Using free cash to bolster school budget not ideal, town administrator says

LAKEVILLE -- Taking $1.35 million from the town’s stabilization fund to bolster the regional school budget represents “the best of a bunch of bad options,’’ Town Administrator Andrew Sukeforth said during an informational session Wednesday, July 15.

The session, which was held at the Lakeville Library, provided residents with information about the upcoming Special Town Meeting July 27, which is being held  to reconsider the school budget.

The Special Town Meeting was called by the Freetown-Lakeville Regional School Committee after Lakeville Town Meeting voters on June 6 approved an amount lower than what the school district was seeking.

The school committee had asked Lakeville to fund $1.7 million to cover Lakeville’s portion of the increase in the school budget. Instead, the town opted to pay $350,000, leaving the schools $1.3 million short.

The school committee then voted not to accept that figure but to call for another Lakeville town meeting to reconsider the issue.

The town has proposed taking $1.35 million from the stabilization account, what is commonly referred to as a “rainy day fund,’’ to make up the difference.

Voters on May 19 already rejected an override, which would increase taxes, to fund the entire school request.

That left three options, Sukeforth said. The town could take money from its operating budget, which funds daily operations, take money from the stabilization fund or develop some combination of the two.

Using the stabilization has potential negative impacts, Sukeforth said, including a possible drop in the town’s bond rating and the concern that the problem will continue next year if one-time funding is used. 

Given their choices, select board members opted to use the stabilization account. Going into the town budget when the fiscal year is underway and some payments have already been made can be a tricky process, Town Accountant and Finance Director Michael Ellis said.

Three other articles are proposed by resident Bryan Enloe. These articles, which will be reviewed by town counsel, take funds from a variety of town sources, including free cash, which is money that wasn’t spent in prior years, and the septic loan program.

An increase in health insurance costs is a major factor in the school budget number,  Freetown-Lakeville School District Finance Director Jack Higgins said.

School committee members have said that the lower budget amount would result in significant numbers of layoffs that would impact class size and program offerings.

This could cause the New England Association of Schools and Colleges to look at the high school’s accreditation, school officials have said.

One resident, who refused to provide his name, questioned why there was not more “pushback’’ on the school’s budget requests.

But Lakeville resident Bob Marshall said that inflation is a legitimate explanation for the budget hike. He noted that while Proposition 2 ½ prevents town from increasing taxes above 2 ½ percent of the levy limit, “my grocery bill is going up more than 2 ½ percent.’’

He said the “state is a big portion of the problem, not all of the problem but a big part of the problem.’’

He offered to go to the Statehouse to protest the funding amounts. Enloe agreed with him.

Finance Committee member Barbara Mancovsky said no one should blame teachers or any town or school official for the situation. She said the town has always worked to keep expenses down and urged the community to look more closely at health insurance costs.

But taking from the stabilization fund is not the answer, she said. She compared that to “using a credit card to pay your mortgage.’

Select board members will review the Special Town Meeting articles at their July 21 meeting and possibly make recommendations then.

Select Board member Chris Plonka has already made his decision known. “I will not support any article [that relies on] one-time revenue and impacts services,’’ he said at the informational session.