Sue Flicop

Apologies for my absence to those who are following my blog!  I was overwhelmed by the avalanche of recitals, portfolio viewings, and other end-of-the-year school activities, not to mention all those meetings that need to be “fit in” before the end of the school year.

In reviewing all the interesting meetings I went to in the last half of June, I realized that I have spent a great deal of time thinking about my visit with Neil Bernstein, a School Committee member in Swampscott.   Neil has been the driving force in bringing long-range financial planning to Swampscott Public Schools (SPS), and is an avid ambassador for extending this to other school systems.

Two years ago, SPS had a year-to-year budget, just as Newton does now.   However, SPS did not have actual budget updates, accurate numbers, or a line item budget.   Newton, with a far larger budget, does have accurate and regular reporting on the budget, and is therefore starting off in a much better position to develop a long-range system.   It will still require a great deal of work, especially since Newton’s budget is so much larger.

One appealing aspect of the SPS system is its complete openness.  There is a line item in the on-line budget for each staff person, making any proposed cuts very visible and, in a sense, personal.   Everyone, including the parents, teachers, union representatives, and administrators can see exactly how much each person costs the system, and can determine how any increases (COLA and other contractual increases as well) will affect the school budget.

I’m sure that many of you have wondered like I have, if it is possible for someone to tell from Newton Public Schools’ proposed budget line items how much of a COLA increase is included in school budgets, especially during the years when a contract is still under negotiation.  It is such a complex figure–I haven’t been able to do it, but it is possible that someone might.  This year was unusual in that the Superintendent made clear that there were no increases for COLA in the FY2010 budget.

Budget openness in Newton that is similar to Swampscott’s, with a staff that includes about 1000 teachers, would lead to an incredibly cumbersome spreadsheet for the public (and the staff) to maneuver.  One issue, then, is how to bring a similar openness to Newton’s budget and still make it manageable and useful.  I think that this will be a work in progress over the next year.