05/07/2007 Annual Town Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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FinCoin Comment Note C- As in past years, the budget discussions between thel7own officials and the School Committee and Superintendent of Schools became quite protracted and contentious. This year thanks, in large measure, to the leadership of the School Committee, an agreement was finally reached between Committee and the School Committee on a budget amount. Hopefully the lessons learned from this year's experience will carry forward to next year's budget. Last year, the F'inCom made the following recommendations relative to the School Department: 0 The school administration should avail itself of the services the finance offices and the IT staffs of the town can provide them In doing so, the administration will get a much better understanding, and perhaps a real benefit, from knowing how the town funds each year's budget. At some point in the near future, the finance and accounting offices of both the town and the school should took to merge. Over the past year there were some advances, particularly in the financial accounting area, but much more is still possible. * In future budget years, the School Committee and its administration should state the goals, objectives and improvements that year's budget will work to achieve, so the FinCom can cite them as valid justifications for the requested increases. The school committee, administration, as well as, the school principals and parent groups do set goals, program expectations, and standards; however, they are not readily communicated or shared with Town Officials or the general public. In addition to those two recommendations, the FinCom recommends a third: That the School Committee and Superintendent strictly follow the Town Manager's guidelines when preparing next year's budget, and that the school's business and finance staff fully participate in the town's budgetary preparation process.