The Watertown City School District Board of Education considered two options Monday night: raise the tax levy more than 18 percent and conform to state Education Department guidelines, or raise the levy about 3 percent and break the rules.
They chose the latter.
"We have to be fiscally responsible to the voters and present the most reasonable budget," said Terry N. Fralick, district superintendent. "It would not be in good conscience for us to be in compliance with these rules."
"These rules" refer to the guidelines the state set forth for the Contract for Excellence, which controls the use of about $2.65 million in state aid the district must set aside for new and existing programming.
Under the contract guidelines, the district would have to use 25 percent, or $663,337, for existing programs, and 75 percent, or $1,990,012, for new programs in 2008-09.
Asked what kind of punishment the district could receive for not following the rules, Mr. Fralick said, "They could deny us state aid or, worst-case scenario, I could be fired. They could take away my superintendent's certification."
The district, along with 56 others in the state, was awarded the Contract for Excellence in November. Districts on in-need-of-improvement lists mandated by the No Child Left Behind act that have gotten more than a 10 percent increase in state aid are required to be under the Contract for Excellence. The contract stipulates what programs can be implemented and in what areas staff can be hired.
Since the inception of the program, the same equation of how the district can spend the money has applied. This year, the district abided by the rules and used 75 percent for new programs. But next year, only 25 percent of the money would be eligible to fund the programs started this year.
"We don't need all that money for new programs," said Lynne Wight, district business manager. "It just doesn't make sense."
Under the proposal that the board favored, $2,348,816, or about 88 percent of the district's increase in state aid this year, would go toward existing programs and $304,533, or about 12 percent, would go toward new programs.
"We don't need new programs next year; we don't need new staff," Mr. Fralick said. "We need some common sense in Albany."
When the Contract for Excellence began, state Education Department officials told the districts they would approve the contracts by the beginning of the 2007-08 school year so staff could be hired in time for the beginning of school. Instead, the money wasn't awarded until November. Many school districts decided to hire the teachers and implement the programs starting in September without official approval.
Three districts, including Watertown, decided to follow the rules, and many at Watertown were upset when the districts that didn't follow the rules weren't punished.
"This time, I think we implement our program and say, 'Sorry if you don't like it,'" board member Patrick J. Powers said at the meeting.
"We don't need to be the recipient of politicians' failures," said Kenneth F. Netto, board member.
"I think we need to make a statement," Mr. Fralick said.
The district's preliminary budget for 2008-09 is $57,073,978, which is up 10.3 percent from $51,733,910 this year.
The tax levy, or the amount to be raised by property taxes, would be $13,556,564, up 3.2 percent from $13,113,524.
Aside from a standard hike in salaries, utilities and fuel, the only increases in spending are for an additional school resource officer, for about $55,000, that would patrol at Case Middle and H.T. Wiley Intermediate schools, and for a maintenance van, for about $25,000.
The board will adopt the budget at its Tuesday meeting. The public vote on all school budgets is May 20.
