Tiverton School Committee keeps Fort Barton school open. What had to be cut to do it

TIVERTON – The School Committee at a budget meeting Saturday morning voted on a balanced budget that will keep Fort Barton Elementary School open this year and use more than $1 million in one-time funds to call back some of 33 staff members who received layoff notices this spring.

In making the decision, the School Committee decided to eliminate the athletic director and data manager positions, while also reducing the Fort Barton principal’s role to a part-time position only.

The committee agreed to a budget just under $36 million – or a 1% increase over fiscal 2024.

Many parents and school officials flocked to the Tiverton High School auditorium on Saturday morning in the hopes of keeping Fort Barton open – one of the more controversial options on the table.

School Committee Chairwoman Diane Farnworth began the meeting with three options, two of which including the closing of Fort Barton school, which has the lowest enrollment of the three elementary schools.The closure would have netted more than $700,000 in savings and less reliance on one-time funds to balance the budget.

Many people in the community, including Town Council members, expressed disapproval with that potential closure.

The council even agreed to give the district more than $300,000 than what was originally voted on – an increase of 3% over 2023-24. This came after a May joint meeting between the council and school officials during which council members were adamant about a 2% increase only – in line with other town departments.

Parent VA Lopes, the only non-school committee member to address the committee before the meeting, mentioned that closing Fort Barton too late before the start of the year is detrimental to students and staff. She also mentioned how such a move this late could have a psychological impact on students.

“It is way too late in the game to look at a major reorganization to the school system,” said Committee member Deborah Pallasch, agreeing with Lopes’ sentiment.

Committee members also appeared to agree that using one-time funds, which has garnered criticism from the public, leaves the district at a structural deficit but said that keeping as many teachers in front of students is in the best interest of the district.

They also said that using more than $1 million in one-time funds with no reserve money in case of an emergency is not the best practice.

However, School Committee members also noted that there has been a 16% decrease in state aid and enrollment has steadily declined.

“We are asked to do the same or less with less,” Committee member Jerome Larkin said, repeating it several times throughout the meeting.

Committee member Michael DeCotis said that conversations with the Town Council on the school budget needs to start soon – or well before the start of the 2025-26 school year to end the structural deficit and the district’s consistent use of one-time funds to balance each year’s budget.

The Committee also removed funds from their budget books and technology expenses, hoping that casino funds will cover the costs.

Committee members conceded that the Town Council still needs to vote on that but Committee member Deborah Pallasch noted that the majority of council members seem to be in favor of the move.

Committee members asked Sanchioni about the removal of the athletic director position, as well as the data manager post.

He said both are significant roles and responsibilities and if staff members were to share that responsibility in place of stipends, it would be a difficult request.

“Nothing we are doing devalues the work they are doing,” Larkin said. “All of these choices are hard.”

The committee decided to maintain middle school sports and late buses this year, agreeing that many working parents rely on these services for their children. Meanwhile, the sports program keeps many kids motivated to attend school, correlating with better academic performance

Starting in March, Superintendent Peter Sanchioni unveiled a deficit of nearly $5 million heading into fiscal 2025.

Sanchioni and staff then made more than $800,000 of expense cuts and the district delivered 33 layoff notices. These moves helped reduce the deficit but the committee’s decisions on Saturday led to a balanced budget.