Monday night’s School Committee meeting featured a couple of major agenda items including the selection of Dr. Paul Stein as Wayland’s next superintendent. Before members had the superintendent discussion, however, they met with the Finance Committee to present the school’s FY12 budget.

This final budget presented to FinCom looked very similar to Superintendent Gary Burton’s recommended budget that he first presented to the School Committee Jan. 6, though the most recent version includes additional positions not in Burton’s original budget.

The School Committee’s FY12 budget includes 6.1 new full-time positions and .8 current positions that need to be funded by budget moneys since grant moneys are expiring. Even with those positions, the budget includes a net increase of only $500,000 thanks to offset increases for 2011-2012 and non-personnel decreases.

Non-personnel decreases of $39,837 in addition to a $456,127 increase in offsets – coming from items such as the SPED Circuit Breaker credit and revenue from the full-day kindergarten program – together contribute to offset the budgeted new personnel costs of $589,145 and additional needs to the tune of $406,819.

The total budget comes in at $32,338,840.

“The vast majority of these positions are either required and necessary [according to the state],” explained School Committee Chair Louis Jurist, “or we’re assuming funding from a grant that no longer covers the position.”

The proposed budget includes funding full or partial positions for a health and wellness coordinator and an RTI (Response to Intervention) position at the high school level; two sixth grade teachers at the middle school level; two math specialists at the elementary level; a speech therapist for The Children’s Way; a guidance counselor position and a reading specialist at The Loker School; an English Language Learners position at the district level; and a K-12 PE/Health and Wellness department head.

The Finance Committee will look at the School Committee’s proposed budget and report back as to whether changes need to be made. FinCom Chair Cherry Karlson said she wanted to be comfortable with funding positions not only in 2012, but also looking forward.

“[We’re] trying to look … not only what it does to our budget in ‘12, but also can we support in ‘13 and 1’4,” Karlson said. “I need to get comfortable that when you look at adding six positions … that that’s a number that we can afford.”

The Finance Committee is scheduled to present its draft of the FY12 budget during a meeting on Feb. 7.