Patch Facts

5 Things: Former Councilor Calls for Deeper School Cuts

One Marlborough resident called for deeper cuts to the 2014 School District budget during a public hearing Monday.

1. Former Ward 2 Councilor Paul Ferro was the only person to speak during a public hearing on the 2014 budget Monday night. He called for more than the proposed $250,000 in cuts that have bee proposed to the School District budget. 2. The Finance Committee will be discussing end of the year transfers among the departments of over $400,000. 3. It was a busy weekend for police, with an operating under the influence arrest and the arrest of a man accused of taking his anger out on an ex-girlfriend's TV. 4. A 100-year-old doctor passed away recently in the area. His, and other obituaries are listed here. 5. A local student has taken on a mission to save the coral reef.

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$250,000 Cut From School Budget

The Finance Committee voted 3 to 2 to cut $250,000 of the $55.3 million school district budget.

Citing an 8.7 percent increase over the previous year's budget, the Finance Committee voted to cut $250,000 from the school district's budget in the coming year. “We have to be fair to all the residents of Marlborough," said City Council President Patricia Pope who said schools are extremely important to the community. "We can’t continue to grow at this rate ... Mayor Vigeant, when you sat on our side of the table, your head would have blown up with that number.” The committee discussed a $500,000 cut to the school budget as was proposed by City Councilor Richard Jenkins. He amended that figure to $250,000 in cuts which was voted through by committee members Michael Ossing, Robert Seymour and Jenkins. Committee members Mark Oram and Joseph…

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Councilors Vote to Retain Full Budget Oversight

City Councilors voted this week to retain review of how the budget is distributed in departments.

The City Council voted against a request by Mayor Arthur Vigeant to present the budget in line item form only earlier this week. “One of the very few things the council has a lot of pull over is the money,” said Councilor Matt Elder before he voted against the request. "It's about seeing what is going on and trying to watch the money as much as possible." The request came from the mayor and would have required only one budget line for each department. The majority of the council voted against the change, with the exception of Councilors Edward Clancy, Donald Landers, Robert Seymore and Michael Ossing. Councilor Joseph Delano said the request would have worked against an ongoing effort to have as much transparency as possible. This is …

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School Committee Asks for $2.6 Million

The School Committee is requesting money to fund core services.

The School Committee is asking for $2,581,967 in additional funds through a supplemental appropriation. The additional funds — that represents a 5.3 percent increase over the FY '13 appropriated budget of $50,852,532 — will be voted on by the City Council at their Monday meeting, said Mayor Arthur Vigeant. The appropriation was the result of a truncated discussion of the FY '13 budget that was being resolved under the leadership of Former Superintendent Anthony Pope, said officials. The appropriations were grouped under five major categories that were presented to the committee by Interim Superintendent Steven Dlott. Exactly where all the funds would come from was not finalized during the committee's discussion. The city did see higher …

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Patch Facts

5 Things You need to Know Today: June 14

The School Committee is looking to cut a cool million, the Relay for Life has a new date and some underweight kittens need your help making glop.

Our weekday morning column, 5 Things You Need to Know, provides you with information that can help you plan your day and give you some fodder for water cooler conversations. 1. The School Committee will try to figure out how to close a $1 million budget gap for fiscal year 2013 when it meets in a budget session at 2 p.m. in the District Education Center. Superintendent Anthony Pope is expected to make recommendations for cuts and has said “everything will be on the table.” 2.  Bad weather forced the postponement of the Hudson/Marlborough Relay for LIfe walk. The event has been rescheduled to Friday, June 22 at 5 p.m. at Ghiloni Park. That means more time to show your support for signing up to help fight cancer. 3. Cat Rescue of Hudson and …

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Council Backs Schools, Defeats Additional Cuts

The City Council voted a resolution backing the schools and then beat back an attempt to slash the school department budget.

Weighing in formally for the first time on the controversy swirling around the Marlborough Public Schools, the City Council voted Tuesday night to back a resolution supporting the work being done in the school system, then beat back an effort to further slash the district’s 2013 budget. The resolution, read by Councilor and former Marlborough High School teacher and administrator Edward Clancy,  said the council “confirms the belief that excellent teaching and learning occurs every day” in the district.  The council vows in the resolution to work on "continuing to provide a high quality education for our students within a framework of fiscal accountability."  “This is a method by which the faculty and staff can realize that we do care …

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Ruth Crowell

1:39 pm on Saturday, June 9, 2012

Unfortunately, the overage was because supplies were not ordered. Cirriculum materials that were ordered prior to the school year starting were ordered last month. The budget could probably use some cuts, but 500K is probably too much. Many teachers had to pay out of their own pockets to be able to provide manditory cirricuclm items, I know of one teacher who spent over $1000. How can we expect …   more ›

$127 Million Budget Could Get Final OK

The City Council will take up the spending plan when it meets at 8 p.m. Monday.

The City Council is expected to take up final approval of the proposed $127 million city budget for fiscal year 2013 Monday night. The current proposal from the council’s Finance Committee represents a $280,000 reduction from the original plan submitted by Mayor Arthur Vigeant. Overall spending would increase 2.6 percent over 2012 levels.  There has been little public comment as the spending plan made its way through the review process and an earlier public hearing before the full council drew no input at all. However, at a recent School Committee meeting, former mayor Michael Hogan called the budget a “missed opportunity,” saying Marlborough needed to do spend more on schools and in other areas to help attract and keep young families in …

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School Budget: "Everything will be on the table"

Superintendent Anthony Pope said a range of possible cuts will be presented to help close a $1.1 million hole in the 2013 schools budget.

A host of program and staff cuts will be up for consideration as the School Committee works to close a $1.1 million budget deficit for fiscal year 2013, officials said Tuesday.  Superintendent Anthony Pope said "everything will be on the table" as he makes a list of proposals for the committee to consider. "Programs, staffing, sports, music--it's really on the table."  Mayor Arthur Vigeant and the city council have reduced the original school budget request by more than $1 million, or about 2 percent of the total budget.  Pope again noted that nearly the entire increase he proposed for next year was made up of special education spending, much of which mandated by state law and court rulings. Committee member Mark Hediger said the SPED …

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$127 Million Budget Speeds through Public Hearing

The City Council will take a final vote on the fiscal year 2013 budget at its next meeting.

The Marlborough City Council made quick work of a public hearing on the mayor's proposed $127 million budget for fiscal year 2013, setting up a final vote on the spending plan at its next meeting.  No one from the public spoke for or against the budget during Monday night's hearing and only Finance Committee Chairman Michael H. Ossing commented from the council.  The full council will take up the Finance Committee's report, which includes $279,000 in additional spending reductions--including a $100,000 trim to the school budget--on June 4.  Ossing applauded Mayor Arthur Vigeant for submitting a reasoned spending plan, but said some "challenges" loom for the city, including slowing local growth and unfunded projects and post-retirement …

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