Superintendent quits; unused warrant article $$ to be applied to deficit
Superintendent Mark McQuillan informed the selectmen at
their meeting last night (9/24) that he had offered his letter of resignation to the
Lincoln School Committee. School committee vice-chairperson, Sue Hollingsworth,
indicated that the school committee would vote to formally accept the resignation at its
next meeting. The resignation is effective December 31, 2001.
In related news, the school committee has discovered over $232,000 in unused funds, which
had already been approved in prior warrant articles. The committee plans to use some of
that amount to reduce the deficit. The school committee had been planning to ask the
town for an additional $450,000 at the November Special Town Meeting to balance its budget
for this fiscal year. That figure will now be reduced.
Click on the image below to review list of re-appropriated
warrant articles:
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K-8 schools in need of supplies
Apparently, the K-8 budget cuts have hit closer to home
than we've been lead to believe. The most recent edition of the Lincoln PTA's
"Mini-Link," the weekly newsletter sent to parents of Lincoln public school
children, includes requests for the following supplies: Hewlett Packard and Lexmark print
cartridges, glue sticks, whiteout, note cards, hot and cold cups, tissues, small sticks of
molding clay, two decks of playing cards, a small microwave, band-aids, lip balm,
breakfast bars and children's chewable Tylenol, among other items. Yikes!!
Click on the image below to review the schools' "Wish
Lists" of donated items:
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in previous news:
Crows test positive for West Nile Virus in Lincoln
Two crows found dead in Lincoln have tested positive for the West Nile Virus. One
bird was found at Farrar Pond Village, the other on Old County Road. The town
received notification of the results on September 7 and 10.
Reached last night (9/20) at his home, board of health chairman Dr.
Arnold Weinberg said he was aware that some crows had been tested, but did not
yet know the results. He indicated that positive test results would not surprise him
because "major clusters" of infected birds had already been discovered close to
Lincoln, in Concord and Marlboro.
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Budget shortfall now pegged at $400,000;
Selectmen moving Special Town Meeting to November 3; Override vote to Nov. 5
School superintendent Mark McQuillan
reported, at an early morning (9/14) meeting of the ad hoc group managing the school
budget crisis, that the accounting consultant has completed 'rebuilding' the K-8 school's
FY02 budget. Her report shows a projected deficit, even after all recent budget cuts
were taken into account, of $400,000. Previous estimates had been as high as a
half-million dollars.
Included in that $400,000 is a $100,000 contingency for possible unanticipated Special
Education expenses and the Lincoln campus' $66,000 share of the various accountants'
contracted services. The school committee must now decide whether to ask Town
Meeting for that amount or to authorize further cuts to the budget.
Selectperson Penny Billings informed the group that the selectmen have
decided to move the date of the Special Town Meeting from October 13 to November 3 to
allow more time to firm up the figures and for townwide education.
Special Meetings Announcement: The ad hoc School
Budget Oversight Committee, comprosed of members from the board of selectmen, the
finance committee and the K-8 school committee, will meet with Susan Givens,
the school's accounting consultant on Monday evening at 7 pm. Ms. Givens will report
on the results of her work to 'rebuild' the FY02 budget.
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School Committee member fundraises
$60,000 for aides;
Kindergarten parents trying to raise $9,500 to pay for Kindergarten aide
School committee vice-chairman Sue Hollingsworth is
spearheading efforts to form a "Friends of the Lincoln Public Schools" committee
and has already received pledges of $60,000 to offset budget cuts to the classroom aides
for the first half of the school year. Plans are underway to form a 501c3 private,
non-profit corporation to do ongoing fundraising.
In a related matter, some kindergarten parents are also trying to raise funds to hire
another classroom aide for one of the K sections. Three aides from the middle
school, who quit just before the school year began, were not replaced. Classroom
assignments were reorganized, leaving just three aides for four kindergarten classes.
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'02 K-8 school budget $1.2 million out of whack; $450,000 override to be requested
With 90% of the school staffing analysis completed,
superintendent Mark McQuillan reported to the school committee last night (9/6) that it
now appears that projected expenses for this fiscal year will exceed the schools' budget
by approximately $1.2 million.
Of that $1.2 million, $473,000 was taken from this year's budget and used to balance last
year's school budget. Corresponding cuts in this year's budget were made in June.
Since that time, another $346,000 in cuts have been made. The school
committee will seek an override for the balance--approximately $450,000--at an October
Special Town Meeting.
Another way of looking at it: The
total school budget for this year is roughly $7.3 million. This is comprised of the
$6.5 million approved at the March Town Meeting, plus state "ed reform"
grants and revenues and grants from other sources. However, the budget analyst consultant
hired by the schools has discovered that the real cost of operating the schools this year,
without further budget cuts, will be roughly $8.1 million. Hence, the $346,000 in
additional cuts and the $450,000 override request.
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Special Town Meeting planned for Oct. 13;
Possible Override ballot vote on Oct. 15
The selectmen and the finance committee are planning for a
mid-October Special Town Meeting to deal with three issues:
1) K-8 public school budget - The school committee may seek a
supplemental appropriation for its FY02 budget. This vote will be contingent on
passage of an override.
2) Water Filtration - The water commission wants to increase the current
appropriation for the filtration project (currently $3.6 million resulting from two prior
appropriations) by approximately $500-$600,000. The funding source is the surplus in
the water department accounts.
Regional High School - The L-S School Committee may want to increase
the amount of debt it is authorized to incur for construction of the new high school.
The current amount authorized is $70 million. It would be raised to $74
million.
If an override vote is required it will take place on Monday, October 15
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'Lost Boys' moving to Lincoln?
Codman Farm, in conjunction with a group called the
"International Rescue Committee, has proposed that three Sudanese refugees, also
known as the "Lost Boys of the Sudan," be permitted to rent the vacant apartment
in the Codman Farmhouse. Plans call for them to pay $300 a month in rent, to do
chores around the farm and to continue their educations, possibly by enrolling at L-S.
The selectmen, who are the landlords for the farmhouse, decided to schedule a
meeting with Codman Farm trustees before making any decisions.
Click on the images below to read the
proposal:
Newest estimate: Water Filtration plant to cost $4.4 million
The water department's consulting engineer estimated
that it would cost $2.8 million to build a new filtration facility. But when the
bids were opened the low bid was $3.67 million. Unfortunately, the water department is
only authorized to spend $3.60 million, so an additional appropriation will be sought at
the October 13 Special Town Meeting.
Police officer commended
A Wayland resident (who also happens to be its town
moderator) wrote a letter to the selectmen praising police officer Kevin Kennedy.
Read the letter below:
Resident agrees with selectmen policy re: commercial trash haulers
A Sandy Pond Road resident wrote to the Selectmen to
thank them for raising the fees charged to commercial haulers.
Read the letter below:
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Resident complains about Trapelo Road bike path
Read the letter below:
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