Finance Committee Meeting

June 27, 2007

In attendance:

Ben Meiklejohn, Chair

Ellen Alcorn

Lori Gramlich

Sarah Thompson

Peter Eglinton

Staff:

Dick Paulson

Joline Hart

Mary Jo O’Connor

1. The committee discussed briefly the recent Building Bridges forum at which the Boston School Committee chair and Finance Director gave a presentation on good budgeting, and provided useful guidance on school by school calculations of student enrollment and student/teacher ratios, school management ( instead of central) of Title I funds, student weighting, strategic planning, among other things.

2. Discussion of a joing meeting with the city council’s Finance Committee occurred with a a request that an outside facilitator be enlisted for a joint meeting regarding new state legislation on school consolidation.

3. Monthly report was provided by Director of Business Services Richard Paulson on the budget to date and projections for the year end budget. Increases in mandated services and/or non –discretionary lines such as special education will result in a budget with over-expenditures between $800,000 and $1.6 million despite successful efforts in reducing expenditures in equipment, field trips, and supply lines. The books will not be closed until October and final numbers will not be realized until the auditors release their report in the fall.