JAY – School administrators unveiled a revised budget that returned some positions and programs, along with skiing, to the now proposed $9.38 million spending plan for fiscal 2010. It reflects a $851,223 decrease from this year’s $10.2 million budget.

The original proposal was $9.2 million for next year.

Changes were made after people previously opposed some cuts and continued to do so Thursday during a 4-hour presentation on a new budget.

An increase in anticipated revenue, no increase in health insurance premiums and three administrators taking pay cuts also were key in the restoration. Tennis may be restored if suitable courts are found for the high school team to use, Superintendent Robert Wall said. The school courts are in bad repair and voters nixed repairing them last year.

The budget remains a work in progress and won’t be finalized by the school and budget committees until the next meeting at 6 p.m. April 2, at the high school library. Wall is hoping to have anticipated state revenue figures by then.

Voters will take up the budget on April 14 and April 27.

Elementary school Principal Chris Hollingsworth, Middle school Principal Scott Albert, and Special Education Director Tina Collins each volunteered to give up five days of pay to help offset some revenue loss.

Alternative education, a learning center to help students with credit recovery, and English as a second language programs will return in a combined reconfiguration with a teacher and education technician. A high school librarian position was also returned the budget, with the librarian agreeing to teach elective courses. Administrators are also working to keep the pre-kindergarten program, which will also be in reconfigured format.

Among the revenue additions is the $216,000 town officials voted to let the School Committee use from the town’s undesignated surplus to cover an anticipated non-consolidation penalty and some anticipated federal stimulus money to replace about $197,000 Jay lost this year due to the state revenue shortfall.

The money expected after July 1 may be used for certain items including repairs, Wall said. He has removed $42,000 from the budget for repairs planned this year that will now be covered by stimulus funding.

Wall reviewed pros and cons of shutting the elementary school and moving students to the middle school to create a kindergarten through sixth grade school and a seventh grade through 12 grade school.

The elementary school is still viable, Wall said, and a move at this time could outweigh the savings to retrofit the middle school to meet the needs of the younger children including installing age-appropriate bathroom fixtures.

The budget does support moving the fourth-grade to the middle school, which Wall said would give fourth-graders better learning space and would allow them to work with fifth-graders. It would also give more space to the remaining elementary students.

Administrators cited a declining student population and reduced revenues to justify some cuts, including teachers carrying smaller classes of one teacher to six students or less. Among those reductions are two special education teaching positions, three special education technician positions, two seventh-eighth grade teaching positions, half-time music teaching position, half-time art teaching position, and half-time physical education/health teaching position.

A technology integrator position and districtwide world language position are also part of proposed reductions. World language would be offered second grade through 12th, instead of K-12 as it is now.