To the editor:
Questions have recently been raised about the Tiverton School Department’s fund balance. Some are mistakenly characterizing the fund balance as huge unnecessary surpluses. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
Unlike the municipal side, the School Department has no contingency fund. Our unreserved fund balance (which has historically ranged from 0 – 3% of our budget) allows us to manage large unexpected expenses without going back to the taxpayers for additional funding or reducing programming for our students. Since our budgets are prepared 6 to 18 months in advance of actual expenditures, all our numbers are our best estimates – some years we are over and others we are under.
Unfortunately, some information being presented cherry picks data. After our budget has been set, we can still be faced with large unexpected expenses such as additional special educational and transportation costs, a broken boiler or a new state pension contribution. We cannot simply cancel classes or lay off teachers mid-year and house students in the cafeteria to offset these increases. Petitioner’s Budget #2 actually increases the council contingency fund and its supporters claim this is good financial management. But those same individuals fail to acknowledge that the schools’ unreserved fund balance is in fact our contingency fund.
Additionally, when the municipal side funds a capital expense such as a boiler replacement, it is a separate additional line item in the FTR budget. See a copy of the FTR budget, page 4. However, the school department’s capital items have not been funded in the same manner for the last few years. Working closely with the elected Budget Committee, the schools’ fund balances are carefully used year after year for the schools capital needs. These include items such as the $688,000 waste water treatment plant, repairs to our five school buildings and new technology for our students. Since 2008, the annual school FTR budget increases have averaged only 1.8% because of the responsible use of our fund balance for these expenses.
Residents are urged to attend the FTR hearing on April 30, attend a school committee meeting at any time or speak to any member of the administration. We will be happy to provide you with accurate information about our school budget and our fund balance.
It has always been a top priority of the School Committee to balance the management of the School Department’s budget with the need to provide an excellent education for our students at a reasonable cost to taxpayers.
Tiverton School Committee
William Rearick, superintendent of schools
Doug Fiore, director of administration and finance
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