Andover Public Schools and Town officials wrestled with how to balance the operating budget at a school committee workshop Thursday afternoon after Town Meeting approved more money for the APS budget in an effort to block teacher layoffs.
“I know people have questions. I don’t know if I have answers,” Chair Lauren Conoscenti said at the outset of Thursday’s meeting. “I don’t know if there are answers yet.”
After rejecting an amendment to increase the school budget by $2.7 million Monday, Town Meeting approved increasing it by $1.9 million on a vote of 488-451. While the increase was aimed at saving 34 positions the school department is eliminating, the school committee will have the final say on how — or if — the additional money is spent.
“At this time, the town has not identified the funding source and/or reductions to other town departmental budgets that will be necessary to balance the budget,” the school committee and Andover Public Schools Superintendent Magda Parvey said in a note to the school community Wednesday. “As such, the district will not be able to make changes to our budget until options are identified.”
No Easy Solutions
Town officials now have to balance the new budget, either through cuts or by calling a special town meeting to appropriate more money. The select board could also call a Proposition 2 1/2 override despite language in the motion to the contrary, according to Town Counsel Doug Heim. Thursday’s workshop was aimed at playing through different scenarios and the implications of spending the additional money.
Town Manager Andrew Flanagan outlined why the Town should only use free cash for one-time expense and not to fill the deficit created by Monday’s Town Meeting vote before showing where expenses could be reduced to balance the budget. “In short, [if officials opt to cut expenses] it would most likely come from Town departments, which represent less than 20 percent of the average tax bill,” he said.
No decisions were made at Thursday’s workshop. The process of how to fill the gap will continue with a joint meeting of the select board and school and finance committees on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Officials had urged Town Meeting to stick to the recommended operating budgets for the Town and APS in article four, which were vetted over the course of several months by the school committee, select board, and finance committee. “These ideas are contrary to the guiding principles that have provided the town with financial stability,” Town Manager Andrew Flanagan said at Monday’s meeting.
APS officials have been warning parents and teachers about the layoffs since ending a three-day strike in November after months of stalled contract negotiations. The new contract gave teachers a 15.5% raise and instructional assistants a 35% pay hike over the next four years.