Page 2 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, MArCH 29, 2024 Wishing all who celebrate Easter, Passover and Ramadan a blessed and fulfilling season. PRICE | FROM PAGE 1 Year 2024 budget approved last spring by the Annual Town Meeting. That’s triple the increase he recommended for school spending last year. But Crabtree’s proposed school spending plan is still $1.2 million less than the proposed Saugus Public Schools budget recommended by Super100 Salem Turnpike, Saugus, MA 01906 WINWASTESAUGUS.COM Saugus Public Schools Superintendent Michael Hashem briefed the Finance Committee on his recommended budget on Wednesday night. (Saugus Advocate photo by Mark E. Vogler) intendent Michael Hashem and approved by the School Committee. At this year’s Finance Committee budget review of school spending, there weren’t any arguments between school offi - cials and town offi cials like in previous years. Eastern Bank Building on Rte. 1S 605 Broadway, #301 * Saugus (781) 233-6844 www.bostonnorthdental.com “I do understand there are other funds that count for school employees,” Hashem told DeDomenico. Wednesday night’s meeting Dr. Priti Amlani Dr. Bhavisha Patel was the second in a series of budget reviews that the committee will conduct before making recommendations to the Annual Town Meeting, which convenes May 6. The Finance Committee is scheduled to review the proposed 2025 fi scal year budget for the Department of Public Works when it meets this Wednesday (April 3) at 7 p.m. in the fi rst fl oor conference room at Saugus Town Hall. DeDomenico is expected to * Restorative Dentistry * Cosmetic Dentistry * Implant Restoration * Zoom Whitening * Teeth in a Day - All on 6 * Invisalign * CEREC Crowns (Single Visit Crowns) * Root Canal Treatment * Sedation Dentistry ~ Full Mouth Rehabilitation ~ Before After continue chairing the meetings through the end of April, leading up to the Annual Town Meeting. He will fi ll in for Chair Kenneth DePatto, who is recuperating from surgery and cancer treatments. DePatto briefed Finance Committee members about his condition at last week’s budget review session. A closer look at Schedule-19 charges The so-called Schedule-19 charges or chargebacks account for $28,965,554 in the town’s proposed operating budget for the 2025 fiscal year that begins July 1. Insurance for active employees accounts for nearly $6.5 million, according to a document titled “School Department Schedule-19 Charges,” which DeDomenico provided to The Saugus Advocate. That is the largest single item on the list. Other school-related expenses within the town operating budgets include: • Tuition to Commonwealth Charter Schools, $4.3 million • Long-term debt service for school construction, $3.9 million • Insurance for retired school employees, $3.5 million • Long-term debt retired for school construction, $3.1 million • Tuition to Massachusetts schools, $2.9 million • Employee retirement contributions, $1.7 million • Other non-employee insurance, $1 million • Maintenance of school buildings, $471,039 • Business and finance, $395,486 • School Choice tuition, $385,592 • Human Resources and benefi ts, $256,907 • Employee separation costs, $225,000 • Maintenance of school grounds, $168,912 • Legal services for School Committee, $50,000 • District-wide information management and technology, $35,526 • Long-term debt service/education and other, $34,346 • Pupil transportation, $26,250 • Health services, $4,591 A need to serve English Language Learners One of the top items in Hashem’s budget request is $190,617 to fund the hiring of three full time ELL Teachers. “We don’t have anywhere near the number of staff we need to serve the English Language Learners,” Hashem told the Finance Committee. “We had a huge infl ux of English Language Learners over the last two years. Five is way under the ratio we’re supposed to have,” he said. Hashem said this request and another to hire an adjustment counselor at both the Belmonte STEAM Academy and the Veterans Early Learning Center at $67,000 apiece are among the items that are in jeopardy of being cut out of his proposed budget. “It’s happening in all walks of life… you see the students who come back from the shutdown [COVID-19] – they have a lot of social and emotional needs that we need to meet,” Hashem said. On a positive note, Hashem said the school district actually realized some benefi ts during the COVID-19 pandemic. “We used the pandemic and levPRICE | SEE PAGE 12
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