Salem school board discusses proposed budget increases
Salem _ The Board of Education discussed the proposed 1.9 percent increase in the 2016-17 school budget at a special meeting Monday.
Most of the budget increase, $211,379, comes from salaries, benefits and tuition for students attending schools outside the district. More than 80 percent of the entire budget goes toward the three categories.
Superintendent Joseph Onofrio said he crafted this budget to responsibly reflect the needs of the district.
"We are the custodians of our children's dreams," he said at the meeting. He pointed out that school budget increases around the state averaged to 2.85 percent, and other pre-K-8 districts in the area such as Preston, Sprague and Franklin had higher budget increases.
The increases include the addition of two-tenths of a position to bring a part-time special education teacher who would work with students in the proposed autism spectrum disorder program to full time. The redistribution of aides and teachers within the grades is also included.
The school will also use the budget increase to support its five-year curriculum plan and purchase textbooks and kits for new science and social studies curricula. Other purchases such as computers will be covered by grants rather than the budget.
Most areas saw budget reductions, including reducing the hours of the director of student services and reduced tuition paid to East Lyme as a result of fewer students attending the high school.
The board is slated to vote on the budget at its Feb. 1 meeting.
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