FALMOUTH — Proposed school and municipal budgets in Falmouth would require a 5.7 percent increase to the tax rate.

The proposed municipal budget for fiscal year 2019 is $12.7 million, an increase in spending of nearly $276,000, according to Town Manager Nathan Poore. If adopted, the municipal portion of the budget would add 9 cents to the tax rate, an increase of $27 a year for the owner of a home with an assessed value of $300,000.

The proposed 2019 school budget totals $37.1 million, an increase of $1.3 million in spending, Superintendent of Schools Geoff Bruno said. If adopted, school spending would add 81 cents to the tax rate, an increase of $243 a year for the owner of a house assessed at $300,000.

If both are passed as proposed, the total tax rate would increase to $16.52 from $15.62 per $1,000 of real estate valuation.

The School Board is scheduled to hold a special meeting April 2 to approve a new education budget, which would then go to a joint public hearing scheduled for 7 p.m. on April 4 at Town Hall. A voter referendum is scheduled for June 12.

Dan O’Shea, the director of finance and operations for the School Department, said last week that the School Board’s Finance Committee has been “whittling down and reviewing” the proposed budget and more changes are likely after a joint meeting with the Town Council’s Finance Committee on Monday. He said the single biggest factor affecting the school budget is a reduction of nearly $733,000 in state aid to education. “That’s a 32-cent impact (on the tax rate) right there,” O’Shea said.

A request for a new school resource officer at the elementary and middle schools is not included in the School Department’s proposed budget, but will be part of the municipal budget request, according to Falmouth police Lt. John Kilbride.

The Police Department picks up the expense for the current school resource officer and a new officer would be part of its budget beginning in January 2019, Kilbride said. He said internal adjustments would be made for the six months between the start of the fiscal year on July 1 and the start of 2019 in order to accommodate the cost of hiring the second school officer, which is anticipated to be about $45,800.

Overall, the proposed school budget represents an increase in spending of 3.7 percent, Bruno said. Along with a new kindergarten teacher to accommodate enrollment growth, other personnel requests include a third guidance counselor at the elementary school and an additional world language teacher and computer science/technology teacher at the middle school.

At the high school, a new assistant athletic director is being proposed, as are new part-time positions that would “diversify our music offerings to include strings and music theory, expand on our computer science courses, and strengthen individualized support for all students in mathematics,” Bruno said.

On the municipal side of the budget, Poore said the proposed spending package represents a 3 percent increase. New positions for the town include a full-time emergency medical attendant/firefighter and increasing the town registrar’s position to 25 hours a week.

Kate Irish Collins can be reached at 710-2336 or kcollins@theforecaster.net. Follow Kate on Twitter: @KIrishCollins.

 

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