Lakeville’s cut of school district budget rises 5%
Feb 7, 2023
From left, Freetown-Lakeville School Committee Member Will Sienkewicz with Freetown-Lakeville Superintendent Alan Strauss, Director of Curriculum Teri Fleming, Director of Finance Kara Lees, Director of Student Services Ashley Bouley, and Executive Assistant Renee Rodrigues. Photos by Rusty Gorelick
Freetown-Lakeville School Committee members, from left, John Burke, Stephen Sylvia, Sherrill Barron, and Steve Owen.
LAKEVILLE — Lakeville residents will be asked to pay an additional $913,398 toward the Freetown-Lakeville School District budget in Fiscal Year 24, for an increase of 5.65 percent.
The preliminary budget was discussed at a Freetown-Lakeville School Committee meeting on Feb. 3. The total Fiscal Year 24 budget for the district is projected to be $45,569,530.
“The budget is a reflection of our values and aspirations,” said Superintendent Alan Strauss. He added that students are the district’s number one priority.
Lakeville is slated to contribute $17,087,369 of that total in Fiscal Year 24, which runs from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024 and encompasses the 2023/24 school year.
The Fiscal Year 23 budget was $43,340,701, with Lakeville contributing $16,173,971.
Staff salaries are predicted to rise by almost $1.2 million from Fiscal Year 23 to Fiscal Year 24.
The district plans to hire two paraprofessionals for Assawompset Elementary School in Lakeville, a special education teacher for George R. Austin Intermediate School, which takes in students from both towns, and a special education team leader.
District administration predicts 100 more students will enter special education programs from pre-K through fifth grade in 2023/24.
“Our elementary school special education numbers are through the roof,” said Director of Student Services Ashley Bouley.
As a result, money budgeted for transporting special education students is slated to rise $86,569, which is more than the previous two years’ increases combined.
Freetown is slated to contribute $13,762,286. That is an increase of $749,571, or 5.76%, of the town’s $13,012,715 contribution in Fiscal Year 23.
Of the 2,777 students in the district as of 2022, 1,526 live in Lakeville and 1,185 are Freetown residents.
As of 2022, 66 students were enrolled through School Choice, which allows a limited number of students to attend a district they do not live within.
The state is slated to add $11,350,363 to the Fiscal Year 24 budget, which is an increase of $83,340 from the previous year.
