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Where the budget went wrong
If you are wondering how the Lincoln Public Schools overspend its budget by over $400,000, the answer is readily available in the chart below.   The schools overspent on classroom teachers and specialists salaries by over $311,000 and on classroom aides and tutors by almost $80,000.  Mandated Special education costs were overbudget, as were energy and snow removal expenses.

Click on the image below to read a school committee summary of the estimated school deficit:

    

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Hanscom in the news:
US Airways pulls out of Hanscom, from AP report, 6/6

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Selectmen discuss traffic recommendations
The selectmen discussed implementing the recommendations of the Traffic Management Committee at their Monday night (6/4) meeting...and if you use Lincoln Road to commute to work, you'd better set your alarm clock to get up a little earlier. 

Traffic-slowing measures proposed for use along Lincoln Road would include speed tables in front of St. Joseph's Church, the public schools, the Old Town Hall Exchange building and Bemis Hall.  Four-way stop signs would be added at the Codman Rd./Lincoln Rd. intersection and five-way stop signs would be installed in Lincoln Center. 

Public Safety Chief Bowles expressed reservations about the effect speed tables would have on response times to areas distant from the Public Safety Building.  The selectmen took that under advisement and plan to discuss the recommendations further at next week's (6/11) meeting.

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Special Town Meeting set for June 28
With the Lincoln K-8 public schools' budget deficit still hovering around $400,000, and unlikely to be reduced further to a significant extent, town and school officials are making plans to hold a Special Town Meeting on Thursday night, June 28th.

In order to resolve this budget crisis procedurally, it appears the town will have to hold a town meeting within a town meeting. Under that scenario, the first step that night would be to open a FY '02 STM that would vote to reduce next year's school budget by a yet-to-be-agreed upon amount.  Then, that '02 town meeting would be adjourned and an FY '01 town meeting would be immediately convened to appropriate other town funds (e.g.-Free Cash) from this year's budget.  The combination of transferring this year's town funds and reducing next year's school operating budget would (hopefully) balance this year's overspent school budget.

Superintendent Mark McQuillan said that he is in the process of appointing a task force comprised of teachers, parents, school committee and administration members to study and recommend ways to make cuts to next year's budget while limiting the impact on students.

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Moderator replaces Minuteman Tech rep
Having served six years as Lincoln's representative to the Minuteman School Committee, Sally Bobbitt was surprised recently to receive a letter from moderator Jack French, informing her that he would not be reappointing her when her second three-year term expired at the end of March. French has instead appointed Collin Young, a parent of a Minuteman Tech student, to the post.

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Lincoln observes Memorial Day
A gallery of photos
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School superintendent projects likely deficit; says cuts in classroom aides and tutors unlikely; blames "mistakes in assumptions" by business manager.
School superintendent Mark McQuillan updatd the Lincoln School Committee on the status of the budget crisis at its Monday night meeting.  He said that, while an analyisis of the problem is not complete, the deficit is likely to be "a little over $400,000."

McQuillan told the school committee and audience that "there was no evidence of fraud" and "no evidence of gross incompetence" on the part of business manager James Grimes. The overspending resulted largely from the "cumulative effect of mistakes in assumptions regarding the payroll."   According to McQuillan, this series of miscalculations by the business manager led him to "start spending money he didn't have."
 
In order to bridge that gap, both the school administration and the town are considering a wide range of options.  One option that has apparently been removed from consideration was the plan to lay off all classroom aides and tutors.  That would have represented a potential savings of approximately $20,000 per week.  That proposal met with strong opposition from parents and teachers.

In the meantime, town officials have begun planning for a possible late June Special Town Meeting. The town might be asked to consider appropriating uncommitted Free Cash, spending Stabilization Fund reserves, increasing the FY 02 levy capacity or reducing next year's school budget to pay for this year's shortfall.
More details to follow...

Click on image below to view 'draft' List of Budget Options: