Westport’s Representative Town Meeting (RTM) tonight unanimously approved the school board’s proposed $116,173,800 operating budget for 2018-19, a 1.57 percent increase over the current year.
The RTM also approved $124,00 in school revenue offset program expenses, $386,995 in aid to private and parochial schools and $10,628,163 in debt service for the schools.
The schools’ budgets combined with Monday night’s unanimous approval of an $80.17 million municipal budget totaled $207,493,035, the overall town budget, which the RTM unanimously approved.
That total, town officials say, will assure a flat mill rate for the third year in a row — 16.86, one of the lowest in the state.
“Tonight marks the end of a long budget process, sort of like the winter this year,” said Jeannie Smith, Board of Education vice chairwoman.
Schools Superintendent Colleen Palmer said “effectiveness and efficiency” best described the schools’ efforts to come in with a tight budget.
Her original budget submitted to the school board was $119.2 million, which the Board of Education cut to $118,223,800. The Board of Finance cut that amount by $2.05 million and last month restored $1.128 million.
The school board, however, found enough cuts not to need the restoration and tonight presented its $116,173,800 operating budget.
-— James Lomuscio
