WESTBROOK – Responding to outcries from parents, staff members and students at a public hearing Wednesday night, the Westbrook’s school finance committee is recommending that more than $700,000 be restored in the 2011-2012 budget proposal.

If the recommendations hold, the district would manage to rescue all of its nurses, most of its guidance counselors, and all its technology coordinators. In addition, the finance committee is recommending reinstating into the budget proposal several athletics programs, including the hockey program and all freshman athletics.

But that comes at a price: the finance committee’s recommendations add up to a net gain of $706,542 to the budget, a gain that, if confirmed, would have to be shouldered by taxpayers. Dawn Ouellette, the city’s chief financial officer, said Thursday that the gain would result in a school-side property tax increase of 2.24 percent, or 38 cents. On a $190,000 home, Ouellette said that translates into a $72.58 increase in the annual property tax bill, if the committee’s recommendations are adopted.@font-face { font-family: “Times New Roman”; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: “Times New Roman”; color: black; }table.MsoNormalTable { font-size: 10pt; font-family: “Times New Roman”; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; }

The $33 million budget for the Westbrook School District is now in the hands of the school committee. The full school committee is expected to finalize its budget proposal April 13. It then goes to the City Council for approval.

The finance committee’s discussion followed a two-and-a-half-hour plea from around 200 parents, staff members and students not to cut too deeply into the district’s resources at the public hearing, held at the middle school performing arts center.

Interim School Superintendent Marc Gousse presented the administration’s recommended cuts to the district’s budget. The list was very similar to a list of proposed cuts that began circulating last week. If those cuts are made, officials at the meeting said, there would be a no increase from this year’s budget, and no additional burden for taxpayers.