May 22, 2018, Attleboro (MA) Sun Chronicle: Attleboro Superintendent: $9.4M to bring city up to par http://www.thesunchronicle.com/news/local_news/attleboro-superintendent-m-to-bring-city-up-to-par/article_b7ed8dc2-4606-5a09-9fe7-c94298c50d07.html After saying city schools really need another $9.4 million above his $74.7 million budget request, Superintendent David Sawyer had a simple question about the money. … Yes, $9.4 million is a lot of money, he said. Yes, the city cannot afford that much, he said. And yes, the schools will accept the $74.7 million it is asking for, a 4.2 percent increase. ….Sawyer said the schools are getting by with a “service-level” budget that does not add personnel or services. To go on like that is “unsustainable” as costs and student needs are rising faster than funding, he said…. Already, he said, problems are arising with a need for more special education for problems that may be worsened because of crowded classrooms. He said to bring the schools up to a higher level some of the things that would be needed but are not included in the budget are: … • 59 paraprofessionals, or classroom aides, to help teachers, especially those in kindergarten. That would cost another $2 million. … • 38 specialists such as guidance counselors, English as a second language teachers, Special education was supposed to cost $7.3 million, but really cost $13.9 million.
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