Moretown school budget (projected)
Moretown Elementary School is still in the midst of budget talks, but right now the board is looking at a 3.8 percent increase over last year's budget of $2,050,675, Principal Duane Pierson reports.
In order to keep the increase low, "We've had some reductions in supplies," Pierson said, as well as reductions in staff. For FY2015, the school will cut down on one full-time paraeducator and one part-time nursing assistant.
The projected budget reflects a 4.5 percent increase in health insurance costs and a 3.5 percent salary increase, as well as continued debt load costs from the school's renovation and roofing projects.
Moretown Elementary School expects an enrollment of 120 students in preschool through sixth grade, with per pupil spending at about $16,000, although that number is subject to any changes made at the board's final budget meeting on Monday, January 13.
Despite a slight decline in enrollment, "We still have a lot of great programs at our school," Pierson said, such as Moretown Education Center for All (MECA), a self-sustaining child care and afterschool program; Educating Children Outdoors (ECO), and programs with the Vermont Rural Partnership.
Warren sets elementary school budget
By Rachel Goff
Warren Elementary School set its budget at $2,358,155 for FY2015, representing a 2.6 percent increase over last year.
That number factors in a 4.5 percent increase in health insurance costs and a 3.5 percent projected salary increase, "so coming in at [under] a 3 percent increase overall is actually pretty good," Principal Wendy Cobb reports.
Next year's budget is based on an enrollment of 155 students, not counting the roughly 32 students enrolled in the school's pre-kindergarten program and per pupil spending is at $13,104.
Overall, "spending is pretty level" for next year, Cobb said, explaining that the school has made no reductions or increases in staff. One of the things the school is investing "a little more money" in is technology, she said, as Warren and the rest of The Valley schools are looking into improving their wireless internet systems.
The Warren School Board also agreed on Tuesday, January 7, to purchase an additional iPad cart for the building. The school purchased its first iPad cart two years ago, and "teachers and students are using them quite a bit," Cobb said. Eventually, she said she'd like to see every teacher in the school have an iPad, "but that's not something we're talking about this year," she said.
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