Lincoln Sudbury School Committee Votes $125,000 Fire Alarm Upgrade Amid $715,000 Budget Gap

LINCOLN -- January 20, 2015, Lincoln Sudbury Regional School Committee votes $125,000 fire alarm upgrade while confronting a $715,000 budget shortfall that could trigger layoffs. Meeting January 20 at the Hart-Law multi-purpose room in Lincoln, the committee unanimously approved a capital request apportioned $106,600 to Sudbury and $18,400 to Lincoln for a new fire alarm notification panel. Director of Finance and Operations Patrick Collins warned that even a level-service budget exceeds both towns' 2.5 percent spending guideline by $715,000, before accounting for ongoing contract negotiations, with each one-percentage-point salary increase costing roughly $170,000. Superintendent Bella Wong and Collins were direct: if the gap cannot be closed, layoffs will follow and will come from general education, not special education, because of IEP mandates. Sudbury resident Giles Trouton pressed the committee during public comment to disclose which Walker Report recommendations for at-risk students would go unfunded, citing a 32 percent drop in high-needs student progress scores since 2012. The committee's budget public hearing is set for February 3, with a final vote on February 10.