BMR schools set to hold budget talks

District school officials will pitch spending plan at public hearing

BLACKSTONE – The Blackstone-Millville Regional School Committee will hold a public hearing on Thursday for the district’s proposed school budget for fiscal year 2018.

Last month, Schools Superintendent Allen W. Himmelberger outlined a draft budget proposal developed by the leadership team and staff that would increase spending by a projected $2,216,000 in the 2017-18 school year. Himmelberger and his staff, including Assistant School Supt. David Thomason and Finance Director Cobb, are working to lower that increase before the public hearing and before a revised draft of the budget is presented to the regional school board for adoption on March 23.

“This year will be one of our toughest years for many reasons, and not just for our district, but many other districts,” Himmelberger told the committee at its last meeting. “The challenge will be bal- ancing declining revenues, reduced grants and fewer offsets with the increasing needs of our population.”

After the budget is adopted, Himmelberger and his team will meet with the selectmen and finance committees in Blackstone and Millville to discuss the final budget, which will go before voters in Millville on May 9 and in Blackstone on May 30.

Right now, the proposed $2.2 million in increased spending includes $270,000 for new staff; $434,000 for curriculum; $176,000 for technology; $176,000 for transportation; $174,000 for special education; $90,000 for facilities and maintenance; $651,000 for contractual; and $245,000 for insurance and benefits.

A public hearing on the proposed spending plan will be held later in February.

“We will try to refine this budget with the committee’s blessing to get it to a workable number, but we are facing a perfect storm,” Himmelberger said in his budget presentation

to the committee last month. “Over time we just haven’t kept pace. In five of the 11 previous years, our budget was less. Every year for the past five of six years we’re been $1 million short of what the district needs to provide opportunities for every one of our kids.”

According to Himmelberger, fiscal year 2018 is shaping up to be one of the most challenging budget cycles in recent memory, adding that the FY18 state budget released by Gov. Charlie Baker on Jan. 25 does not begin to address the Foundation Budget Review Commission’s findings completed in 2015 that show Chapter 70 funding to be at least $1 billion short of what is needed to cover rapidly increasing health insurance and special education costs.

“Furthermore, the entire foundation budget formula is outdated and does not address the costs of educating students in 2018, instead of 1993,” he said. “Our revenue and offsets continue to erode as the kindergarten grant is no longer funded and the circuit breaker reimbursement continues to lower. Our federal title grants continue to be reduced and we are being asked to comply with state and federal laws with no additional state and federal funding.”

The $91 million increase in Chapter 70 education aid in Baker’s state budget would raise that account to more than $4.7 billion and deliver an increase of at least $20 per pupil to all of the state’s 322 school districts. Based on that number, the Blackstone-Millville Regional School District Chapter 70 funding would be $35,660.

“But that doesn’t address the increases in special education services; out-of-district transportation; contractual costs around salaries; health insurance increases; and the cost of technology to keep pace with all the state has given us,” Himmelberger said. “While this is the largest Chapter 70 has ever been – about 12 percent of the state budget – at the end of the day it doesn’t support what we need to move us forward.”