Paul Malinski said they need to have a budget that the people can support at town meeting.
By Seth Golden
Special to the Sun Journal

SABATTUS – The School Committee restored a social worker’s position to the draft budget Tuesday night.

But it will not be official until the committee approves a spending plan in May, said School Committee member Robert Gayton Jr.

Keeping Gloria Giroux’s position would add $15,550 to the school budget, said Superintendent Paul Malinski.

In earlier versions of the draft budget, Giroux’s full-time job was eliminated, in favor of hiring an independently contracted social worker, who would be paid by the hour and not receive any benefits.

Committee members searched intently for other places to cut.

Among other things, they cut two new coaches from the extra-curricular budget. Malinski warned that may mean cutting more kids in sports next year if the school does not have enough coaches.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there,” said School Committee member Gary Blais.

Malinski told committee members that they need to have a budget that the people can support at town meeting. And he urged the committee members to show a united front when they present the budget.

A board split over a budget often results in a community split over a budget, Malinski said. That can lead to the public making cuts at town meeting, he said.

“I don’t have a problem standing up at town meeting and saying, ‘Hey, this is what we need to run the school,'” said Gayton.

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