Town of Princeton, Mass.
BOARD OF SELECTMEN --- March 4, 2013
Open Meeting
6:00 PM The meeting was called to order in the Town Hall Annex. Present were Chairman Edith Morgan, Stan Moss, Neil Sulmasy and Town Administrator John Lebeaux.
Also present were Wachusett Regional School Committee members Julie Kelly (Rutland) and Robert Imber (Princeton), Thomas Prince Middle School Enrollment Study Committee members Toryn Bright and Dawn Sulmasy, Wachusett Regional School District (WRSD) Interim Superintendent Anthony Gasbarro, WRSD Director of Business and Finance Joseph Scanlon, WRSD Director of Operations Darryl McCall, WRSD Director of Human Resources Susan Sullivan, Kelley Gangi, Director of Curriculum and Thomas Prince School (TPS) Principal Mary Cringan.
The Advisory Board conducted in its own concurrent posted meeting with separate minutes.
Receive Wachusett Regional School District Budget Presentation
Superintendent Gasbarro and his team presented a PowerPoint presentation titled WRSD FY 2014 Initial Budget Proposal March 2, 2013. Members of the Board and the Advisory Board participated in discussion throughout.
The presentation showed a reduction in the amount of $636,848 in the proposed Total Assessment to Princeton for Fiscal 2014 compared to Fiscal 2013 based on changes in the foundation formula. Said reduction is based on Governor Patrick’s FY 2014 State Budget Proposal that assumes two billion dollars in additional state revenue resulting from his proposed tax increases. There was a consensus that a tax increase of that size was unlikely so a reduction in Total Assessment of that magnitude was also unlikely.
Mr. Scanlon indicated he would quickly respond to apparently inconsistent enrollment totals in the presentation slides, a request for further explanation of the Instructional Support budget line-item, an information request about the Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB) liability and related planning, and the status or responses to recommendations contained in recent Auditor’s Management Letters
At the conclusion of the presentation, Supt. Gasbarro briefly reported that a recent survey conducted of families district-wide demonstrated that there is a great deal of interest in a theme-based program being established at TPS. The survey results showed a strong preference for a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) program. Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) has been enlisted to assist in the development of a curriculum.
Supt. Gasbarro indicated that the planning would begin shortly, ramp up in September, 2013 with the goal of full implementation in September, 2014. He also mentioned preliminary planning of low or no cost transportation models to provide busing for in-district students not living in Princeton to attend TPS.
The Board indicated its approval of the district’s work in this regard.
At 7:45 PM the Board voted unanimously to adjourn.
Respectfully submitted,
John Lebeaux,
Town Administrator
Referenced Documents: PowerPoint Presentation, “WRSD FY 2014 Initial Budget Proposal March 2, 2013”
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