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The Regional District School Committee held its’ annual Budget Hearing for the FY11 Budget on Thursday Evening March 11, 2010. Superintendent Shaver-Hood reviewed the work of the committee and administration over the past several months to construct a level-funded budget for the next Fiscal Year. Presently the District has not received word regarding anticipated reimbursements from the Commonwealth. For this exercise, the District is using figures from the Governor’s FY11 Budget proposal.
Below is the presentation that was made to interested parties at the hearing.
The annual Budget hearing for the Blackstone Millville Regional School District will be held at 7:00 PM on Thursday March 11, 2010 in the Molony – Sullivan Auditorium of the Blackstone Millville Regional High School 175 Lincoln Street, Blackstone, Mass.
Annually the Regional School Committee presents the proposed budget for the coming Fiscal year 2011. This is a chance for residents and taxpayers to comment on the budget. See BMR News for more details on the FY11 budget, and please make an effort to attend this very important meeting on the 11th.
On Feb. 11th, a joint meeting of the School Committee, Boards of Selectmen and Finance from Blackstone and Millville, as well as Senator Moore was held at the Millville Town Hall. Minimum contribution is expected to increase for both towns, Millville’s by an additional $60,000 and Blackstone’s by $110,000. The Senator urged caution when developing the budgets for the next two years. The governor’s budget for FY11 uses federal stimulus money, which has not yet been appropriated and no stimulus money is expected to be available for FY12.
We are making great strides in keeping our budget transparent. The Open Hearing meeting for the District’s FY11 budget will be held on Thurs., March 11th at 7PM in the Molony-Sullivan Auditorium at the High School. We urge you to attend. The Superintendent will present a level services budget.
The Superintendent has worked to save money wherever possible. One way was to utilize the resources of other towns by job sharing with Bellingham in two key positions: the Directors of Food Service and Curriculum. Another idea being explored was the possibility of moving the 5th grade to the middle school. After initial investigation, there would be NO educational enhancement or savings, so the idea has been dropped. The 5th graders will remain housed at the A. F. Maloney and Millville Elementary Schools.
School Committee Meetings: March 11th and 25th at 7PM in the F. W. Hartnett Media Center
The Blackstone and Millville Boards of Selectmen and Finance Committees met with the Regional District School Committee on Thursday February 11th in the Longfellow Municipal Center. Also in attendance was State Senator Richard T. Moore of Uxbridge. This group meets on a regular basis throughout the year to discuss issues of common interest. This meetings focus was preparation for the upcoming budget sessions planned all during the spring, culminating with the Annual Town Meetings (May 10 in Millville- May 25 in Blackstone) where the Fiscal 2011 budget will be voted on by each town.
Once again the District and Towns are faced with difficult decisions regarding operational budgets for all town departments as well as the Regional School District. Thursday Evening the District provided an overview of our concerns for this budget cycle. Attached you will find details of the presentation. Senator Moore addressed the meeting echoing his concerns over what the Local and School Aid will be for the coming year. While the Legislature will make every effort to meet the level of funding proposed by Governor Patrick. Hopefully the Legislature will produce what is known as a “Local Aid Resolution” some time in March. This will give each community more data to work with as we prepare the budgets for next year.
Welcome to BMR News! Check here often for the latest activities of the Blackstone/Millville Regional School District.
Recently the BMR School Committee appointed Ms. Kimberly Shaver-Hood to the position of Superintendent of Schools. Ms. Shaver-Hood has served as the interim superintendent since July 24, 2009. This appointment is effective January 1, 2010.
Ms. Shaver-Hood received her Bachelor’s degree from Franklin College, her Master’s in Secondary Education from Indiana University, her Master’s in School Counseling from Butler University and her Master’s in Educational Administration from Weidner University. She is currently working on her Doctorate degree at Northeastern University. Prior to coming to the district, Ms. Shaver-Hood was an Assistant Principal in Pennsylvania.
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