School Committee starting on budget

The Norwood School Committee met last week and discussed the big issue facing the Town over the next few years: the budget.

The Town’s budget has had around a $7 million deficit for the last three years or so, and the Town has been using free cash – an unusually abundant supply of free cash – to plug the gap every year. But that supply is running out, and officials are expecting an operational override to be necessary in the fiscal year 2029 budget.

The Schools take up a significant amount of that budget – along with a significant amount of the Town’s mandated budget requirements from the state – and Norwood Public Schools (NPS) Superintendent Timothy Luff said he’s looking to start on the district’s budget as soon as possible.

“Each year I try to come to you with a conversation about budget priorities in general and over the next month, we’ll be meeting with each department chair, department head, principal... really anyone who has a cost center for budget purposes,” he said. “We’ll be reviewing their proposals for FY28. When I have those meetings with those folks, I ask them things like ‘What are the needs that will good for improving our schools?’, because we always want to be looking forward, but at the same time, ‘What are the things we have not needed, or the things we can go without?’”

Luff said they will be looking both ways at the budget; looking at what needs to grow and what needs to be pruned.

“We always try to come into a middle ground where we can provide good forward-thinking services, but also always look back at what we don’t need anymore to try to balance that out,” he said. “And in some cases, remove services altogether to reduce budgets.”

NPS Business Official Sean Mannion said when it comes to numbers, they are looking at a level services budget based on about a 4 percent increase in overall spending. That would keep NPS at the service level it’s at now, while fulfilling contractually obligated increases where appropriate.

“So if you want to provide the same services you’re providing now, it doesn’t mean it’s going to be a zero-base budget (no increase from last year),” Luff said. “It would mean that you would have to account for those regular increases to provide for those services, like teacher salary step increases and all those kinds of things.”

School Committee Chair David Hiltz asked Luff if the Town has given NPS an estimate of what they could expect in increases this year.

“We do not have anything from the Town yet. They all start their process in a month or month-and-a-half,” Luff said. “We always start a month earlier because I want to make sure we’re ahead of the game with the school’s needs, so we’re reacting to what we need as a public school district and not a number.”

“This is why I would encourage not only my fellow members of the School Committee – but I’ve also reached out to the chairs of the Board of Selectmen and Finance Commission – and explained why we should get the Budget Balancing process started earlier. I understand November is Town Meeting month, but because of some of these things that’s why I asked for a number.”

Hiltz said he wants to try to get IMPACT Norwood squared away as soon as possible as well.

Luff said the meetings will take place over the next few weeks and will allow each director or department head to make their pitch as to what they need, or where they could trim as well.

Luff also said he wants the School Committee members to start thinking about their priorities as well during that time.

“I want to get a feel for what you’re looking for and have a similar conversation (as that of the department heads),” he said. “Are there things going into FY28 that I should just not touch in my proposed budget when I come to you? Are there things you would like me to think about adding that would be great for NPS, etc.?”

Luff said for example, after IMPACT Norwood’s presentation to the committee he and other school administrators started looking at how the Town could continue funding the program when its grant runs out. Check out The Record’s coverage of that meeting for more details – https://gvimes.link/impctnrwdsch – but the most basic explanation is that IMPACT Norwood helps reduce substance abuse in Town, and its funding is running out next year.

“In conversations with the Town, I know that they are going to put some proposals together to support part of IMPACT Norwood and I am wondering if you would like me to do the same,” he said.

Norwood School Committee member Judith Bromley said she wanted to focus on transportation and possible alternatives for such transportation where available to help save on costs. For instance, it’s been floated repeatedly that the schools may look at reducing transportation services for grades 7-12, as NPS is not required by the state to do so (though Luff said providing such transportation is a great way to help reduce chronic absenteeism).

“When we talk about transportation for grades 7-12, how else could kids get to school?” she said. “Understanding things like bike lanes or some safe means to get to school. There’s an MBTA bus that goes down Washington Street that kids could use to get to the Coakley School.”

Bromley allowed, however, that if there is no alternative to yellow bus transportation for those grades, they should continue to provide it.