Salem finance board approves $10.4 million school budget
Salem — The Board of Finance voted 4-2 to approve a 1.01 percent decrease for the Board of Education's 2018-19 budget at its meeting Thursday night. Chairman George Householder and member Marshall Collins voted against it.
The approved budget of $10,441,673 is the number the school board proposed and $106,552 less than the budget the finance board approved last year.
Initial drafts of the 2018-19 budget planned a 1.77 percent decrease, but the school board had to budget higher health insurance costs and adjusted East Lyme High School tuition costs into the final proposal, which board members affectionately called "Budget 2.0."
The school board also chose to add technology items originally slated for the 2019-20 school year. Much of the savings for the 2018-19 year came from decreased tuition costs from an unusually small freshman class going into East Lyme High School. The board decided to move the additional Chromebooks, iPads and robotics equipment to the 2018-19 budget to invest in STEM education and help offset future tuition increases for larger grades aging out of Salem School.
A town meeting to discuss the full town budget will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 11, at Salem School.
Comment threads are monitored for 48 hours after publication and then closed.
