A public hearing on the school budget will be held on April 23.
Todd Gazda
LUDLOW - School Superintendent Todd Gazda presented a proposed fiscal 2014 school budget of $26,542,224 to the School Committee for its consideration.
The budget is $834,000 over the fiscal 2013 school budget, Gazda said, which he said is an increase of 3.2 percent.
The proposed school budget is $217,304 over the parameters recommended by the town administrator and the Board of Selectmen, Gazda said.
Town officials said the town can afford a 2.4 percent increase for the school budget for fiscal 2014, Gazda said.
“This budget represents our best chance of meeting our goals for the school district,” Gazda said.
The proposed school budget will be further considered at an April 23 public hearing at the Baird Middle School Auditorium.
The School Committee will later vote on the budget and present it to the Finance Committee and to voters at the May 13 annual Town Meeting for approval.
Gazda told the School Committee his proposed school budget calls for the addition of 10 full-time staff members and five part-time staff members.
The new full-time staff members include a technology coordinator to help oversee the use of Google Chrome tablets by students in all the schools next year. By next October, all schools in the district will have wireless Internet capability, Gazda said.
Another full-time position which Gazda is proposing to add is a new science teacher for the high school to help bring up science scores in the district and reduce class size.
Other full-time positions include three behavioral mental health support personnel to assist at risk students and bring special education students back into the district which will save money, a grant writer at Baird Middle School and a special education teacher at Veterans Park School.
New part-time personnel include an English Language Arts tutor for Baird School, a math tutor for East Street School and a teacher for the deaf, Gazda said.
Gazda also proposed eliminating three full-time positions to save money. Those positions include a director of guidance at the high school, a grade 2 teacher and a supervisor of buildings and grounds.
Lead custodians in each school will report directly to principals, Gazda said, giving principals responsibility for their buildings.
Gazda also is proposing to add a district facilities coordinator to assist with preparation of schools for graduation, opening day, snow days and storms.
“We are adding 10 full-time positions, but we are subtracting three,” Gazda said.
School Committee member Charles Mullin said he believes the budget presented by Gazda is a good budget which keeps the needs of the school district in mind.