Braintree School Committee Approves Budget Articles In 4-3 Vote
BRAINTREE, MA - The Braintree School Committee narrowly approved the proposed FY23 budget of nearly $73.5 million after debates about programming cuts at its meeting Monday night.
At the start of the meeting, Chairperson Lisa Fiske Heger said she would vote in favor of the budget "not because I think it's sufficient," but it is the amount that Mayor Charles Kokoros said the town can support.
"Obviously I believe the School Department could use more," she explained. "As part of the charter, we need to approve and move forward the budget now so that the mayor can present the complete town budget to the Town Council."
The 10 budget articles included almost $56.9 million for curriculum and instruction and nearly $4 million for the combined administration at the elementary, middle and high schools.
Kokoros told the committee that the budget proposed by Superintendent James Lee and the administration "has been well thought out."
He noted that he believed that the class sizes "are the lowest they've been since the 90s," with some classes at a ratio of one teacher for every 15 students, which he called "phenomenal."
Because of the educational issues caused by the pandemic, math and reading specialists will be retained at every school, he added, noting that some math specialists were previously slated to be cut but had been restored this year by shifting money from other departments. There are also additional counselors at Braintree High School and the East Middle School because of the socioemotional effects of the pandemic on students.
Member Thomas Devin noted that the School Committee has rarely been happy with the budget numbers put forward during his decade-long tenure.
"I think people have to understand that we have to work with the number and be happy with that number," he said. "If somebody wants to give us a bunch of money, I'll say I'm all for it."
Member Kathleen Tuffy, who taught in the Braintree schools for 30 years, countered that the middle school math connections classes have been eliminated from the budget despite COVID-19 relief money and funds from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief III fund known as ESSER III. She said that these classes helped students struggling in math who were not eligible for IEPs, or Individualized Education Plans, to keep up with their peers.
She also charged that writing workshops, remedial reading classes, and a seventh-grade writing workshop were eliminated last year. This year, Tuffy said she was told that math workshops are being eliminated from the high school, and there will be no additional guidance or school adjustment counselors or reading specialists added through the current proposed budget.
"What I also see is that the town has not applied for all the money that it is eligible for," Tuffy continued. She noted that towns such as Randolph and Needham were able to win Norfolk County grants. Braintree has applied for and received a revenue replacement grant of $750,648.92.
"I cannot in good conscience vote for a budget that does the exact opposite of what the COVID relief money is designed to do," Tuffy stressed, noting the mental health and academic issues that have arisen during the pandemic.
Kokoros responded that there are still reading specialists in each elementary school as well as increased guidance counselors, behavioralists, computer technicians and math specialists in the system. He and his staff have been working with the county on applying for grants.
Vice Chairperson Kelly Cobb-Lemire asked the superintendent to confirm that no new specialists for literacy, math, and writing at the middle school level are being added in the proposed budget, as well as guidance counselors and specialists in social emotional learning.
"There are no new positions for what you identified in this budget," Lee said. But he added that there are math and reading specialists in every elementary school.
The lower student-to-teacher ratios can help students get more personalized attention, he added, versus hiring specialists.
"I believe that the budget is one of the biggest responsibilities that we take on as elected officials," Cobb-Lemire said. "Unfortunately, at this time, I do not feel that this is adequate movement to align our moral documents with the students in the community we serve."
Tuffy, Cobb-Lemire and Recording Secretary Karla Psaros voted against the budget. Fiske Heger, Devin, Kokoros and Matthew Lynch voted in favor of it, allowing it to be incorporated into the town budget proposal before the Town Council.
Braintree School Committee Approves Budget Articles In 4-3 Vote originally appeared on the Braintree Patch
