Wayland school finance panel projects $146,000 year-end surplus, plans manager handoff

WAYLAND — May 1, 2023 — Wayland school finance panel projects a $146,000 year-end cushion as the business office prepares for a July handoff. The interim finance director, Tom, told the Finance Subcommittee Monday that roughly $366,822 remains in the FY23 budget before known stipends, vacation buyouts, course reimbursements and five days of acting-superintendent pay are deducted, calling what's left "a rounding error" with two months still to run. Members also corrected a town meeting talking point: FY24 adds 1.2 FTEs over actual current staffing of 455.5, not the 2.7 figure repeatedly cited against the 454-position FY23 budget. The subcommittee flagged a phased full-day kindergarten rollout cutting parent fees 20 percent annually, a pending McKibben demographic study, and a proposed adult-lunch price increase from $4.50 to $5 after a state review found the current rate below the $4.78 floor. The incoming business manager Susan starts July 10.