• Quabbin school board may trim $32M budget

• By Bradford L. Miner
  Correspondent

  
  Posted Aug. 19, 2016 at 7:58 PM
  
  

  BARRE – With final state budget figures in hand, the Quabbin Regional School Committee will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday to consider further reducing its $32 million fiscal 2017 budget.

  Based on assessments approved at annual town meetings in June, Barre has already met its obligation of $5,126,455, and Hubbardson will have exceeded its assessment of $4,274,783, if the committee adopts the revised budget figures.

  Cheryl Duval, Quabbin’s director of administrative services, said selectmen in the five district towns had recently been notified of the potential new reduction and revised assessments based on final fiscal 2017 state budget numbers.

  Mrs. Duval said the letter explains that state Chapter 71 regional transportation reimbursements were higher than projected while "Special Education Circuit Breaker" reimbursements were $23,553 lower than expected.

  That change, transferring excess transportation funds held in reserve, would allow the school district to further reduce assessments sent to the towns in July based on $1 million in cuts to the budget.

  New Braintree, Oakham and Hardwick, facing percentage increases of 8.5 percent, 9.98 percent and 9.97 percent, respectively, had already scheduled special town meetings to vote on revised assessments.

  Oakham will be asked to approve an assessment of $2,038,421 at a special town meeting at 7 p.m. Aug. 24 in the Oakham Center School. Hardwick will vote at 7 p.m. Aug. 25 on an assessment of $2,330,773 and New Braintree voters will act on the request for $1,199,671 at 7 p.m. Aug. 29 in the town hall.

  Four of the five district towns must approve assessments for the fiscal 2017 budget to be adopted.

  Lacking that approval at the start of the new fiscal year on July 1, the Quabbin district has been operating on one-twelfth of the fiscal 2016 budget on a month-to-month basis.