By Dan Israeli
While Superintendent Robert Greenberg has yet to make his recommendations to the Board of Education, Ruggiero noted that an increase of 6 percent over the current $102 million budget is projected, although he said he is hoping to bring it in below that total. Greenberg is expected to present his 2007-08 proposed budget on March 21.
The board held its second budget work session on Tuesday, focusing on service expenditures for the upcoming year. Ruggiero also discussed two items that will be on the ballot in May. The first was an Excel grant for $1.3 million that the district plans on receiving from the state, which needs to be approved by voters first through a capital referendum.
The district intends to use the grant, combined with money in its fund balance, to pay for a restructuring project for the facade of the Lindell School. The building has been surrounded by scaffolding since a structural lintel fell off in January.
The second item voters will see on the ballot is a Capital Reserve fund, which Ruggiero described as a savings account for capital projects. He explained that the board would have to establish how much money could be put into the fund, as well as how often. "It has to be carefully and reasonably constructed," Ruggiero said. He added that neither the EXCEL grant nor the reserve fund would cost taxpayers any money.
March is traditionally budget season for the school district, with the board meeting every week for work sessions until March 27, which has been reserved for the official budget adoption vote.
In addition, on Feb. 27 Ruggiero presented a general overview of the budget, focusing on five functional groups he referred to as areas of impact. According to State Office of Budget and Management code, the five functional groups are central services, instruction, transportation, community services and undistributed funds.
The district's food services system, which falls into the undistributed-funds group, proved to be a top priority for the board due to its recent financial slide. This year the district is putting $325,000 back into the cafeteria system, the accumulated loss over the last three years, in order to break even.
With the current director of food services retiring, the district is searching for a replacement, as well as a consultant who specializes in cafeteria programs. "We are trying to create a better-quality program," Ruggiero said. Board members seemed most interested in the possibility of students using "smart cards" for food purchases, which are similar to cards used by college students.
Such a card would contain a certain amount of credit, and could be refilled at any time by a student's parents. It would guarantee accountability for every transaction, Ruggiero said. The card could eventually serve many other purposes for the student, doubling as an ID card, a library card and even opening a locker.
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