Wayland Finance Committee votes to cut $600,000 from school budget proposal

WAYLAND — February 13, 2023 — Wayland Finance Committee votes 6-0 to recommend $600,000 cut to school budget. The committee endorsed the reduction at its Feb. 13 meeting after Finance Director Brian Keveny presented a $100.677 million FY24 operating budget running 8.63 percent above current spending — driven largely by an 8.5 percent school request including a $1.7 million special education increase. Members also directed staff to explore moving roughly $1 million of sped funding into a town-controlled account, citing recurring "budget creep." One member, referring to a $300,000 level-service add for the Children's Way preschool, said: "They figured out how to pay for it this year. They should figure out how to pay for it next year." The committee separately pushed acting Town Manager John Bugbee to have the new town treasurer ladder idle cash into one- and three-month Treasuries yielding 4.5 percent. The committee approved Jan. 30 minutes 5-0-1.