Amherst-Pelham Regional Schools: Amherst & Regional Budget

Jones Library Trustees Budget

Town Manager's Budget

Select Board cut lists

Yes for Amherst Override campaign site

WFCR Report by Susan Kaplan 03-29-04

Levy limits: A Primer on Proposition 2 1/2

Yahoo town meeting groups posting

I want Town Meeting to do its job.

I know you all have significant feelings about the need for an override and the timing of an override.

I know we all support the Town Meeting form of government -- that's why I can work for effective schools funding via this override, at this time.

All Town Meeting members have known since at least last Spring that we would need at least a 1.5 million override for FY05.

Town Meeting gets a "blank check" every Spring -- it's called the town budget! Some years we change it a lot, other years very little.

Some years we follow Finance Committee and Select Board recommendations, and some years we don't. But Town Meeting has the power. That does not change with an override vote that occurs before Town Meeting starts! We know Town Meeting cannot create revenue. The override vote simply gives the revenue (the very revenue nearly everyone agrees we must have to keep the services we want) to Town Meeting so when we all get together April 28, we know we can come out of there in late May/early June with a balanced budget!

Will the final budget look exactly the same as the proposals do now? Doubtful. Does Town Meeting lose any power over the budget due to approval of an override now? No!

Let's stop listening to false excuses, like "this is a blank check" (do the people who repeat this soundbite understand that Town Meeting gets a blank check every year?), and "other towns don't do it this way" (other towns mostly didn't vote no on the tax cuts, either), and "it's common practice to pink slip teachers" (not in Amherst it isn't-- aren't we glad of that? how would you feel? and knowing that the Amherst override got voted down once, and that the other 3 towns might interpret that as making their overrides less likely, that maybe the youngest teachers and some of our best teachers might look harder for other positions?), and "the budget should drive the override, not the override drive the budget" (well, that sounds nice, but let's think -- budgets are driven by revenue and costs, we have known for at least a year that we don't have enough revenue, we know we have too many costs we can't ignore...do we really fear that Town Meeting will spend recklessly?), and finally "the numbers keep changing" (the numbers always keep changing; of course priorities can change as you dig deeper and deeper into the core and realize you have to consider changing the way we deliver a variety of town services).

If you aren't sure if the town really needs the money, go ahead and vote yes on both override questions, anyway! If Town Meeting decides the override revenue -- or some portion of it -- isn't needed, then we can choose not to spend it!

If you want to punish the people who voted to schedule the override for the election March 30, then vote for Select Board candidates and Town Meeting candidates that didn't agree.

"Send a message" with your vote -- the message is that despite our differences, we know we need more money, so let's get it now, and let's get on with it.

Letters to the editor:

To the editor

Many people have made the case for an override based on the needs that will go unmet if it fails. But there is another perspective that deserves our consideration, and has nothing to do with whether we have kids in school: the link between the quality and scope of local services on the one hand, and property values on the other. Property values reflect what people are willing to pay for, whether it’s location (e.g., the leafy suburbs of the high-tech belt), natural or scenic qualities (e.g., Chatham or Lenox); or family-friendly features, notably strong public schools.

Amherst isn’t a suburb of anything. While it is a beautiful place, it isn’t at the top of the list of the state’s resort communities. What makes property in Amherst worth more than in surrounding communities is the perceived quality of life, and particularly the long investment in schools and other services that make it a wonderful place to live and grow up. Any local real estate agent will quickly confirm this view. Yes, we’re a “college town,” and these are often nice places to live. But it’s not the colleges per se that are attractive. If access to cultural and athletic events, or a short commute to a campus job, were the draw, then everyone could live in Sunderland (and be closer to campus than much of Amherst proper!). The key is that college towns tend to invest in schools and other things that people want for their families, and they’re willing to pay more for property as long as that is true.

An override to help get us through the state’s fiscal crisis clearly requires sacrifice, but we have much more to lose if we don’t preserve the competitive edge of our local services. For most of us, the value of our homes is our primary asset. We’ve gotten used to a strong real estate market and the idea that we’ll be able to use our equity to borrow against now or count on for our kids’ educations or our own retirement. Will the bottom fall out of the local market if we do not pass an override? No. But if we don’t, and as a consequence strip away many of the things that make this community attractive, then we will feel the consequences — both economically and socially — for a long time to come.

Bryan Harvey, Amherst

Miscellaneous comments

A “Yes” vote on March 30 is critical.

Why earlier is better than later:

Every School Committee member, every School Committee candidate, and parent groups from every school are behind this plan.

School supporters are working hard to get the March 30 override passed so we can go into Town meeting with enough money to fund next year’s school budget. We’ll all keep trying if we don’t win the first time, but getting this settled now is far better than waiting. If we all work together now we’ll not only secure the funding we need, but also send a powerful message about what kind of community we are.

There are many efforts to increase or restore state funding to cities and towns. Any of them would help us, but so far there is no reason to think they will happen. I think all of us would prefer to have public education shifted from the property tax to the income tax, but there does not appear to be an current movement in that direction. The best estimates we have now are that state aid will be level this year (which is much better than the last few years!), and that is the assumption on which the school committee built its budget. Final action on a state budget is not expected until after local spending decisions must be made, so we would not know any more than we do know whether an override is held in March or June. One very important point to keep in mind is that even with an override, the schools will still be far short of what they need to provide the services we are committed to (recall that we had to cut teachers in the high school last year, and the override would not restore any of that funding, just limit additional cuts). At the high school forum the other night the superintendent emphasized the need to get state funding restored even a we work to pass a local override. Both are needed, and Amherst is not backing away from the statewide effort because it is also working on a partial, local solution.

If the override passes it increases the amount the town is able to collect in taxes. It doesn't require them to be spent. If an unexpected windfall came in the committees and town meeting would have to decide what to do with it: give it back to the taxpayers (not collect it), spend it to restore earlier cuts and/or improve services, or some combination.

If an override passes and the regional budget is lower than the current proposal, then again there would be excess taxing capacity. This could be left in the taxpayers' hands, spent, or saved. Again, it would be up to town meeting. Having Amherst pay more than its share of the budget would require amending the regional agreement (which was done last year and is proposed again this year, on a temporary basis), and I'm sure there would be considerable debate about any large-scale or long-term commitment to have Amherst taxpayers fund the costs of education for students in the other three towns.

My personal opinion is that the only reason to wait until June for an override is if you believe the funds aren't really needed and town meeting will find a way to balance the budget without additional revenue. I don't see any reason to believe that. On the other hand, an earlier attempt gives us an opportunity to organize and educate (which we're taking!), get clarity on the budget before school staff leave for the summer, and have the chance at a second override vote this year.

Thanks for your support -- it's really important!

We are only one town among so many in financial trouble, that even if we pass the override in March, it doesn't imply that others can or significantly increase the number of towns pushing on the legislature, especially when we're seen as a heavily pro-education town anyway, and the Legislature views us as an anomaly on most topics.

The legislature has not managed to tell us what revenue we would get by April for many years. Twice, it finally voted a budget in late fall, long after we had to guess on revenues in order to build a budget. Even if the house and senate had both voted on their budget versions (House 2 and House 3) by late April, they still have to have a joint committee work out a compromise between their versions.

We actually know more about the state aid to us than usual--it's highly likely to be level funded--the same amount as last year--to cut it further would be political suicide for the elected officials up for reelection, especially when the governor has set that as a base amount in his budget version.

Even if the state increases aid, Amherst will not get 2.5 million more dollars, or the 4 million which could actually fund the entire proposed budgets that were printed by the schools and town (already counting in the 2 million in reserves which the boards have agreed to spend) . If we get extra state aid after an override passes, the town, schools, and library are not going to go on a spending spree, and a special Town Meeting can be conveened to decide on any proposed additional appropriations that are deemed critical. More aid would mean fewer cuts in teachers, services, etc., but also would mean less tax burden than the override ---to an extent decided upon by the budgets that Town Meeting votes.

In any year, if three of the four towns do not pass the regional budget, the Regional schools have a big problem, and they have to go back to the towns with the same budget for another round of votes or with a smaller budget hoping that it will pass in three towns. If our overrride passes in March, it makes Amherst's commitment to the regional schools clear before the other towns vote on the regional budget. The distribution of costs between the towns is based on the Regional agreement, and changes require all of the town meetings to agree to amend the Regional Agreement. (Which we have done for two years running in order to lessen the burden on the small towns. Amherst has paid a higher assessment than it would have under the original agreement so that all 4 towns had an equal percentage increase in their assessments and could afford to pass a largeer regional budget than would have otherwise been possible.)

The additional advantages to passing the override in March rather than in Late June include:

1)The schools do not have to pink slip as many teachers ( warn them that they do not have a job next year, although they might be rehired if funds and positions are available). Before the override could pass in June,we will have lost at least some of the teachers who received pinkslips beecause they will have accepted other jobs. Pinkslips are determined largely by seniority, so we will lose young teachers and they include many of our teachers of color.

2) The schools will have to spend major amounts of time and effort between March and a June override vote figuring out which 2.5 million cuts to implement and what other changes to make to compensate. The schools can't wait until after late June to start making those final decisions, because if the override fails in late June, the plans havee to be implemented immediately in order to be ready for the September opening of the schools. I would much rather that the override passed in March and that all that staff time was spent on children and curriculum, etc.

3)Town Meeting will actually know how much revenue there is and can vote budgets based on numbers rather than guesses and hopes that the override will pass in June after Town Meeting has adjourned. Town meeting can vote smaller budgets than the override would fund if Town Meeting chooses. No power has been taken away from Town Meeting (only the select board can schedule override votes), and Town meeting will have the information it needs to plan real budgets.

My understanding is that the best estimates of state funding will be to level-fund local aid (same level as last year). If legislative activity unexpectedly brings in more state aid, then Town Meeting can vote a budget that uses less local funds than the amount authorized by the override--we don't have to spend it. But it would be irresponsible to plan on such an occurrance. If we wait until after Town Meeting, teachers will receive pink slips, and the other towns in the regional district will approve their budgets without knowing whether we will pass an override later. Because the regional budget passes when any 3 towns pass it, we may end up with budget cuts in their budgets driving the regional budget and lose our opportunity to affect the outcome.

So he is right about the other towns' situations affecting the regional budget, but the override vote is our chance to affect those town's votes. If they see that we're willing to step up to the plate, they are more likely to do so, too. So it's very important to give them the support of knowing we've passed our override.

1 - the state still has a structural deficit well over 1 billion dollars (1.6-1.7 billion I think). The only commitment that we've received so far that appears to hold water is that of level funding. Everybody is asking for more money.

2 - I don't recall the state ever passing a budget by June 15th or 22th, the possible dates for an after town meeting override. As observed, this is an election year and folks are playing hardball with gay marriage and the like. I expect, as usual, that the budget will be a battle ground - we're forced by state law to pass a balanced budget by July 1, so the best we can ever do is estimate state revenues. As I've said, all indications, from both the governor and the legislature, is that we'll be level-funded. We're not expecting any better information in time to help us.

I'm really worried about the region as well. We'll be advocating an equal assessment modification to the regional agreement again this year - that will give substantial breaks to the other towns, hopefully making their own overrides successful. There is a great collaborative spirit between the 4 towns in this regard, I'm hoping that we can continue it.

SUPPORT AMHERST SCHOOLS - VOTE YES ON THE OVERRIDE! The Wildwood PTO supports supports the Override. The federal and state government is slashing their investment in our schools. It is up to us in our towns to make up the difference. Vote YES on the over-ride. We do not want to have class sizes of 30 children. Do you know that we only have 2 dedicated science and math teachers that are shared by all 4 elementary schools? Without the override we may lose even that low level of staffing. Tell your friends and neighbors to vote YES on the over-ride and invest in our future: our kids. Can you help by volunteering? If so email Baer Tierkel (baer@sweetmojo.com). Vote YES on Tuesday, March 30th!

SCHOOL BUDGET CRUNCH - THE DETAILS For the second year in a row, our Amherst schools are facing a crisis due to reduced state and federal funding. Our town has to make up the difference or cut services. Without the override we may be facing class sizes of up to 30 students and some combined-grade classes. The superintendent's office has released the following possible cuts to our school's budget:

Elementary Schools:

Middle & High Schools:

These are the types of cuts we are facing if the override does not pass. Please support the override!

The Amherst Public Schools are facing the most severe budget crisis of the last decade. An override vote to be held by the Town of Amherst on Tuesday, March 30th will determine the amount of funding available to the schools for next year and perhaps for years to come. (Please note that some of the figures that follow are approximate because many decisions still lie ahead about how the funds that are available will be allocated among the elementary and regional schools and the town and the library. However, the general magnitude of the numbers is certain.)

State and federal funds coming to the town and schools decreased last year and will decrease again for next year. The schools (and the town) have fixed costs that rise regardless of budget choices we make. Things like utilities, transportation, insurance, and step increases are fixed costs that inevitably rise. The result has been that the budget for this year was cut to the core and the elementary and secondary schools both had to cut teaching positions. With state and federal revenues decreasing and costs increasing, only local funds are left to make up the difference.

The school, town and library budgets as proposed for this year add up to approximately a 6 million dollar deficit. The Select Board has proposed using 2 million in reserve funds and asking the voters to approve a two and a half million dollar tax override to meet this situation. That means that if the override passes, 1.5 million dollars will need to be cut from the budgets of our town.

Even if the override passes, the regional schools will need to cut between $300,000 and $600,000 from the current budget proposal. As you may remember, we endured significant cuts to the regional budget last year as well. This will be difficult, because we will be cutting some needed staff and services, but our schools will still be recognizable. If the override is voted down, then the regional schools will need to cut an additional $1,000,000 approximately from the current budget proposal. The specific impacts are currently being made public. This will have an immense effect on both the middle school and the high school. Class sizes will rise and important support services and programs will be severely reduced or eliminated. We're not talking about reams of papers and packs of pencils. We're talking about a significant number of teachers currently working with your children, not being here next year, with no one to replace them. This will impact your children directly.

March 26, 2004

Different budget levels & their impact on the schools

The FYO5 budget year is July 1, 2004-June 30, 2005

Amherst elementary schools budget for FY04: $16,470,636 Amherst elementary schools budget for FY05: $17,452,148

Increase from FY03 to FY04: 2.64% Increase from FY04 to FY05: 5.96% Fixed costs increase from FY03 to FY04: 3.62%

Budget level based on current town revenue Budget increase from FY04 of 1.58%=$16,730,928 A budget increase of 1.58% would not cover fixed costs without cuts into current programming of $721,220

Budget level based on $2,000,000 additional total town revenue Budget increase from FY04 of 3.62%=$17,066,690 A budget increase of 3.62% would cover fixed costs and require cuts to programming of $385,458

Budget level based on $2,500,000 additional total town revenue Budget increase from FY04 of 4.76%=$17,256,299 A budget increase of 4.76% would cover fixed costs and require cuts to programming of $195,849

Cuts already made for FY04 to reach $16,470,636:

Cuts already made for FY05 to reach $17,452,148:

Additional cuts of $195,849 needed for FY05 to reach $17,256,299 (see lists on reverse for potential choices) (over)

Above cuts plus additional cuts of $189,609 needed for FY05 to reach $17,066,690

Above cuts plus additional cuts of $335,762 needed for FY05 to reach $16,730,928

More budget details can be found at http://www.arps.org/bo

Please support our schools by contacting your Town Meeting representatives, Select Board members, and Finance Committee members. Town Meeting determines the portion of town revenue applied to school budgets.

The town still has money in the bank – why not use it all?

The town spent years building up reserves just for this king of fiscal crisis. The Finance Committee has developed a plan to use the reserves in a way that will get us through, but not if we squander them all at once. The town used the reserves to a great extent last year and the current plan calls for using $2 million in reserves for the coming year – dipping deeper and deeper will mean even higher overrides or larger service cuts in the future.

Isn’t this just a blank check?

The fixed/mandated costs in our schools and town services increased over $2 million this year. $2 million was chosen as an override amount because that amount was close to the costs above last year’s budget that have to be paid just to provide last year’s level of services in the town and schools – not much of a blank check! The $2.5 million amount would cover the increase in fixed costs over $2 million and allow the schools to recover a bit from the cuts we made last year that were too deep - such as losing 4 teachers, reduced paraprofessionals, loss of the staff development program, teacher mentor program, and more.