BEVERLY — The Beverly School Committee has added itself to the list of municipal entities that oppose Question 3 — a state sales tax reduction that voters will decide on in the Nov. 2 election.
If the initiative passes, the Massachusetts sales tax will be reduced from 6.25 percent to 3 percent starting Jan. 1. Beverly stands to lose about $2.5 million in state aid, according to Mayor Bill Scanlon, and he believes it would result in the layoff of up to 50 city workers.
"We can make the assumption that half of that ($2.5 million) will come out of the schools," said Annemarie Cesa, the Beverly School Committee president. "That, in addition to the removal of the ARRA funds (the roughly $1 million the school received this year as a result of the federal stimulus), would be catastrophic."
The school district laid off 30 employees last year and would likely be forced to lay off more if the ballot measure passes, Cesa said.
"As a citizen, I would have to assume that there will also be cuts to the library, Fire Department, Police Department, senior center," she said. "For people to sit back and say, 'I can have extra pennies in my pocket' — I understand times are tough right now, but ... (if this passes) we'll be in big trouble in Beverly and across the commonwealth."
Question 3 is expected to cut $2.5 billion from state revenues, which is about half of what the state spends each year on public schools. That loss in revenue would be a double whammy, Scanlon said.
"In addition to the $2.5 billion cut, there will be a $2 billion loss of federal stimulus and rainy day funds. There will probably be a cut in local aid even if this Question 3 does not pass," Scanlon said.
Cesa said those on the School Committee are "doing our best to hold on to what's best for kids. It's going to be hard to hold onto anything if this happens."
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