“We’ve got to do something about that,” said Marion Finance Committee member Karen Kevelson on January 28 with a draft of the FY2017 Sippican School budget in hand. “They’re out of control.”
Kevelson, frank in her thoughts on the school’s various proposed line items, took control of the discussion and addressed a number of new requests above a level-funded budget, which accounted for an increase of $212,990, or 10 percent, Kevelson said. The Finance Department issued department heads a memorandum requesting a level-service budget as the town faces an approximate $1 million deficit.
New requests include three new aides, an additional first grade teacher, a new kindergarten teacher, and part-time health and part-time computer teachers. “What I want to do is call Doug [Superintendent White] tomorrow and tell him that he has got to get this down.”
Kevelson was skeptical of the request for three aides, presumably to staff the new breakfast program at the school as part of their duties.
“[And] they want to use them for recess because I guess teachers don’t want to do that anymore,” Kevelson said. She then criticized the breakfast program.
“I wouldn’t have thought we’d need it financially,” said Kevelson about the breakfast program. “And, if kids have breakfast at home and then they’re going to go to school and have another breakfast, if they don’t exercise then they’re going to start to gain weight.”
She added that she does not support last year’s hire of a full-time assistant principal, saying the school’s student body of 459 did not merit the position.
“I think a part-time was fine,” said Kevelson. She acknowledged the increased data collection resulting from new state accountability requirements, however, “These are normal kids. I mean, this is Marion,” continued Kevelson. “You don’t have kids pulling out knives and threatening bringing guns to school and threatening teachers.”
As for a part-time health teacher, Kevelson said she thinks a basic health class taught by the physical education teacher would suffice.
“I believe in Health and all that, but I think Health [class] is more important in seventh grade through twelfth.”
Kevelson shared comments from a recent phone call she had with someone who was considering moving to Marion who was “not impressed” with the school system. She went on about how, of course, Marion could not compete with a school system like Lexington, adding, “If you have a child with special needs, then this is the town to be in then. I didn’t just say that,” she said without pausing.
“We have to make some more cuts before we go forward,” said acting Chairman Peter Winters.
“I think the budget should come down ten percent,” said Kevelson.
The committee turned to the regional school budget.
“I haven’t even looked at the regional budget yet because that just scares me,” Kevelson said.
Like during a prior meeting, the topic of a possible request for a second assistant principal for the high school came up.
“You can want all you want,” said Kevelson. “Does he want it? Yes. Does he need it? No.”
Also during the meeting, the committee sat down with Harbormaster Isaac Perry and Police Chief Lincoln Miller to go through their departments’ budgets.
The committee was pleased that both budgets were aligned with the request to keep them level service, with mostly contractual employee salaries accounting for the slight increases.
Perry requested $55,000 for the replacement of two control boat motors that he said would come out of the Waterways Account. Other than that, he said he did not foresee any significant capital projects for the next five years.
Miller presented his budget, which is up 1.96 percent from last year’s budget, he said, mostly because of contractual salary increases.
Although he did not request it in this year’s budget, Miller asked if at some point the committee would consider granting him funding for an administrative assistant.
“There’s never been an administrative assistant. I do my own paperwork. I do my own everything,” said Miller modestly. “I didn’t put it in here, but I did want to bring it up.” He said he often takes paperwork home with him at night – “a lot of paperwork.”
“Keep us reminded of that over the year,” Kevelson told him. “For next year’s budget, put in a part-time ‘AA’ and we’ll see how it goes.”
The next meeting of the Marion Finance Committee is scheduled for February 3 at 7:00 pm at the Recreation Center on Atlantis Drive.
By Jean Perry
