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| Brentwood voters OK $5.1M school budget; curriculum coordinator (918863) | |||
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Brentwood voters OK $5.1M school budget; curriculum coordinator |
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Posted by dand124 on Sun Mar 11 20:00:57 2012, in response to The New Brentwood Thread, posted by LuchAAA on Sun Aug 21 16:33:18 2011. http://www.seacoastonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120311/NEWS/203110319/-1/NEWSMAPAfter much consideration, residents voted to approve a $5,134,767 operating budget for Swasey Central School at its school district meeting Saturday. "We're just very pleased that the community has approved and agreed with the board's decision," said School Board Chairperson Dianne Vosgien. "The board works very hard to be very fiscally responsible and work in the student and community's best interest." The passing of Article 1 represents a 1.5 percent increase from last year's operating budget, and an increase of 16 cents per $1,000 of property value. Of the major changes between last and this year's budget, the addition of a curriculum coordinator was perhaps the biggest area of contention among voters. "Our students already score very well without the coordinator," said resident Patty Shorland. "If we're all in agreement that we're doing well, what do we need it for? This is just another layer of administration. If we're going to add positions, they should be to benefit the students." According to results from the fall 2011 New England Common Assessment Program test, student scores were above proficient in reading and in math. The school has never been identified as a "School in Need of Improvement." "They need to maintain that," Vosgien said. "Just because past tests have come back with good results, there's always room for improvement, and we don't want to lose any of that either." Vosgien said the addition of the curriculum coordinator will help to fill the gap left after the board removed the assistant principal position last year and will help to support the teachers. According to Budget Committee Chairwoman Elyse Seeley, the addition of the coordinator represented 14 cents of the 16-cent tax increase. "That was our only wrangling point," she said. "But there are some things worth paying for. Otherwise, they'd have voted it down." Residents also passed Article 2, which approved the increases in salaries and benefits for staff and teachers. The increase totaled an estimated $53,815 for 2012-13 and $57,119 for 2013-14. In year one of the two-year contract, teachers and staff will receive a 1 percent raise. In year two, teachers and staff will receive a 1.5 percent raise. "The teachers have gone a year without a contract and have incurred an increase in retirement contribution, and had no raise in the past year to offset that," Vosgien said. Property taxes for year one will increase 11 cents per $1,000, and taxes for year two will increase by 12 cents. The contract also adds one additional day of non-student contact work. According to Vosgien, the extra day will provide teachers with time to prepare their classrooms before the start of the school year, or will be used at another point in time. |
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