Washington Central’s 2022–23 Expenditures Up 2.66%
The Washington Central Unified Union School District received a level-funded budget for fiscal year 2023 on Nov. 23, but costs still spiked by 2.66%. This district includes U-32 High School along with five elementary schools including East Montpelier, Calais, Berlin, Doty, and Rumney.
A 5.2% rise in health insurance costs accounts for one of the cost hikes, according to a document dated Dec. 10, 2021. Dental costs have been level-funded. Overall expenditures went up from $34,984,949.00 to $35,914,938.00. Revenues went down from $7,192,658 to $7,169,391. The net budget increase is $1,025,400.00, while the net revenue decrease is $23,267.00.
New expanded services include a U-32 social studies teacher resulting in a 0.60 FTE increase, a Berlin/Calais Elementary School music teacher resulting in a 0.10 increase, an East Montpelier Elementary classroom teacher, 2.0 FTE; an East Montpelier music teacher, 0.20 FTE; a Doty paraeducator, 0.38 FTE increase, and a Calais literacy interventionist, 0.50 FTE; as well as a U-32 RISE Educator, 1 FTE (funded by a Title IV grant).
The leadership team tabled requests for more food service workers at U-32, art instruction at Berlin and Calais, a special educator at Berlin, and IT network and pre-kindergarten support. Additionally, the equity scholar-in-residence was not formally requested.
More information can be obtained by looking at this 181-page document: www.wcsu32.org/cms/lib/VT02224924/Centricity/domain/272/packets/2021-2022/12.15.21%20WCUUSD%20School%20Board%20packet.pdf
