Around Town

Top Stories of 2014 on Watertown News

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Watertown had its share of news this year, but here are the top stories of 2014. 1. Development – No matter what part of town you live in, a new project was built, approved or proposed. On the west side, Pleasant Street has been hot, and the Town Council and Planning Board have looked at ways to prevent more large residential complexes coming to that area. Arsenal Street looks to be the next big area of development, with plans to renovate Arsenal on the Charles, the approved hotel near the malls, and new projects closer to Watertown Square – including the approved 202-204 Arsenal Street and the proposed Greystar project.

Government

School, Town Discuss Reasons for Last Year’s Budget Freeze

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School and Town officials have been looking into why the school budget got in such bad shape that a spending freeze was put into place, and then why the schools ended up with a budget surplus. The budget appeared so out of balance in January that freezes were made on most purchases, including paper for classrooms. This move was made after Town Auditor Tom Tracy recommended the School Administration do so. Special education costs also came in higher that expected, and on May 20, 2014 Superintendent Jean Fitzgerald reported a $640,000 shortfall. A week later the deficit has been adjusted to $355,000 and by June 2 the “perceived deficit” was gone, according to a report by the Council’s Education and School Systems Matters Committee. In August, the School Department reported a surplus of $770,000.

Government

See How the Schools Used Nearly $1 Million From the Town

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At Monday’s School Committee meeting, Watertown School officials detailed how they used an infusion of nearly $1 million it received from the town budget last spring. The one-time funds were provided as a boost to the curriculum. The money went to upgrade technology and to update curriculum materials, said Assistant Superintendent Dari Donovan. The district received $210,000 from the Fiscal 2014 budget and $750,000 from the Fiscal 2015 budget. Due to tight budgets, curriculum materials have not been updated in some time, Donovan said.

Schools

School Officials Have Plan to Avoid Financial Problems This Year

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Last school year, the Watertown Public Schools had to freeze spending when they had a major mid-year deficit, but they ended up with a large surplus. The Fiscal 2014 budget looked like it could be a major problem for Watertown school officials, who froze spending in January when the school budget ran $926,000 in the red, said Superintendent Jean Fitzgerald. The district turned it around, but officials still appeared to have a major problem in June when they though they needed to make up a shortfall in the special education budget of about $640,000. It turns out the money was not needed. At Monday’s School Committee meeting, Watertown Director of Business Services Charles Kellner said the district ended the year with a $770,00 surplus.

Development

Councilor Warns Building Moratorium Could Impact Town, School Budget

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Residents concerned about the pace and size of development in Watertown have requested a building moratorium on Arsenal Street, but a Town Councilor said stopping the projects could impact the town and school budgets. The town relies heavily on property tax revenues to fund town departments, including the Watertown Public Schools. Town Councilor Vincent Piccirilli said that new development is one of the keys to increasing the budget. The schools too rely heavily on the town’s appropriation. “The school appropriation increased almost 7 percent (for Fiscal 2015), and how were we able to do that under Proposition 2 1/2, was though new growth through new development in town,” Piccirilli said.

Government

Town Will Hire Third Party Auditor to Look at School Budget

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After a long and detailed look at the Watertown Public Schools budget this year left Town officials with questions, an outside auditor will be hired to look at the school budget – particularly the special education portion. The rising cost of special education this year concerned Town Councilors. School officials said the district had an unusual number of new students move in with high-cost special needs, plus the town has had a spike in students who need special needs services. Part of this was due to the students who lived near the area of the shootout with the Boston Marathon Bombing suspects having emotional problems. (Read more here). After the Fiscal 2015 was approved, the Town Council voted unanimously to approve Town Manager Michael Driscoll’s request to hire a third-party auditor to examine the school budget.

Government

School Officials Will Try to Reduce Class Sizes, Mandated Positions Must Come First

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After finding out that they will not receive as much funding as they hoped, Watertown school officials will try to reduce class sizes with the money they have, said Superintendent Jean Fitzgerald. The schools asked for a $1 million on top of the $2.267 million increase in the preliminary town budget. Tuesday, they received $290,000. (See details from the meeting by clicking here). Last week Fitzgerald said about $640,000 from the $1 million request was needed to cover the increase in special education costs, and the remaining money would go to hire teachers to reduce class sizes.

Government

Town Budget Includes Boost for Schools, but Not as Much as Requested

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The Town Council passed a budget Tuesday night that includes a $290,000 boost for special education costs, but not the $1 million requested last week by the School Committee or the amount requested by the Superintendent in April. The money from the amendment brings the total education budget to $39.232 million, an increase of $2.557 million. Also approved were two one-time curriculum fundings of $210,000 in Fiscal 2014 and $750,000 in Fiscal 2015. The total increase is a 9.59 percent increase over Fiscal 2014, said Town Manager Michael Driscoll. The amendment fell short of the $1 million requested by the School Committee last week ($640,000 for special education and $360,000 to reduce class sizes).