The
MERSD FY16 budget proposal seeks to correct the impact of substantial enrollment
growth on reserve funds and school choice revenue. The Manchester Essex
resident student population has grown 24% since 2007. This multi-year shift in
resident enrollment has increased the cost of our operations and reduced our
capacity to accept School Choice students. As a result, funding from the
School Choice program has declined by $475K per year since its high point in
2006. While Chapter 70 Aid did increase to account for enrollment growth,
Chapter 70 covers only a small percentage (12%) of MERSD’s total
spending. Similar to other high performing suburban districts, the large
majority of MERSD’s funding comes from local sources.
Over
the past four years, the District’s annual increase in assessment has not kept
pace with the rate of enrollment growth.
While enrollment has increased dramatically, assessment increases have averaged
only 2.35%, resulting in per pupil assessment rising just 0.2% per year since
2011. Manchester’s assessment per pupil has actually declined. Simply stated, funding per pupil has not only
failed to keep pace with enrollment growth, it has not even kept pace with
inflation.
In
order to work with our member towns and maintain low assessments during a
period of increasing need, MERSD used school reserve funds to maintain the
quality of services and offset the cost to the Towns. As a result the reserve funds are forecast to
decline by 49%, putting the district in danger of not having rainy day funds
available to address issues with aging building and losing its favorable bond
rating. In addition to depleting the
reserve account, MERSD made painful internal reductions to close budget gaps,
including cutting custodial staff, not replacing retiring faculty positions,
reducing supply budgets, and instituting new and increased student fees. Passage of the FY16 budget is critical in
order to correct the structural revenue problem that has developed from using
reserve funds as a source of revenue and in order to maintain excellence in our
schools.
For
More Information on the MERSD FY16 Budget Proposal, please visit the MERSD Budget Page.
MERSD School Committee & Pamela Beaudoin, Superintendent
