Overview of the override

The School Committee presented it's FY09 budget to the town on March 19th, and proposed a budget that makes up approximately half of the $1.1 million gap. They proposed a $496,000 override request to fund the remaining items. 

The bottom line: For the average $413,000 household, taxes will go up approximately $160 as part of the normal 2-3% tax levy. The override total is approximately $86 per year ($7.16/month). Total tax increase would be about $246.

To view the summary of costs and fees associated with and without the the override, please click here (excel spreadsheet).

What the schools will lose

Without this override, this is what will happen next school year:

• All elementary school and middle school libraries (4 in all) will close.  There will be no library services in these buildings AT ALL.  Library staff will be laid off.

• Two full-time teacher positions will be eliminated, a classroom teacher at the Mindess School and a foreign language teacher at the high school.  Classroom sizes in the Mindess School (grades 3-5) will go up. 

• Bus fees will increase from $220/child with a $400 family cap, to $280 with a $560 family cap.
  

• Athletics fees at the Middle School and High School will go up drastically, prohibiting many from participating in healthy activities that keep many teenagers positively engaged, out of trouble, and bound for college. Click here to see the fee schedule for High School and Middle School sports.

For many families, paying for the override will be far cheaper than any single fee, let alone families that will have to pay multiple fees for more than one child. In addition, property taxes are tax deductible, school fees are not.

Compelling Reasons Why The Schools Need an Override

Quality Schools Ensure Higher Property Values

Just ask any Realtor and they will tell you that one of the first questions prospective homebuyers ask is about the quality of the school system.  If the schools lack resources or cannot offer modern programs and services, real estate values drop.  It’s not the bathroom or the kitchen that preserve high property values – it's the classroom! 

We've Cut the Schools' Budget to the Bone Already

Our Per Pupil Costs Are Lower Than Our Neighbors'

When comparing per pupil expenditures as reported by the Mass. Dept. of Education for FY07, Ashland spends far less per pupil than Holliston ($257 less), Hopkinton ($515 less), and Framingham ($3,571 less).  At Holliston’s level of spending, our schools would have over $1 million more available; at Framingham’s level, our schools would have almost $10 million more to spend.

Can't We Cut Administrators?
In comparing the costs of administration in 2006-07, the Mass. Dept. of Education reported that Ashland spent $318 per pupil, Holliston spent $403 per pupil, Hopkinton spent $442 per pupil, Framingham spent $488 per pupil and Natick spent $649!  The State average was $406 per pupil for administrators. At Framingham’s level of spending, Ashland would have $340,000 more available. When the new high school was built, the schools lobbied the State and got 62% reimbursement for all costs – 6% higher than what they promised at Town Meeting!  They also got the reimbursement process accelerated, saving the town hundreds of thousands of dollars in interest expense!  Finally, the schools aggressively pursue grants and donations to lower the cost of education for taxpayers.

Our Children Are Our Future

When you went to school, someone believed in you and invested in your education.  Without adequate funding, our students are at a disadvantage especially in this global world with keen competition for college acceptance and jobs.  The lost potential for students who don’t receive computer education or who need special help in reading cannot be measured in dollars and cents.  Declining MCAS scores in the lower grades are a danger signal we cannot afford to ignore.  Today’s children are tomorrow’s leaders and a quality education is the key to their future as well as ours.

Think about your own home and how the increasing costs for heat and electricity have skyrocketed over the last few years.  In 2002, the schools' budget for electricity was $240,155.  In 2008-09 our projected cost for electricity is $649,900.  That’s an increase of 171%!  (The funds used to pay for utilities has come at the expense of supplies and school personnel.) Heating costs have also gone up by 395% during the same period.  Then there are mandated costs for special education and English as a Second Language to name just a few.  In order to pay for this huge increase in fixed costs and mandates, the schools have cut back on instructional supplies.  In 2001, the schools spent approx. $272,000 on classroom supplies.  In 2008-09, the schools have budgeted just $__________ even though we’ll have 150 more students than we did in 2001-02.  That’s all we can afford to spend!

Financial Impacts