Wrentham Elementary Schools Get Feedback on Potential Busing Cuts

The Wrentham Elementary Schools have fielded a good deal of feedback about a potential budget move that would cut six buses, according to district officials.

The district is looking to close a $489,000 budget gap for the upcoming fiscal year. The Elementary School Committee endorsed a plan that would cut the buses, as opposed to options that would substantially cut district staff.

Superintendent Jeffrey Marsden said parents had been vocal about the matter.

"It's certainly not something we want to do," he said. "The law says busing is an entitlement to anyone who lives more than two miles from the schools. Anything else is a service, and we're saying that can't happen based on the budget."

Marsden said the schools had to choose between the bus cuts or cuts in the classroom.

"When you eliminate 31 positions in three years, it really impacts the education for the kids," he said. "To preserve the classroom experience, we felt, was more important."

"It's certainly not something that's gone over well with the community," he added. "We were given the option of cutting 7.5 to 8.5 teachers versus what we're not required to do."

This solution, he said, does not protect every teaching position. The district has already informed teachers who could lose their jobs, should the debt exclusion vote fail.

"With the collective bargaining agreement, the district is required to notify the teachers. They've been notified," he said. "We gave them letters of non-renewal."

Marsden said, should the vote pass, those teachers could return. He said, though, there was no guarantee the district would retain those people.