Town Administrator Tim McInerney and Assistant Town Administrator Kevin Mizikar present to FY13 budget to the Finance Committee.
Photo credit: Jeremy Rice

GRAFTON, Mass. - Trimming the proverbial fat from the municipal side of Grafton's FY13 budget may be the only way to bridge a gap of more than half a million dollars from the FY13 school budget, but where Town Administrator Tim McInerney and the Finance Committee find the fat to trim from an already lean budget is yet to be seen.

The School Department is already receiving 91 percent of new dollar for FY13, but after two phases of reductions that includes staffing reductions at the new Grafton High School and lay-offs from current staff, Superintendent James Cummings is still short $522,000 for the next fiscal year.

Selectmen Brook Padgett and David Ross, as well as Planning Board Chairman Bruce Spinney and Capital Improvement Planning Committee Chairman Raul Nunez were in attendance for the public hearing.

Finding additional funding to cover the gap in the school budget will be difficult with the combination of the opening of the new school and the loss of federal stimulus funding forcing considerable belt-tightening.

That stimulus funding had been allocated to funding several positions for the past several years, but funding operational costs with one-time or short-term funding is something Grafton officials are trying to get away from.

"This budget does not require any stabilization funds or free cash," said McInerney.

Committee member Lisa Rice suggested budgeting using FY11 actual expenditures (found by subtracting that fiscal year's turn-backs from the original budget figures), which would bring the budget closer to the $522,000 the school department needs.

Nunez urged the Finance Committee to consider an override request as opposed to making cuts to the schools.

"When I lived in California, my daughter went to a school where they had 46 students to a classroom. You had to hurry to class just to get a seat. We're a long way from that, but making these cuts starts us in that direction."

The $1.6 million in free cash that had been intended for buying down the debt of the Honeywell Energy Performance Contract that was voted down at a Special Town Meeting Monday night has now been freed up for other causes.

Some free cash has been committed to the $1.4 million contribution McInerney set aside to aid the school department that also included additional Chapter 70 funds.

The Finance Committee is set to begin its Saturday meetings with the various municipal departments beginning March 10. McInerney and Finance Commitee Chairman David Libbey will be meeting at the end of this week to discuss how the two offices plan on approaching the school budget shortage.