Hockey, Arts Could Be Cut Under Doomsday Budget Scenario

Teaching positions, high school hockey and elementary school art, music and physical education programs could be among the things at risk of elimination without sufficient funding from the town, warned Superintendent Robert Hassett during Monday night's finance committee meeting.

School District Seeking 4.5 Percent Increase

Hassett appeared before committee members to lay out the school district's FY12 budget request. The superintendent reported that the current version of the budget seeks a 4.5 percent increase (approximately $800,000), compared to the initial version which sought more than a 7 percent increase.

The superintendent noted that Lynnfield already spends less on average per student than other surrounding districts, and yet has consistently been ranked among the top echelon of the state's school systems.

Tighter Budget Could Force Major Cuts

Under a scenario where the town provides a 2 percent budget increase to the school system instead of 4.5 percent, Hassett warned that nearly 16 full-time equivalent positions would need to be cut. These cuts could affect everything from business classes at the high school to foreign languages at the middle school. Another fiscal blow would come in the form of the estimated $100,000 in unemployment costs this scenario would bring about.

Hockey, Arts Cited As Well

The hockey program also came up as a potential casualty under a doomsday budget scenario, since it tends to be more expensive to run than other sports. Elementary school art, music and physical education programs would be among other things up for cuts without sufficient funding, added the superintendent.

School committee member Robert Craffey also pointed out that the district had agreed to defer many important priorities for this fiscal year to arrive at a more bare bones budget. For example, the is said to need a new math teacher to keep up with enrollment growth in recent years.

"We have been increasing class sizes exponentially at the Middle School," said Craffey.