Revisit the Budget!

The numbers are broken down for us: 3.8% salary increases due cost of living increases; 1.5% transportation increases; 1.2% staffing increases for the new Coakley Middle School; 1.6% miscellaneous expenses.

We need to take a closer look at this budget. You can’t just keep whacking the taxpayers at every turn in the road.

I don’t get why there’s such a large expense to move the 5th graders to the Coakley Middle School. These are not all new 5th graders coming to Norwood for the first time; there should be roughly the same number this year as last year, and we managed to get them all to the elementary schools before the change. Why didn’t we know about this additional transportation expense when planning this move?

Why all the staffing increases? Do we have a corresponding influx of new middle school students?

Then there’s the miscellaneous 1.6% increase (for tuition, supplies, equipment, curriculum materials, professional development, athletics, lunch stipend and copiers). Why are we paying tuition? Why is so much equipment necessary? Can’t the equipment in the old school be utilized in the new school? Why do we need all the new copiers?

We can provide an excellent education for our kids without depleting our financial resources. We need to go through this budget with a fine-tooth comb to weed out wasteful spending.

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Steve Konetchy

District 4 TMM