Medford Superintendent’s School Budget Plan Calls for 22 Layoffs (MA)
June 22, 2010
Twenty-nine positions will be eliminated in the school department – 22 through layoffs – to achieve a level-funded budget for fiscal 2011, which starts July 1, Medford Superintendent Roy Belson announced last week.
Five additional layoffs could occur for performance reasons, he added in remarks posted to the district website on Friday.
The layoffs – including 13 secretaries – were necessitated in part by the refusal of a multi-year wage deferral agreement by two of district’s largest unions – representing teachers and administrators – that would have saved an estimated $500, 000, Belson said. Their refusal, coupled with decreases in state aid and a severe drop in special education funding, made a level-services budget unaffordable, he added.
Instead, Belson has proposed a budget of just over $43 million – a decrease of $200,000 from fiscal 2006. As a result, funding for student activities, athletic programs, professional development, and educational materials will need to be supplemented through fund-raising or other outside funding sources. The Kaplan SAT prep program is not funded in the proposed budget and will require an alternative funding source as well.
"We will explore alternative sources of funding for the program but there are no guarantees that it can be restored in the upcoming fiscal year," Belson said.
The district was able to recognize a savings in salary costs due to 15 voluntary retirements – three of which will remain unfilled – and 10 resignations, which will allow the district to hire some entry-level replacements at lower salaries.
The proposed budget also reduces funding for the superintendent and School Committee’s salaries by $67,000, from $367,663 to $300,924.
During his first budget presentation last month, Belson said it would cost an additional $3.25 million to fund a level-service budget for fiscal 2011. Last week, he asked residents to work together to find "creative and resourceful ways" to press forward with the district’s goals despite the lack of funding.
"We cannot dwell on what we don’t have as a result of the cutbacks," he said. "We must accelerate our efforts to lobby Beacon Hill for relief from this reduction in support."

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A public hearing on the budget will be held Wednesday, June 23 at 7 p.m. in the high school library. The hearing will be broadcast live on Channel 15. A copy of the proposed budget is available online for public review and in the Office of the Superintendent during business hours.