Rochester Town Administrator Richard LaCamera says things are looking grim as Rochester Memorial School prepares for $354,000 in program and staffing cuts to balance out other increased costs that cannot be avoided.

“It’s gotten to the point where we just can’t go anywhere,” LaCamera said. “We just don’t have the money.”

The Board of Selectmen’s meeting on February 27 was crowded as the members of the town’s Finance Committee and the Rochester Memorial School budget subcommittee discussed what to do with the increased costs of special education, utilities and tuition for students attending vocational schools.

Under federal law, the School Committee is responsible for the costs of special education services for a student in need until he or she reaches the age of 22. In 2013, Rochester will see an increase of $118,000 in special education costs.

Superintendent Doug White presented the latest draft of the 2013 budget which accounts for $354,000 of the overall increased service costs of $417,000 with cuts to the school’s programs, as well as staffing cuts including paraprofessionals and one science teacher.

LaCamera had asked that the School Committee, as well as all of the town’s boards and committees, submit a level-funded budget for the coming year to keep the 2013 budget the same as in 2012.

“Level-funded is not something anyone wanted to do but it had to be done,” LaCamera said. “Rochester Memorial School is seeing a 8 percent increase from last year. Quite frankly, even in good economic times, we could not support 8 percent.”

The budget subcommittee had asked for an additional $417,000 during the January 5 meeting with the School Committee to pay for the increased costs. Since then, the budget subcommittee has been working with LaCamera on ways to cut costs without the need for further staffing cuts.

The subcommittee was able to save money due to cutbacks on utilities in the newly-expanded school building, White said. Other savings came from renegotiated contracts and from reducing the number of school buses by one.

Thee savings accumulate to $354,000 in cost savings in 2013. The budget subcommittee will be looking into additional cuts as it tries to reduce the $417,000 in service costs they anticipate for next year.

School Committee and budget subcommittee member Sharon Hartley suggested the town review how the special education and vocational school budget is accounted for between the School Committee and the town.

Hartley suggested that the additional costs be divided equally among the town’s departments so that any increased costs would not solely be taken from the elementary school budget.

“We have had to make cuts and we are required to handle these costs in a difficult way,” Hartley said. “It should be spread across departments and not just at Rochester Memorial School.”

This, LaCamera said, is not realistic.

LaCamera said that 67 percent of the town’s budget is the Rochester Memorial School budget. Included in that percentage is funding for the school’s health insurance and unemployment needs.

“These responsibilities are under the responsibilities of the School Committee and not the responsibility of the town,” LaCamera said. “We absorb all of those staffing costs. Do you really want us to allocate those back to Rochester Memorial School? I’m sure you don’t want to do that. It’s a two-way street, remember.”

LaCamera said the Selectmen, Finance Committee and budget subcommittee members would continue to review the budget over the next few weeks.

Selectman Naida Parker said due to the lack of state aid, the town needs to find an acceptable budget for the school that does not take away from the students’ education.

“The financial burden that is being put on us is to the point where it is severely impacting our schools,” Parker said. “They say, ‘You have to fund this but we’re not giving you the money to do it.’”