The unanimous vote last night brought the proposed fiscal 2008 school budget to $32.84 million, an increase of $3.67 million from this year, or a 13 percent hike.

The proposal is essentially what school officials say is needed to cover increased costs and maintain current programs, although some changes could be made to free up money for new programs.

Committee members were hoping for a $34.61 million budget, which would allow the schools to hire additional teachers to reduce class sizes and restore course offerings, reopen elementary school libraries and begin a full-day kindergarten program.

Chairman Larry Azer said the committee knows the system needs more than what was in the original budget, but it has heard from residents and officials that the cost was too high and it had a better chance at the lower amount.

“There doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of support for the higher number we’ve requested,” Azer said. “Something is better than nothing. And we’ve gotten a whole lot of nothing over the past five years.”

Azer was referring to the fact that the school budget is less than it was five years ago. Since then the system has lost 16 percent of its students.

With the state facing its own budget crunch, it appears the only way the schools will get any additional funding is if voters pass a Proposition 2 1 2 on March 27.

Selectmen are expected to decide Monday night how much of a tax increase to seek and if the override will come in the form of a single or multiple questions.

To reverse the decline of the school system, “We need to put something together that will get 51 percent of the vote,” Azer said.

Superintendent of Schools Richard Silverman said the system could still make progress with a budget that maintains current services, citing as an example money for textbooks and training in new math and English language arts curriculums.

“It will stop the slide that has been going on for the past five years. It will change the direction,” Silverman said. “If it gets worse, it will move down faster and faster.”

The superintendent also outlined the probable toll another year without a budget increase would take on the school system.

The equivalent of 50 jobs would be eliminated, which Silverman said is about 10 percent of the system’s work-force. Included in that number are 17 elementary school teachers, six middle school teachers, five high school teachers and the librarians at the high school and middle school. School nurses would be reduced to part-time, the jobs of three secretaries and a custodian would be eliminated, as would the position of dean of students at the middle school.

Student activities and athletic programs at the high school would be eliminated entirely.

The system would either lease or turn over the mostly vacant Tower Hill building to the town, and either close or charge the recreation department the cost of operating the pool at the high school.

Redistricting the system’s four elementary schools is also on the list of potential cuts, and school officials may do that even if its budget proposal is approved to free up money in other areas.

Asked if passing an override will prevent the closing of an elementary school or Devine Early Education Center, Azer would not rule out the option.

“If we don’t get more resources, it’s virtually assured that a school will close,” he said.

Silverman said school officials are frequently criticized for cutting popular programs like school athletics and student activities.

“We’re now reducing from unacceptable levels,” Silverman said. “We’re now at the point where there is nothing left to cut.”

Cutting high school athletics and clubs and activities at the high school and middle school would save $488,609.

Silverman said another year of level funding may bring the town below state minimum funding requirements.

Finance committee member Eugene Solon warned the town may need an override just to be able to give town departments the same budget as they have now, due to higher health insurance and retirement costs. He said members of the finance committee urged school officials to agree to reduce their request, seeing no way to win approval for the $5.4 million originally requested for the schools.

“The situation is rather catastrophic, and we have to do something,” Solon said.

Robert Choumitsky of Collins Avenue spoke in favor of a $3.6 million budget increase.

“This budget provides the minimum for the students,” Choumitsky said. “We have a moral obligation to provide a decent public education for our children.”

The $3.6 million increase would cover contractual pay raises for school employees, increases in mandated special education tuition and transportation, and higher utility and school bus costs.

Fred Hanson may be reached at fhanson@ledger.com.

What it would cost

Using estimates provided by the assessors, a $3.67 million budget increase sought by the school committee would add about 95 cents per $1,000 in assessed value to the residential tax rate, an increase of 10.3 percent.

For a home with an average assessed value of $324,558, that would increase the annual property tax bill by about $310 per year.

This would be in addition to the regular increase of about 3 percent in the tax levy allowed under Proposition 2 1 2 , the state’s tax-limiting law.

Fred Hanson may be reached at fhanson@ledger.com.