On April 2, the Mattapoisett Select Board met jointly with the Finance Committee, Old Rochester Regional Superintendent of Schools Mike Nelson and Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations Howie Barber to discuss the FY27 School Budgets.
The two-hour meeting featured deep dives into funding sources and more than 20 pages of where funds are spent.
Barber reported a proposed FY27 Mattapoisett Schools (elementary) budget of $9,039,058, an estimated 4.9% increase over the FY26 local budget of $8,618,094. Barber proceeded to identify some of the “level” operational costs, while explaining the requirements of state law and pay raises resulting from collective bargaining. There are also scenarios of staff replacement in particular teaching positions that mitigate the overall result with new teachers earning less.
The proposed FY27 budget for Mattapoisett’s portion of ORR Schools is $6,484,945, a 5.75% increase over the FY26 budget to which Select Board Chairman Tyler Macallister expressed concern. He disagreed that the town’s stabilization fund, paid into by the town’s taxpayers, should be sourced to address what he defined as the school district’s problems.
The basic question coming back from elected officials was one that has been asked on an annual basis: If enrollment is trending downward, why are expenses rising?
Mattapoisett’s share of the FY27 Old Colony operating budget is proposed at $824,922.
“We feel that we have been working within the financial parameters that Mr. (Mike) Lorenco (town administrator) has set for the schools in terms of ultimately reporting to the school committee,” said Nelson, who noted the ORR School Committee’s approval of the proposed ORR Schools budget and the then-upcoming vote of the Mattapoisett School Committee of the town’s elementary-schools budget scheduled for Tuesday, April 7.
Several times during the meeting Finance Committee members returned to the matter of school enrollment and questioned why decreasing enrollment did not equate to a smaller budget. No conclusions were forthcoming, but Nelson also referred to an increase in Kindergarten enrollment with 58 new students currently enrolled.
Finance Committee member Paul Amoruso asked if the local schools had given any further consideration to merging Old Hammondtown and Center School and asked the school administrators to come up with a plan for the committee’s consideration.
“Just for the record, we fully cooperated with the Collins study when that was initiated by the town several years ago. We provided every bit of information they wanted, we sat in every meeting, every discussion. We held presentations for the public. Very few if any from the public came to hear it,” said Nelson, recalling five options having been presented to the Select Board and School Committee with associated cost estimates. “We’re happy to participate in that process again, whatever that may look like … I want to be clear, the (ORR) administration and the School Committee fully participated.”
Lest he sound defensive on the matter, Nelson clarified his response being for the sake of the public record. He later noted that he has ongoing correspondence with Town Administrator Mike Lorenco and said he wishes to comment on those matters when Lorenco can be present. (Lorenco provided some of the financial figures for this article.)
There was pushback from the Select Board regarding the increase in school budgets with Jordan Collyer saying he could not accept the budgets and would not give them an affirmative vote. Aaron Goldberg, a Finance Committee member, said, “We need an honest effort, a hard look…” at the budgets.
Also on the agenda was a previously continued, dangerous dog hearing. After careful consideration by the Select Board over the course of two meetings, it was confirmed via vote that Rocco of Cathaway Road must be leashed at all times by owner Mark Brogoli when in the public, must be remained behind adequate fencing, but does not need to be muzzled.
The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Select Board did not announce the date of its next meeting.
Mattapoisett Select Board
By Marilou Newell