Framingham finance subcommittee says it cannot recommend school budget as $1.4 million gap remains

Framingham — The finance subcommittee of the Framingham City Council on May 15 told the full council it could not make a recommendation on the Framingham Public Schools budget because a roughly $1.4 million gap remains between the school committee’s request and the city’s recommended figures.

The subcommittee’s chair said the budget timeline imposed by the city charter and state tax-levy rules left the panel with too little information and time to produce an informed recommendation. The school committee and administration told the subcommittee they expect to continue deliberations and to reconvene before the school committee’s next meeting to try to close the gap.

The dispute centers on the school committee’s current request for an increase the administration described in a May 7 presentation as an $11,896,741 rise (6.89%). The mayor has proposed adding roughly $2.5 million toward the gap; school committee members said their most recent work reduced the shortfall to about $1,396,741 but have not finalized the request. School officials told the subcommittee they have identified personnel-focused reductions sufficient to close the difference but have not yet reached committee consensus on which positions to cut.

“We do have recommendations but again we are weighing the impact on students,” Dr. Tremblay said, describing a public list of proposed position reductions that the school committee is still debating. School officials said the reductions rely in part on retirements, vacancies and nonrenewals and that those moves would still produce approximately 4.5 actual layoffs in their current plan.

Members of the finance subcommittee pressed school leaders for specifics about which positions would be cut and the year-to-year change in FTEs and headcount; the school administration agreed to provide a year-over-year FTE and headcount comparison. Councilors also asked for the memo that enumerates the reduction options; school staff confirmed the document was circulated to subcommittee members during the meeting.

Council members repeatedly cited the charter timeline for city budget review and warned that late changes by the school committee make it difficult for the subcommittee to produce a timely, fully informed recommendation. “If you guys just said this is what we need ... it would have been one thing. But to be continuing to work on it, it puts us in a disadvantageous position,” the subcommittee chair said, noting the council can increase the levy only under state law and by a supermajority vote.

The school administration described the proposed cuts as largely personnel-related and said it has identified positions it views as “least student facing,” while acknowledging some members of the school committee disagree because of potential student impacts. Among items discussed was a previously proposed project manager position (noted in the meeting as roughly $120,000 plus benefits) that sources said had been removed.

The subcommittee and school officials also disagreed about whether the final budget book had been provided in a finalized form; school staff said a working version was published online but that pending decisions affected whether a single final book had been submitted. Members asked staff to send links and the reduction list to subcommittee members.

Because the subcommittee lacked a final school request, it decided to notify the city council at its next meeting that the subcommittee had “no recommendation” and to ask the council to table the budget so the subcommittee could meet again after the school committee votes. The group outlined a plan to hold a special subcommittee meeting to finalize its recommendation, and to return to the city council for its first and subsequent readings if necessary.

A motion to adjourn was made and seconded at the end of the meeting and was approved by the members present.

Next steps identified at the meeting included the school committee finalizing its request at its upcoming meeting, the finance subcommittee receiving the school reduction memo and FTE/headcount breakdown, and the city council deciding whether to table the budget until the subcommittee completes its follow-up meeting.