If a deficit in the school budget were to continue, Westport school officials would need to freeze accounts or ask for a special appropriation.
The Westport Board of Education discussed how there is a $171,000 deficit in the 2006-07 school budget during its meeting Tuesday night.
Schools Superintendent Elliott Landon said last week that the deficit is not a real problem at this point (See WestportNow Jan. 14).
Assistant Superintendent for Business Nancy Harris said Tuesday night a lot can happen with a number of accounts that would affect if there is a budget shortfall at the end of the fiscal year, which is June 30.
The next two months will determine how much is spent on oil and gas, she said, although it has been a warm winter so far.
School officials also cannot properly estimate special education costs, she said, because identified students are sent to outside programs and then return all school year.
Landon said school officials are sending the same number of students to outside special education programs, but the tuition rates are increasing more than school officials thought.
“Some of these accounts could be bigger deficits, but some could go the other way,” she said.
By law, however, there cannot be a deficit at the end of the school year, Harris said.
The school board would either need to ask the Board of Finance and the Representative Town Meeting for an appropriation, she said, or they would need to freeze spending.
School officials froze spending during the 1990s, she said, so there is precedent.
It could mean holding back on buying certain items, doing projects or even laying off staff, Harris said.
Landon said his priorities would be no different in freezing accounts as when he faces budget cuts from the finance board and RTM.
He would look first at capital projects and maintenance that could be deferred, he said.
The teacher salary account, however, would not be touched because it would be important to preserve programs that affect students in the classroom.
