Committee presses administration to restore two teachers as FY20 budget debate centers on rising class sizes

Freetown-Lakeville Regional School Committee members pressed district leaders on the proposed FY2020 budget on March 11, asking the superintendent to seek ways to restore two classroom teacher positions while keeping the budget's overall dollar request unchanged.

Committee members said the budget as presented would raise average elementary class sizes and highlighted a specific concern about the fifth-grade cohort at Grace, where the proposed staffing would increase class sizes sharply. "I'd like to see us realign our priorities in this budget to bring their classroom size back to a level that I think is acceptable," a committee member said during the discussion.

The administration told the committee it had prioritized some staffing additions at the intermediate and middle school levels and had shifted several line items to more accurately reflect actual salaries and one-time purchases. Business manager Ashley (identified in the meeting packet and discussion as the district's business manager) explained the FY19-to-FY20 recalibration: "When there are large differences ... it's because they are just moving from one line item to another," she said, pointing to textbook and salary line-item adjustments.

The committee reviewed district data showing an upward trend in students identified as "high needs" (a state-defined category that includes students with IEPs and other identified needs). The administration said the district-wide percentage of high-needs students is higher than in previous years and noted concentrations in some elementary grades. A building administrator said the third-grade class at one elementary school included a high number of students with IEPs and social-emotional needs, increasing pressure on staffing and interventions.

Board members debated the fiscal and operational trade-offs of restoring personnel while holding the overall budget steady. The superintendent said he would explore options and return to the committee with proposals: "If that's the directive, we'll have that done for you for the next meeting," he said. Committee members specified the request should be net-zero to the current proposed budget (i.e., restore two teachers without increasing the total appropriation).

Committee members also discussed longer-term staffing and program questions, including the district's team-teaching model at Grace and whether the district should study alternate grade-level configurations. District instructional staff cautioned that any change to team-teaching or to a three-person team structure would have scheduling and licensure implications.

Administrators flagged several budget-related items that remain unresolved or under review, including utility and boiler replacement costs, insurance for an underground storage tank at one elementary school, and possible warrant-article timing for capital needs. The business manager said the district had applied for a Green Communities grant that, if approved, would fund work at the high school and that the grant application was submitted by Lakeville staff.

The committee did not adopt a final budget at the meeting but set a procedural timetable: the regional finance committee will present a recommendation April 11, and the committee expects to finalize the package after that step. The superintendent and business manager will return with updated numbers and options to restore the two teachers on a net-zero basis.

Looking ahead, the committee asked administration to bring clearer cost-offset options and to supply additional staffing and high-needs enrollment data as the budget process continues.