Fall River Public Schools Superintendent Maria Pontes last night presented the school committee with a proposed $226.5 million dollar school budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1.
The spending plan is nearly $22 million dollars above the current year’s budget. The increase is made up of an additional $19.1 million investment from the state and an additional $2.1 million from the city. As part of the plan, Superintendent Pontes plans to hire an additional 190 employees, 142 of which are teachers and support personnel who will work directly with students. Ms. Pontes says the budget builds upon the mission and goals of the district with a focus on student achievement.
Even though the huge increase in the budget is welcomed, members of the school committee are concerned that the district may lose $11 million dollars in spending if a proposal by Mayor Paul Coogan, to shift the cost of transportation from the city to the state, passes in the legislature.
Mayor Coogan says he has no intention to cut any money from the school department. He says he is looking to rectify what he sees as a statewide imbalance when it comes to funding student transportation.
If the measure passes, Mayor Coogan hopes to use the savings to pay down the city’s debt in constructing the new BMC Durfee High School and the upcoming new Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School.
The school committee will soon hold budget hearings with department heads before ratifying a spending plan to present to the city council later this spring.
Video courtesy Fall River Educational Television
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