City Manager Approves Increased School Budget

Cambridge schools can breathe a little easier now that City Manager Robert W. Healy has added $2.3 million from city funds to the annual school budget.

The increased budget will cut the Cambridge school system's deficit to $300,000 from the original $3.7 million shortfall.

"This is the bottom line folks, and I think we can do it," said Mayor Sheila D. Russell at Tuesday night's school committee meeting where the announcement was made.

But the committee still has some work to do.

The remaining deficit could mean cuts in staff or services. Those decisions will be made when the final budget is worked out at the end of the month.

"I must caution everybody though and say that we still have to cut $300,000," Doyle added.

Once the committee proposes cuts, public hearings will be held, and a final budget should be presented to the city council by mid-April.

The school committee was first able to reduce the deficit from an initial $3.7 million to $2.6 million thanks to increased funding from the state, fewer students enrolling at the Benjamin Benneker charter school than anticipated and revised health insurance and pension plan costs.

But the committee still needed the city to lend a hand.

The $2.3 million provided by Healy will come mostly from city taxes.

"They've been talking for some time now about the school committee budget," said Jim R. Ball, public relations officer for the school department. "Since learning about the shortfall, we've worked in close collaboration with the city manager's office to bring the shortfall down."

School committee members now must decide how to allocate the new-found contribution from the city.

"Our part now is to figure out what to do with the money," said Alice L. Turkel, a school committee member. "We just want to thank the mayor, the city council, the city manager and the taxpayers because they're the ones supporting education."

Referring to last year's $1.2 million deficit--which cost 18 elementary school teachers their jobs--Turkel said that by giving the committee a deficit figure early in the game, "we won't have to go through that agony again."

"Having done it once doesn't prove you can do it again," Turkel said. "You cut too deep, and you get to the bone."

Committee members said that long hours of negotiation made the additional funding possible.

"This is truly an excellent example of how the city council and school committee came together," said Councillor Michael Sullivan, who negotiated extensively with Healy and the committee to secure the additional funds.

"The city manager realized what was the right thing to do," added Sullivan.

Committee members were bubbling with praise as well.

"The mayor was wonderful--she met tirelessly with the city manager and advocated for the schools," Turkel said.

"The school committee is very grateful, and the parents will be grateful," she added. "This was the right move to make for our school."