Pushing along the consolidation of maintenance departments, Town Council last night unanimously approved an $88 million general budget for fiscal 2009 that shifts the $5.5 million school maintenance budget to town control.
The council approved Town Administrator Jeffrey D. Nutting's figure of $49.9 million for schools, which, besides transferring janitorial services, does not give schools enough to maintain its staff and programs, according to school officials.
The budget is up $1.8 million, or 2 percent, from this year's budget of $86.2 million.
If the town does not pass a Proposition 2 1/2 tax override on June 10, Superintendent of Schools Wayne Ogden said he will have to lay off 45 teachers and two administrators, which will result in increased class sizes and cutting courses. Also, he has said they will eliminate the late bus and increase the pay-to-ride bus fee from $225 to $325 to balance the budget.
The override would cost the owner of an average home an extra $243 a year, Nutting has said.
School Committee Chairman Jeffrey Roy objected to the maintenance move, particularly because Nutting and Ogden have not yet completed a memorandum of understanding on the matter.
Read the full story in the Milford Daily News
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