The elementary and middle school in Milford hasn’t made cuts yet despite having a slashed budget.
The Dr. Lewis S. Libby School Committee, which oversees the town’s K-8 school, and administrators have frozen the school’s budget and not filled open positions while they wait for the most recent audit to be finished to understand what can be cut from the school.
After a long budget process that included three votes, Milford residents approved a $5.9 million budget in October, a decrease of $300,000 from the School Committee’s recommendation. Residents who voted for the decrease said they couldn’t afford the tax increase that would’ve come with the $6.2 million proposed budget.
The school has been reviewing its 2024 audit with the auditor, Finance Director Julie Cote said, but has not received the 2025 audit yet.
That audit is needed to make any possible cuts because the school’s budget was based on the previous year’s budget and the actual amount spent isn’t known yet, Superintendent Trish Clark said.
“It really wouldn’t be responsible of us to make any additional cuts until we know the lay of the land. We based our budget this year on assumption, really, you know, because we didn’t have our audit,” Clark said.
Although cuts have not been made, the school froze its budget and, outside of salaries, has only spent on essentials like heating oil, Clark said.
Two positions; a music teacher and a social worker, have gone unfilled this school year because of the unknown budget, Clark said.
As a way to use more of the allocated budget, Clark asked the town to increase the percentage of transferable funds from one cost center to another from the 5% stated in the approved budget to 10%. This increase would allow the school to use more of the funds that are going unused, like the social worker’s salary, for other needed costs, Clark said.
The town meeting needed to change the percentage has not been called for by the Milford Select Board.
There’s hope a more recent audit can be completed soon so the school can better understand its finances and make responsible changes, Clark said.
“I understand the auditors are pressed and work hard throughout the state. However, when things become this contentious, and the school has come in with a very responsible budget this year, $25,000 less than last year, then we really need [the audit] in front of us to make fiscally responsible decisions, particularly when it’s people in positions that impact students,” Clark said.
