and the other departments that serve the citizens of Belmont, Schreiber said.
“We care about it all but the schools are not just important to parents,” she said. “Others’ property values are what they are because of the school system.”
If the schools do not have the money to continue providing the excellent education to Belmont children they have to date, Schreiber said the town will soon start seeing people moving out of the community and others deciding not to move in.
“That will mean property values will go down,” she said.
Impact of cuts
Several supporters spoke about moving to Belmont specifically because of the school district’s excellent reputation and said they are now increasingly worried about their children’s education if arts, music and foreign language are cut due to lack of funds.
The selectmen were sympathetic with the group’s apprehension but said it might be too soon for such agitation.
"It’s still very early in the budget process," said Selectmen Angelo Firenze.
“You have three people on this board who are extremely concerned about the schools,” he said.
However, Firenze pointed out, he feels it’s very premature to be so worried about the schools because the town does not yet know what the state budget for local aid - which will include all the money for local education from the state - will be and what will be the impact of the amount of state aid Belmont receives.
“There are a lot of moving parts when talking about the money that’s coming into this town,” he said.
Selectman Mark Paolillo concurred that it could take some time before the community knows precisely how much money it will be receiving from the state.
He pointed out the state budget was not finalized until June last year.
Moreover, Paolillo said the town departments have also presented their budgets for fiscal year 2012.
“We have to consider all services,” he said, noting he has two children in the school system. “There’s a lot weighing on our minds in addition to the schools.”
Currently, Paolillo said, the board is still seeking information from the School Department as to why enrollment went up just 1 percent yet the budget increase was 9.6 percent.
Override process
Why not have an override asking for $3 million for the schools and decide what to do if it passes, asked some parents, pointing out that if Belmont has more money in June than expected, the town would not be obligated to raise taxes.
Peggy Eysenbach said her concern is about process.
“As I look toward the future, I want to make sure we have enough tools in the toolbox,” she said. “I don’t want to shut doors and would like to see the option of an override.”
Eysenbach said she would hate to see the citizens of Belmont get to a place where the door is already shut and pointed out the board does not have a lot of time to decide whether or not to put an override on the April ballot.
“It’s pretty clear it’s a diminished future even though we don’t have all the details,” she said. “We need to assume people want to have a voice. There’s a lot of anxiety here. What can be helpful to get to the point where we want to be?”
Ralph Jones said a $3 million override just for the schools may not make it. He stressed that last year’s effort was called OneBelmont and was an effort for both the town and school budgets.
“I would hope that whatever move there is for an override will unify the town,” Jones said. “If we have an override, I prefer that it be like last year and advise you get more people and more interests involved.”
Things change from one year to another, pointed out Belmont High School junior Paul Green. There’s now a Facebook page created by students at the high school comprised of about 200 members.
“That didn’t exist last year,” he said. “I know that I can be out there this year, knocking on doors to get the override passed.”
In This article
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Board of Selectmen
455 Concord Ave, Belmont, MA -
Highway Department
19 Moore St, Belmont, MA
Belmont_Conservative
6:56 pm on Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Currently, Paolillo said, the board is still seeking information from the School Department as to why enrollment went up just 1 percent yet the budget increase was 9.6 percent.
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It's not rocket science. Costs are increasing at that rate because of the teachers' union pension fund and the cost of their health care.
At my private company we've had to make difficult cuts for years. It's about time municipalities including the teachers' union does the same. Let them pay a little bit more for their health care and let's reform their pension system - both of which are bleeding the town dry.
It's no different across the whole country. Look at the states in the deepest financial holes and ask yourself how much of a footprint exists from unions in those states.
David Chase
11:00 am on Wednesday, February 2, 2011
@BC - I recall checking on this recently, and was told by a school committee member that teacher pensions (certainly for all new hires) are a state problem, not a local problem. Teachers may see their contribution to the state fund coming out of their paycheck, so it was originally paid from out taxes, but it is not a creeping obligation where we must fill the gap. So they are a problem, yes, but they are not part of this budget.
Matt Sullivan
7:26 pm on Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Did any of the parents who spoke up at the BOS meeting last night see the poll the newspaper did on a possible operational override vote this year? The majority of people said NO! Many people are out of work and can't afford to pay more in taxes. The cuts being proposed by the Dr. Entwhistle are very serious. The BOS and the School Committee need to work together with the Warrant Committee to try and find money to fund some of these cuts without an override. Next year we will probably be voting on a NEW Science wing @ BHS. Then the BMLD & Police Station.
David Chase
8:48 pm on Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Matt,
Online polls are notoriously unreliable. Of those people who read the BCH online and care to register their opinion, yes, an override is very unpopular. It's unclear if those are the same people who vote.
Belmont_Conservative
7:43 pm on Tuesday, February 1, 2011
It's just relentless. The people in the school committee are so out of touch it's absurd. I bet nary a member among them has even had to shovel their own property the last 6 weeks. They're just elitists who feel that we, the commoners, should fork over as much money as they say. We should keep our fool mouths shut and just be happy we live in Belmont - no matter what it costs. Well, here's one person who's officially had enough. Oil for my home's heat and hot water is now 3.49 a gallon and I DONT HAVE ANY MORE MONEY FOR THE TOWN'S TAX COFFERS! GET IT THROUGH YOUR THICK HEADS!!!!!!
David Chase
9:19 pm on Tuesday, February 1, 2011
I'm curious, can you think of a better school committee, in any of the nearby towns, or towns with comparable outcomes? Do recall that per-pupil, we spend less than the state average, less than the state median, less than neighboring towns, and less than towns with comparable outcomes. Yet you berate them, instead of saying "thank you".
And I'm not on the school committee, but I shoveled around my house, my roof, raked my neighbor's roof, cleaned up the resulting snow fall, shoveled the Clark Street bridge (no doubt the plows have messed it up again, I will shovel it again tomorrow, along with my roof etc), and did a little neatening up of the snow at the entrance to Town Hall after paying my taxes, and kicking in a little extra for education. Do think about why people move here, and how hard they must work to afford what houses cost nowadays. If you value community, you tend to kick in and help out and try to be a good neighbor. And if you can afford a house in Belmont nowadays, you're not a slacker.
And I realize that the property tax is really pinching some people, but that's what property taxes do, and they have since I was a kid. I think we ought to fund education (and town salaries too) from a tax that is more proportional to one's ability to pay it (that would be an income tax), but apparently most people prefer the property tax, with all its warts. We may not vote an override this year, but it will never be lower.
Ann Rittenburg
9:57 am on Wednesday, February 2, 2011
TO: Belmont Conservative,
Give me a call 617-484-1483, or send me an e-mail amrawb@verizon.net, sometime! I'd be happy to sit down with you and help you get acquainted with the Chair of the School Committee, at a minimum. I am having a good laugh for myself as I read the last comment you posted. Obviously you and I do NOT know each other, because your vision of who I am is so far off from reality it is stunning. I am most certainly no elitist! I am a commoner, for sure, struggling to figure out how to pay the mortgage and the rest of the monthly bills in this economic downturn; hoping to death that our family can make it through the downturn and still hold on to the house, etc. AND, for the record, we most certainly do all of our own shoveling, yard work, housekeeping, etc.! It is neither in our budget nor in our make-up to hire others to do household work for us. We sure do appreciate the thoughtful neighbors we have (like Steve Rosales and Paul Sullivan) who don't hesitate to take their snowblowers around the sidewalks of more than just their own homes and to make sure that our modest little neighborhood of Belmont feels like a neighborhood where neighbors think of each other and our collective good and not just themselves -- no matter what our differing political persuations!
Reach out and get to know who I really am, rather than projecting non-truths on to me and those with whom I serve.
Ann Rittenburg
Franklin Tucker
10:26 am on Wednesday, February 2, 2011
I would also like to give Belmont Conservative an opportunity to reach out to his neighbors (yes, I would say it is quite likely that you live next door to some very friendly and nice people who are on the opposite side of this issue) with an opinion piece that could explain his views in a much more thoughtful and constructive manner, outside of the overheated comment box and with A LOT LESS CAPITALIZED WORDS! (Jezz, no more of that!) The only stipulation: you will have to use your name and street address. As Ann says, reach out and get to know the people you are talking to.
Susan Danseyar
12:58 pm on Wednesday, February 2, 2011
I second the emotions of Ann and Franklin.
I don't know who you are, Belmont Conservative, but I'm almost certain you were not at the BOS meeting when this issue was discussed. No one from the School Committee spoke, complained or asked for more money from taxpayers. The speakers were predominantly parents who are concerned about their most precious asset -- their children -- as well as other Belmont residents. They believe keeping the school district as excellent as they have found it to date to be beneficial to all who live in this town insofar as property values. Most people in the town are willing to hear other points of view but not peppered with insults and name-calling. So we all welcome you to come out and debate rather than simply accuse.
Matt Sullivan
12:59 pm on Wednesday, February 2, 2011
I agree with you David but whether or not you read the paper online or at home EVERYONE should get out and VOTE! The poll was done online and then printed in the paper for ALL Belmont residents to see.I think more people may support an override if it was for much less money!
tess_shiva
7:49 am on Thursday, February 3, 2011
Belmont_Conservative leaves inflammatory, humorous, thought-provoking, devil's-advocate comments behind the handy guise of online anonymity. It's the story of the Internet and people should react as you would react to any anonymous comment: with a grain of salt and a measured response. The Internet is the the great equalizer, providing a forum for those who need a no-cost soapbox to stand on. I find the point/counterpoint between Belmont_Conservative and David Chase to be informative and at times, entertaining. It's a debate, it's why we live in America, and personal attacks aside, I believe it's helpful. Belmont_Conservative doesn't have a pitchfork, they have a keyboard. Try taking it away.
Belmont_Conservative
2:03 pm on Thursday, February 3, 2011
I appreciate the comment about these discussions being useful in at least some way.
Some of us here simply have fundamental differences in belief and opinion. But let's do our best to stick to the facts of the main problem at hand, which really can't be disputed.
Namely:
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Currently, Paolillo said, the board is still seeking information from the School Department as to why enrollment went up just 1 percent yet the budget increase was 9.6 percent.
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It's plain to see that we're on an unsustainable path with regard to the School budget. If something major isn't done regarding the teachers' union pension and health care contracts, these kinds of yearly increases are going to completely wipe out whole municipal budgets in due time. I understand that contracts are contracts and they're legally binding, but what's the alternative? To simply shift the burden to the tax base? My frustration stems from *this* being exactly what the town's elected officials have chosen to do. It's one override after the next. Each year it's the same old story.
We will never fix the root of the problem until we deal with the massively unfunded public pension liabilities.
Belmont_Conservative
2:18 pm on Thursday, February 3, 2011
To Ann and Franklin-
I sincerely appreciate the offers for further communication. I assure you both - I spend quite a bit of time speaking to my neighbors about these very issues. Amazingly I must have settled in a conservative slice of the town because a lot of people echo my exact sentiments. We feel that on a national level our voices are finally coming into the light instead of being held down by popular opinion. Unfortunately, on a local level we're still running uphill. I guess it's just what happens when you're in the greater Boston area. I urge everyone to remember that the will of "The People" is what counts - despite how many people think they know what's best for us.
I will most likely keep mostly anonymous/online - although I will take your offers into consideration. To your point Franklin, I will respectfully cease the capitalization/shouting because you're right, it was a little overboard.
So, until next time, remember that despite all the bumper stickers you see on the tax-subsidized Priuses, Republicans aren't all evil. We're your neighbors - even in Belmont!
Belmont_Conservative
2:30 pm on Thursday, February 3, 2011
Lastly, I want to say that I would actually support the occasional override (shocking) if I thought it was in the town's best interest and if I was sufficiently assured that all other avenues have been explored. I think people get turned off by the fact that we have at least one override a year - and sometimes even 2. It's simply too many. It invariably leaves most taxpayers with a very bad taste in their mouths.
We all know this country's states were being kept afloat by more borrowed dollars in the form of stimulus. Now those dollars are gone and the day of reckoning is upon us. What I recommend is looking at our current level of tax income and adjust the level of current spending to the amount it once was when the level of tax income was previously at this same level. We can't spend like it's the boom years when it isn't.
Finally, I think overrides such as this "potential" one would have more of a chance of passing if the powers-that-be more clearly laid out the facts about what kinds of concessions have already been made on the part of the teachers, administrators, etc. Show us how the pain is being felt on all sides. Show us that teachers in Belmont would be willing to take a small pay cut if it meant that language and arts weren't on the chopping block. Show us that teachers would be willing to pay a slightly large amount of their health care costs if it meant that an override wouldn't be necessary. At this point we're not seeing any of that - even if it's there.
Franklin Tucker
4:30 pm on Friday, February 4, 2011
Dear qwerty100: I'm sorry to have deleted your comments from this stream but this site is dedicated to thoughtful and reasoned discussion. If you wish to comment by snipping and throwing verbal rocks rather then make cogent arguments at people in which you disagree, there is another news site covering Belmont that has been happily encouraging that type of mean-spirited rhetoric for far too long. You should deposit your "commentary" there.
Franklin B. Tucker
editor, Belmont Patch
Natalie Trusso Cafarello
6:14 pm on Friday, February 4, 2011
nice.
PJ Looney
10:48 pm on Friday, February 4, 2011
Why are people prematurely asking for another Override this year when there is a very good chance,with concessions by Teachers, that we will be able to find the $2.07m in order to fund the School level services budget?
Everyone paying attention knows there is anywhere between $580k - $960k in Chap 70 funds not factored into the available funds budget. There is also another $500k reasonably available from reducing the Health fund set aside to 5% from 6%. That leaves about $800k which just happens to be the amount that was budgeted for Teacher compensation this year and the rumors have the Teachers open to going without this year. Wouldn't it be prudent to wait and see what comes from the Contract before raising the anxiety level in parents and students?
Matt Sullivan
3:23 pm on Saturday, February 5, 2011
Thank you for speaking up PJ! I hope the residents of Belmont pay attention to ALL the facts. Residents should pay more attention to what's going on in town. Everyone needs to get out and vote. People who rent need to realize if TAXES keep going up RENT will too!!!
Charlie Heath
1:01 pm on Wednesday, March 2, 2011
David, my calculations based on the state's FY2010 school workbook confirms your conclusion that Belmont spends less above the foundation level than comparable locales.
The state median for districts in Belmont's '82.5%' ability to pay bracket was to spend 32.7% above foundation, where Belmont spent 27.4% above foundation. That is around the 40th percentile, and getting to the median , Belmont would have spent approximately $1.8M more in FY10.
However, towns have fairly durable preferences over time that reflect local values, so there is no particular reason why Belmont should be above or below the 40th percentile, and it depends on exactly who you consider peers. If it were Arlington, they spent about 36% above foundation in FY10, while having a somewhat lower combined effort yield (which is a measure of ability to pay, both towns are capped at 82.5% of foundation, but Arlington's measured ability to pay beyond that cap is slightly lower than Belmonts).
Comparing as if apples to apples, Arlington spent about $3 Million more discretionary money on schools in FY10 compared with Belmont, with a slightly lower measured ability to pay.