By JOSEPH FITZGERALD

NORTH SMITHFIELD — Mirroring an unpopular task their counterparts in other communities have had to undertake, the School Committee Tuesday voted to formally approve a list of layoff notices that have been sent out to 73 teachers in the North Smithfield School District.

The district's preliminary $20.5 million school budget for fiscal 2009, as well as an $821,000 operating budget for the new middle school, were also given approval by the committee. To make the budget work, the school administration has mailed out pink slips to 73 teachers — about 42 percent of the district's 173-member teaching staff. By state law, school districts must mail out the notices by March 1 to let teachers know they could be laid off in June if the district is unable to fund their salaries due to budget constraints.
School Committees across the state, including Woonsocket, Cumberland and Burrillville, have taken similar action in recent weeks with Woonsocket laying off 99 teachers; Burrillville 78 teachers; and Cumberland 46 teachers.
The fiscal 2009 North Smithfield school budget as approved by the committee this week reflects more than $1million in staffing cuts, including two special education teaching positions, a teachers assistant and a substitute teacher, among others. The votes come a week after the Town Council reluctantly approved the School Committee's proposal to request state approval for an override of the state S3050 tax levy cap to help the school district cover an $800,000-plus budget shortfall — but for an amount much less than what school officials had requested.
School Superintendent Stephen F. Lindberg and the School Committee wanted to send a request to the state to override S3050 to cover a projected $821,141 budget shortfall, which has been blamed on higher-than-anticipated fixed operating costs associated with the new $30 million middle school. School officials say the override is needed to increase the town's contribution to the schools and stave off school program cuts, including cuts to block scheduling.
However, the council in a unanimous vote decided to support Town Administrator Robert B. Lowe's recommendation to seek an override for $474,000, a figure that would have less impact on taxpayers already feeling the pain from high residential taxes. It's also the figure for fixed operating costs that voters were given when they went to the polls in 2006 to approve the middle school bond.
S3050, a bill signed into law last summer, limits the annual increase on a town or city's tax levy to 5.25 percent for fiscal year 2007-2008. A tax levy is the amount of money a town raises through the property tax to cover the school district?s budget and the town budget. The law does not affect the tax rate, just the dollar amount raised through taxes. Basically, it sets a limit on how much money a town or city can raise through taxes. While that limit or cap is set at 5.25 percent for fiscal year 2007-2008, each year it will drop by .25 percent until it reaches 4
percent in 2013.
The $30 million middle school project was approved before S3050. Fixed operating costs for the new school have risen dramatically due to a variety of reasons, including fuel costs, health insurance and other factors. As a result, the school district is facing a deficit and is
seeking an override from the state to help cover it.
An override for the $821,141 as requested by the schools would have seen a tax bill increase of $530 on a home valued at $300,000. An override of the $474,000 amount as approved by the council would see a tax bill increase of about $474,000.
School officials argued for the higher number to be submitted in the application package to the state Auditor General, arguing that anything lower would compound the district's budget problems year after year. But members of the Town Council were not budging, saying if the district needs $821,000 then it will have to find the remainder of the money within the
school budget - not from the pockets of taxpayers.
The council pointed out that the difference between the $474,000 amount "sold" to voters at the polls and the $821,141 now sought by the district is $347,141 - an increase of 73 percent. "This (73 percent increase) is a hard thing to swallow. It's mind-blowing," said Councilman Paul L. LeClerc. "We're in a crisis situation. The elderly people in this town are literally on edge worrying if they are going to lose their homes. We need to look at creative options to make up some of these dollars."
If the state Auditor General's office approves the school district's override request, the matter will have to come back to the Town Council, which must then vote to raise the levy.