and place a strain on our capacity to further restore prior cuts and develop resources and programs/services for the future: • Transportation contract increases, • Updated staff contract costs that keep us competitive in the new educational marketplace, • Health insurance benefit increases that outpace the cost of healthcare from prior decades, • An outsized and unexpected increase in out of district tuition costs statewide, • A need to prioritize proactive and planned facilities stewardship While the budget is balanced at this time, it is dependent upon the educational stabilization fund. The educational stabilization fund has an expected reach of 5 years and requires a majority vote of the city council to distribute funds. These funds are not built into the base allocation from the City but are additional funds available until depleted. The educational stabilization fund still may not fully fund the types of programs needed to keep Newton competitive within the region, state and nation. Reliance on temporary, one-time funding such as: • free cash (cash available due to savings/unspent or reimbursed monies within the city budget), • overlay funds (temporary windfalls which were turned into educational stabilization funds), • grants, and • carryforward monies (monies saved from prior years due to inability to hire all positions or reductions in contractual services needed) have allowed for a balanced budget but are not reliable sources of funding year to year. All of us need to support plans to address funding needs in a reliable and sustainable manner. As a city and school system, we are at a crossroads of decision-making in terms of how we sustainably fund the program we desire for our public-school students, the buildings in which they learn, and the types of supports, resources and training we hope to give to our staff to keep them current, thriving and happy within our workplace. Together, we need to develop a sustainable plan that will create budgetary conditions to support all students in their academic and social growth. Not devising a sustainability plan within the next two years will set up similar budgetary conditions and shortfalls leading into the next round of union contract negotiations - and I think we can all agree that we do not want a repeat of those conditions. Budgets are a statement of values. I invite you to join me in supporting a budget that allows us to grow hearts, minds and bonds for a future led by students who can independently, and safely navigate the world, and in doing so, change it for the better.
To our shared future,
Dr. Anna P. Nolin Superintendent of Schools
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