Newton Public Schools Final Budget
Dear Newton Families:
Last night, the School Committee approved the budget for the 2017-18 school year. It is a budget that reflects our commitment to improving student achievement and providing strong supports for all students.
In developing the budget, it was our goal to:
- Maintain our forward momentum,
- Preserve the programs and supports we have built over the past few years, and
- Continue to provide a high quality education to all students in the Newton Public Schools.
The 2017-18 budget was very challenging to put together. Increases in transportation, health insurance, and student services costs, coupled with the current school year deficit, left us with a budget gap of over $2 million. The balanced budget presented on March 22nd identified areas in which programs and staffing were preserved. It also identified services we were unable to preserve due to the budget shortfall.
Earlier this week, we were notified that we would receive one-time funding from the city’s health insurance reserve fund. We also realized a reduction in bus parking expenses. Together, this funding added an additional $1,350,000 to the budget over a two-year period.
The final budget approved by School Committee allows us to preserve so many of the programs and supports we have worked hard to implement over the past several years. With the additional monies we received late in the budget process, we have been able to partially restore program areas we thought we would need to reduce more significantly, most notably library staff at our schools.
I know this budget process has been challenging and we were not able to include everything we wanted in the budget. However, I am confident we will be able to continue to provide all of our students from Pre-K – 12 with a high quality educational experience next year. In the meantime, we are looking forward to a successful finish to the current school year.
For more specific information on the budget, please visit the district website: https://tinyurl.com/lahbbx9
