School Budget To Be Presented This Afternoon

The Johnston School Committee will take a first look at the proposed budget for the 2011-12 fiscal year during a special budget workshop scheduled for 5:30 p.m. today at .

Supt. Dr. Bernard DiLullo is expected to formally present the draft budget and outline the priorities and changes for the upcoming fiscal year, which starts July 1. The current budget stands at roughly $48 million. Citing the requirement that the budget be formally presented to the school committee before dollar figures can be released, DiLullo declined to specify the increase included in his proposal.

During an interview in his office on March 9, DiLullo explained some of the factors that influenced the new budget plan — his first as superintendent.

"Our focus is on academic rigor and providing teachers to support the children in our schools," DiLullo said. Following a recent round of layoffs, "we also took a close look at reallocation of resources," he added.

Now in its final year, the current teachers' contract calls for step increases that are built into the budget proposal for 2011-12, DiLullo explained, and the district has proposed a schedule of meetings with the teachers' union to begin negotiations on a new contract — one that may add across-the-board salary hikes to the budget proposal.

There's also a scheduled increase in pension costs reflected in the spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year, DiLullo confirmed.

Aside from those costs, DiLullo's proposal covers the costs for new programs at the high school and the expansion of two elementary schools' fifth-grade classes.

On March 8, the school committee approved a number of changes to the Johnston High School curriculum, including the addition of three new Advanced Placement courses, which require extra training for teachers. DiLullo also said that the proposed budget would restore Computer Aided Design (CAD) and robotics classes to the high school, and maintain the law academy currently in place.

Ferri Middle School is expected to drop one of its three seventh-grade teams, since enrollment has fallen, while Sarah Dyer Barnes and Thornton Elementary Schools will each add a fifth-grade class to accomodate the students advancing from fourth grade.

One potential area of savings is in joining other school districts for bussing. The school board voted on March 8 to issue a Request for Proposals with as-yet undetermined communities in the area.

If the plan moves forward, DiLullo said on Wednesday that Johnston could lower its transportations costs "in the areas of administration and more efficient routes, since a company covering more than one district could find ways to make the routes less expensive than we could if we were to go it alone."

The scholl district currently pays Durham Student Services $3.5 million for bussing 3,100 students in a fleet of 32 vehicles.

DiLullo stressed that his budget plan — developed with the local principals who "were very conscious of keeping down costs" — is directed as providing classroom resources to students.

"We didn't add any administrators — our focus was really on teaching an learning," DiLullo said.