Schools

School Committee Approves $49.65 Million for FY 12

Salem Public Schools dips into City's ice and snow removal budgets to close the gap.

The  School Committee has approved a total of $49.65 million for the FY 12 school year, including funds for the .

Allocations for operations of Salem Public Schools will total $48.886 million — $38,190, 294 for FY 12 salaries and $10,695,706 for non-salaries — a 2.85 percent increase from FY 2011.

Funds for the Charter School totaled $764,000.

Addressing questions about the possiblility more funding will be needed to set up and run the Charter School, Superintendent Dr. William Cameron said "I think it's highly unlikely the Charter School will be unable to operate under the approved [budget]."

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Cameron said Acting Business Manager Dr. James Picone had to work to close the "$764,000 gap…in the budget figures."

Picone said he worked closely with principals and other departments within the schools to whittle the gap down to $150,000.

"There were 30 [or so] line items," Picone said. "I got to the point where I was stuck at $150,000." In order to avoid making cuts or reducing staff, Picone said he worked with City Finance Director Richard Viscay, Jr. to apply money from the City's snow and ice removal budget to the school budget.

Though the budget isn't "painless," since "not everyone got everything they wanted," Mayor Kimberley Driscoll said it "was not as painful as it could have been."

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Nonetheless, Driscoll said she wants to make sure the Committee is being "judicious" about how funds are allocated and look for ways to be more efficient with FY 2013 "on the horizon."


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