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The 2007 Annual Town Meeting starts next
Monday night and there are many important issues
which will be reviewed, discussed and decided. Each
issue is described in detail in the Reports to the
Annual Town Meeting "blue book" which has
recently been mailed to all town residents. The report
includes a recommendation from the Advisory
Committee on each article.
Three articles directly impact the Wellesley
Public Schools. A summary of each is provided
below. A fourth request, which has great importance
for the town's financial health in the future, covers
Other Post Employment Benefits (OPEB) and
has an indirect bearing on the WPS.
We urge you to be informed and
communicate with your Town
Meeting Members on issues important to you.
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| WPS Operating Budget |
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The entire town budget is presented in Article 8. Each
town department provides a budget summary and an
explanation of increases and unusual items.
The WPS operating budget requests
an
increase of 5.5% over last year. This increase is
primarily driven by increases in compensation and
enrollment. It is critical to note that the overall
increase was held as low as it is in part due to receipt
of special education "circuit breaker" funding which accounts for
$620,000 of revenue. This funding is inconsistent
year to year. The extraordinary receipts projected for
FY08,
combined with other cost savings measures in
Special Education programming, have enabled the
WPS operating budget to remain within the 5.5%
guideline which was recommended by the Advisory
Committee at start of the budget process.
The FY08 Town Operating Budget does
not require an override for
funding.
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| Special Capital Projects |
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There are a number of capital projects on the warrant
which directly impact the WPS. They share one
common element: they are all items which require
prompt and complete attention.
The chair of the Wellesley Advisory
Committee noted in the preamble to the
Report, "As
a Town, we need to accept that we have not
adequately dealt with the capital needs of all of our
buildings/infrastructure and those significant capital
requirements must be addressed over the next
several years."
The major capital item is school infrastructure
work, totaling $11.2 million over three years,
including multiple roof replacements, new boilers,
new flooring and other renovations, primarily in the
elementary schools. There are also requests for
funding surface drainage improvements, preservation
of Morses Pond and remediation of conditions at the
Sprague Fields.
If approved at Town Meeting, these capital
projects would be funded outside of the limits of
Proposition 2 1/2 in a debt exclusion which would be
decided in a town wide vote. For a complete list of
capital budget programs, see the link to the left.
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| High School - Feasibility Study |
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The title is misleading: there has already been
significant investment in and effort made in detailing
the feasibility and design of a major renovation and
addition to Wellesley High School.
This request provides for the work to proceed
under the newly formed School Building
Committee, led by Katherine (Gig) Babson, the
chair of the Board of Selectmen, in tandem with
the Permanent Building Committee.
The requested funds will
enable the comprehensive work from Statement
of Interest through to Feasibility Study.
In this case, the
Massachusetts School Building Authority
defines a Feasibility Study to include a detailed
scope of the project, architectural and site drawings, a
description of major systems, a budget cost estimate,
permitting requirements, construction
scheduling (including phasing) and design goals.
Approval at Town Meeting will fund the work
necessary to bring the project to a Special Town
Meeting and ultimately a town vote.
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| Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB) |
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OPEB describes the benefits that a town owes or will
owe its retired employees above and beyond their
pensions, including healthcare and insurance
benefits.
Currently, this obligation is under funded by
approximately $90 million. Therefore, town officials
are proposing to fund a portion of the existing liability
outside of the limit imposed by Proposition 2 1/2 by
asking the voters to approve a funding exclusion. In
so doing, the liability can be managed with reduced
impact to future operating budgets.
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| The Last Word |
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Annual Town Meeting provides a unique
opportunity to view policy in the making. You can
attend as a observer or view on television live
(Comcast channel 9 or Verizon FiOS channel 39).
Many of the items under review will be brought
before the town residents in a vote. Therefore, it is
important to be informed about the costs and benefits
of each. The thoughtful debate which occurs at Town
Meeting is the opportune time to tune in.
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For additional information, archived
editions of this newsletter, and links to relevant town
and state websites, please visit our website at
www.committee
21.org.
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Committee for Education in the 21st
Century
