Methuen: Mayor, superintendent agree on $79M budget for schools

June 10--METHUEN -- The mayor and the superintendent of schools reached an agreement on a school budget proposal for next year totaling about $79 million after several days of negotiating and a nudge from the state to up spending.

The School Committee last month approved an $80 million spending plan proposed by Superintendent Judith Scannell, with only Mayor Stephen Zanni, who as mayor serves as chairman of the school committee, voting no.

Zanni told Scannell to pare back her request by $700,000, which would have brought the budget to the minimum required by the state, the level at which Methuen typically funds its schools.

But after a meeting with state education officials, Zanni added $356,060 to his bottom line at the officials' request partly to begin repaying a penalty the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education says the city owes the schools for years of underfunding and partly to win approval for an energy efficiency project that includes upgrades to the high school ice rink.

"We're in a better place with the state," Zanni said. "The state is watching. I spoke with Jay Sullivan and he was very pleased we're putting this in the budget, not only to meet net school spending, but to meet that penalty."

Sullivan is executive director of the School Finance and District Support Center at DESE.

Zanni said he hopes that $356,000 would keep the city in DESE's good graces when it considers waiving the underfunding penalty in the future and for approving a waiver from required spending for the energy efficiency project, which would be done by Framingham energy management company Ameresco.

"By putting this $356,000 in good faith forward, they can look favorably on the waiver for the Ameresco project," he said.

Methuen schools have, according to the state, funded its schools below the minimum the state requires because of a difference in how retirees' health care is counted. Many districts count it the same as Methuen, but fund their schools enough above the state minimum that it has not had an impact.

Methuen funds at the minimum, so the deficit has built up to more than $5.2 million over the years. A proposal that passed both the state House and Senate would give DESE the choice to waive a $1.6 million penalty.

The total school spending proposal, which the School Committee reviewed last night, was for $68,984,786. The schools also return $10,175,000 to the city in charges for things like employee health insurance, employee pensions and police officers in the schools, among others.

In all, the School Department budget would come in at $79.2 million.

Scannell said seven teacher positions, open or soon to be open due to resignations or retirements, spread among the high school and the grammar schools would go unfilled to meet the budget. Other vacant program assistant positions also could be unfilled, she said.

"It was a lot of discussion with principals," she said. "For me the biggest piece was looking at class size."

Zanni emphasized that school spending, not counting the charges, would be $2.1 million higher than the current year.

The City Council will consider the School Department's budget request at a workshop on June 16 at 7:30 p.m. at City Hall. The next day, the council will hold a public hearing on the water and sewer budget and the entire 2015 budget at 7:30 p.m. at City Hall. A special meeting on the budget is planned for 8 p.m.

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