After cutting more than $700,000 from last year\u2019s budget, the Lincoln-Sudbury Regional District School Committee may be forced to reduce funding for the regional high school by more than $1.1 million in Fiscal 2010.<\/p>\n
School officials presented a grim financial forecast for L-S at a recent budget workshop held by the Lincoln Finance Committee. L-S Director of Finance Judy Belliveau said the school will face a budgetary shortfall of $1,166,174, barring successful passage of a Proposition 2 1\/2 override in Sudbury.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis could really affect us in a way that nobody could have anticipated,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s really unfathomable to us.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Belliveau, Sudbury voters could be asked to approve an override to fund a 4.5 percent budget increase for the school, beyond the 2.1 percent guideline set by the Sudbury Finance Committee. Successful passage of such an override would reduce the budget gap to about $600,000, she said.<\/p>\n
Without an override, Belliveau said, the school would be forced to make drastic cuts, which could include eliminating one administrator, 10 teachers and five support staff.<\/p>\n
Superintendent\/principal John Ritchie said these personnel cuts would lead to a dramatic increase in class size and a decrease in curricular opportunities.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe magnitude of the problem we face is profoundly alarming,\u201d Ritchie said.<\/p>\n
Ritchie acknowledged that school officials may be dealing with a \u201cperception problem\u201d as they try to convince Sudbury voters to support an override. Ritchie said some residents may suspect the administration of overstating the direness of the situation as the school appeared to have come through relatively unscathed from two failed overrides last year<\/p>\n
Ritchie said the reality is that the School Committee was able to use a series of one-time fixes, such as increasing fees for athletics and other activities, to cushion the blow of last year\u2019s cuts, limiting staff reductions to 2.5 full-time equivalent positions. But with those options exhausted, Ritchie said the next round of cuts would have a much more profound impact on the day-to-day operation of the school.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis would be a very different kind of high school,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
School Committee member Eric Harris, of Lincoln, said an override would be a tough sell in Sudbury. Harris said the issue of funding for the schools has become so politicized that each side is more interested in winning than reaching common ground.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the problem for the School Committee is we have been singing the same song in a variety of ways,\u201d Harris said. \u201cIf we are perceived as leading the effort \u2026 if we are seen as being too political \u2026 it actually hurts us more than it helps us. That\u2019s the dilemma.\u201d<\/p>\n
School Committee member Mark Collins, of Sudbury, said there has been a groundswell of citizen support for an override campaign this year. Collins said a budget symposium held at the school on Tuesday night was the first of several sessions planned to provide information and answer questions about the school\u2019s financial situation.<\/p>\n
Harris said the School Committee also plans to post frequently asked questions and other information about the budget on the Web.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" After cutting more than $700,000 from last year\u2019s budget, the Lincoln-Sudbury Regional District School Committee may be forced to reduce funding for the regional high school by more than $1.1 million in Fiscal 2010.(courtesy of wickedlocal.com) Read full article