Thursday, September 28, 2017

Time to start the concern on FY19, Worcester

I just wanted to flag yesterday's article (which looks like it's about last week's school committee meeting?) about the projected FY19 Worcester Public Schools budget. It's projected, in overall enrollment, to be flat. Because Worcester is an at (or just above) foundation district, the budget is nearly entirely enrollment driven: no increase in enrollment, no increase in the budget. As Mr. Allen points out, they don't yet have ELL and low income numbers nailed down, so there's still some possibility there for growth, but at least ELL jumps will also mean the need for additional staff or programs, so that won't help, either.
The only additional element not mentioned in the article is inflation. You can expect something like a 3% increase in overall costs; rarely is the inflation fact in the foundation budget anything like that.
If you haven't asked the Legislature about the Foundation Budget Review Commission lately, please do.

No comments: