Schools to make major decision on Jan. 21
Wood chips, new positions likely topics

By NATHAN LAMB | Milton Independent Staff Writer
mireporter@mac.com

The budget season is rapidly coming to a close and, after months of discussion, the School Board appears set for a decision on converting the schools to wood chip heat this year.

The $2.4 million project is being targeted to reduce the district's fuel bills and reliance on fossil fuels, and is mostly eligible for a 90 percent reimbursement from the state. However, rising construction costs and uncertainty about the timeframe for reimbursement (and how much interest the district will carry in the meantime) has resulted in some public outcry against the idea.

While the state's reimbursement timeframe remains uncertain, the current FY09 budget proposal includes $113,400 for wood chip project expenses. The board will need to make a decision about whether that stays in the budget by month's end, said board Chairman Doug Stout on Jan. 14.

“Timeline-wise, we pretty much have to make a decision on this, certainly by the 28th, preferably on the 21st,” he said, referencing meetings left before the district's deadline to produce a budget.

The current budget proposal calls for an increase of $1,451,587--- or 6.78 percent – over last year's budget. In addition to the wood chip money, it also includes a new full-time staff position at both the elementary and high schools.

Even so, Stout termed the wood chip question a key unknown during discussion with board member Steve Rose, who is leading a subcommittee evaluating the issue.

Rose previously favored a phased approach to wood chip conversion to alleviate tensions about the local contribution to the project, which have risen from an estimated $240,000 to $540,000.

On Jan. 14, Rose said there were certain economies-of-scale with doing everything at once that made a phased approach almost a waste of time. He added analysis of the fuel savings indicated it may be better to just convert both schools.

“It's looking really positive,” he said.

While the legislature has not given any indications about its reimbursement schedule, Rose said there were positive signs there too. The Department of Education is proposing $13 million for school construction projects this year, up from $10 million last year, he said.

Most estimates of the reimbursement timeframe have payments beginning somewhere between 2-5 years, with the budget carrying an estimated $113,000 of interest annually until then.

Rose reported cases where other districts converted and were paid quickly, though board vice chairman and legislator Reg Godin said 12 districts are currently in the same situation as Milton and haven't had any funds set aside yet.

Those figures were set against likely cost increases in natural gas, which is currently the primary heat source at the schools. Rose's calculations included a projected 4.8 percent annual increase in gas prices, and included a double-digit increase in the current year.

While a majority of the board has maintained interest in the project for that reason, board member Jim Lyons expressed doubt any budget including the conversion could pass town meeting. On the other side, Godin said he'd like to see the change to wood chips but acknowledged it could be a budget decision.

“It comes down to what's going to happen with our tax rate,” he said.

In terms of personnel, the Jan. 14 budget included a new assistant principal at the high school and a behavior specialist at the elementary school, both at an estimated cost of about $70,000. Also included was elimination of the Student Resource (police) Officer at the High School, which was estimated as saving a similar amount of money.

Brief presentations were given on the new positions: the behavior specialist would work with students and staff to meet the unmet needs of children that have higher-than-normal behavioral referrals, said Principal Jennifer Wood. She said the need centers on so-called “cohort groups," a group of less than 50 students who generated over half the written behavioral referrals over the past couple years.

“The needs of theses students are not being met in our current system of supports,” she said.

On the high school side, Principals Anne Blake and Laurie Hodgdon said they work under the highest administrator-to-student ration in the state, and listed a number of reasons why additional administrative support would benefit students, teachers, and families.

The School Board took no action on either request, though Lyons predicted that a budget including the additional principal would also have no chance of passing town meeting.

Following a year that took three tries to get a budget approved, School Board members have repeatedly said they're looking for something voters can support this spring. After the meeting, Lyons urged people to get involved now, instead of waiting for town meeting.

“I'm going to suggest that anybody who feels strongly—one way or another-- about these issues attend the board meeting and make their feelings known before we make a decision that locks it into the budget, and leaves their only recourse to make their feelings known at the March election,” he said.