The Williamstown board of school directors had its first glimpse last week at a rough draft of next year’s budget.

The board’s budget committee had prepared the document and brought it forward to the board, before the supervisory staff had a chance to review it, Superintendent Susette Bollard told board members.

She said that she expected some changes to be made by the staff.

The draft proposes a little more than a seven and a half percent increase from the current year’s approved budget. Members of the board pointed out that the increases were over the proposed budget, not the actual expenditures.

That evening the board approved the hiring of an additional aide that had not been in this year’s budget approved by voters earlier this year.

The board approved the addition of another paraprofessional position, bringing the total of unbudgeted staff additions to four.

In September three additional paraprofessional positions were added for a budget overrun of about $76,400 with about

40,000 being reimbursed by State and Federal dollars. The four new additions are part of the reason for the budget increase, Business Manager Chris Locarno told the board.

Mr. Locarno also told the board that in regards to teaching staff costs, there were shifts between grade levels that made it appear that costs were down in some grades while going up in others, when actually it was just the shifting of personnel to adjust for different class sizes.

Director of Special Services Karen Woolsey said that, while the current budget view shows aides per grade level, she is considering placing all aides in one budget line to not only facilitate understanding the budget but to also protect the privacy of students with special needs.

The printouts that were provided to the board did not include revenues, only the expenses.

Director Rama Schneider said that it was important for the board to budget responsibly and work toward having a budget that was sustainable. He said that the large budget overruns that have been in the recent can not continue.