Westfield Board of Ed Holds Final Hearing on 2013-2014 Budget Tonight
Meeting starts at 7:30 p.m. in Westfield High School auditorium
The Westfield Board of Education will hold its final public hearing on the 2013-2014 school year budget at 7:30 p.m. tonight in Westfield High School's auditorium.
Following the hearing, the board will vote on adopting this budget in order to meet the schedule set by the State.
The bulk of the tentative budget—80 percent—is comprised of salaries and benefits. School district business administrator Dana Sullivan said negotiations with the Westfield Education Association have not started yet but she believes they will begin soon.
When the current contract was ratified in March of 2010, it was a source of contention within the community as it included a 3.9-percent salary increase.
At the time, newly-elected Board member Mitch Slater was very vocal about reopening that contract. "I think the reality of the economy and the differences in the private sector, lead me to believe this is the time for associations to stand up and accept a wage freeze," Slater told Patch in April 2010.
When reached by email Thursday, Slater said he continues to stand by comments made when he ran that "this time will be different."
To view the tentative $96,402,166 budget, updated on March 19, 2013, click here.
All are welcome to attend the public meeting.
Jeff B
11:09 am on Friday, March 22, 2013
The (linked) budget presentation is comprehensive and worth reading. It appears that the primary reason that it came in under the state cap is a reduction in Capital Outlays from $1.8 million to $0.1 million.
It is not clear what, if anything, is included for teacher salary increases in the upcoming contract. The budget for Instructional salaries and benefits is up 1.6% but there is also a 1.5% increase in instructional staff planned. My view is that the 3.9% salary increases last time were at least double what they should have been, so no increase now would make up for that. Not using up the cap with salary increases would also set the stage for both management flexibility in properly addressing needs and modest tax increases related to education for overburdened taxpayers for years to come.