LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — The Elementary School Committee is not asking for any increase in this upcoming budget.

 

Interim Superintendent Kimberly Grady presented to the Lanesborough Finance Committee on Monday and said while the spending is up by 1.49 percent, that increase is being covered by school choice revenues.

 

Therefore, the appropriation from the town would be the same as this year to fund the proposed budget. 

 

"In order to be mindful of the concerns in Lanesborough I've heard over the last several years and the new school, using choice we have been able to come in a zero," Grady said. 

 

Last year's appropriated budget was $2,424,710. 

 

The shared services expenses may vary because the district will be having to pay a few months for a new central office once that is decided. The central office is currently housed in Mount Greylock Regional School but with the building project, the office will have to move. The tri-district will have to make a decision on how to fund that. 

 

However, the shared services budget will see savings because of shortages in staffing in the central office right now — the district is missing both a business manager and an assistant superintendent.

 

"There is nothing really earth shattering in this budget line by line," Grady said.

 

The Finance Committee didn't have much to say about the budget. But it had plenty to say about the School Committee's decision making.

 

Despite the fact that tuition students have no impact on the school's budget, Chairman Ray Jones continued to push the School Committee to raise the tuition for New Ashford students.

 

"We have to do something about this tuition. Why are we being asked to subsidize other people's children?" Jones said.

 

The debate has been going on for a long time in Lanesborough. Tuition is currently set at $8,730 per student but last year, the per-pupil spending was reported as $16,615. Members of the Board of Selectmen and Finance Committee have been pushing for tuition rates to not only match the per-pupil spending but to exceed it to cover capital expenses as well.

 

"I don't see why we are giving away a service when it is not costing us dollar for dollar," Jones said.

 

School Committee Chairwoman Regina DiLego, however, says changing the tuition rate won't change anything with the budget. The tuition payments go to the town's coffers, not to the school. DiLego said there are only 10 students being tuitioned into the school so if rates increased, the school's operations and budget would remain the same.

 

DiLego said without those students, there would still be the same number of teachers, there would still be the same educational program, and class sizes wouldn't change very much at all. But raising the rate too much at once could lead New Ashford to send its students elsewhere — thus threatening the amount of revenue flowing into the town hall.

 

Jones, however, says the schools provide a "premium product" and other towns will send their students there anyway. He said not only does he want the tuition price to match the per pupil spending, but he wants to add a "premium" to it.

 

The School Committee has been aware of the concerns being raised by other town committees and said they will look into raising rates. But, that can't happen right now. The town is currently in a tuition contract and negotiations will be forthcoming in the fall.

 

"It is a contract so even after that conversation, we can't do anything until that contract expires," DiLego said.

 

Finance Committee member Christine Galib agrees that tuition should go up, but disagrees with Jones' plan to raise it immediately. She says the tuition rate should increase gradually.

 

Jones says by doubling the tuition rate, that would bring in some $90,000 to $100,000 should the same number of students from out of town continue to come. That would help when it comes to the town looking to buy an ambulance or some other needed purchase. 

 

There is even a movement in town looking to place a ballot question on the town meeting warrant calling for an increase in tuition. That, however, isn't legally binding, DiLego said, because that would be taking the power of negotiating a contract away from the School Committee.

 

Finance Committee member Steven Wentworth said raising tuition rates is a negotiation. That $90,000 gain could quickly become a $90,000 loss if the other side doesn't agree. The goal is to find a middle ground both sides can agree with.

 

"At some point, you either do a deal or you don't," Wentworth said.

 

Finance Committee member Ronald Tinkham also asked for a separate meeting on the Lanesborough Elementary School budget. He said he hadn't gotten a copy of the budget before Monday's meeting and there is a public hearing on the budget on Thursday. 

 

Grady said she had repeatedly asked for a meeting with the Finance Committee since November and only on Monday was one set up. 

 

"Please don't insult any of us saying this is the first time we were willing to do this," she responded during a sharp back and forth with Tinkham.