Unexpected costs for CBRSD

DALTON – The Central Berkshire Regional School District (CBRSD) is facing some unexpected but necessary costs for the 2012-2013 school year.

“The students arrive and we’re obliged to provide services to them,” CBRSD Superintendent William J. Cameron said.

Concerns were raised by CBRSD School Committee members about the failure to account for pay for bus monitors, paraprofessional support, English language learner (ELL) teaching and other costs in the initial budget.

“We really need to be containing the budget,” said School Committee Member John Conner. “We’ve gotta do this, but I’m concerned about the budget going up and up.”

Despite the concerns, these additional costs were approved by the committee.

Dr. Cameron responded to the concerns by saying the district wasn’t changing the bottom line and would be able to “remaneuver the money.”

“Developing a budget in March for the following September through June is an exercise in [estimation],” he said. “Knowing exactly where the money needs to go is not exactly possible.”

Full agenda for October meeting

Next month, the school committee will be reviewing the members’ evaluations of Superintendent Cameron, hiring a new business manager for the district and receiving training on the new Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) educator evaluation process.

After evaluating the superintendent’s performance, the committee will be tasked with setting goals for Dr. Cameron over the next year, and he already has some goals in mind.

“You will have to approve or amend the goals as you see fit,” he told the committee.

“We ought to identify those opportunities [to improve],” said School Committee Chairman Shawn Armacost.

Alpine ski team approved

The school committee also unanimously approved the creation of an alpine ski team at Wahconah Regional High School after some debate on the costs.

Dr. Cameron and Wahconah Co-Athletic Director Ken Pease indicated the costs (approximately $4,000) would be covered by a combination of activity fees, booster club fundraisers and money already available in the athletic department’s budget.

Posted by Catherine M. Krummey on September 20, 2012. Filed under Education News,News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry