WESTBROOK – The Westbrook School Committee is holding a public hearing this week to get the last comments before finalizing its 2011-2012 budget, after a last-minute gain in federal funding helped prevent some planned layoffs.

Interim School Superintendent Marc Gousse told the School Committee at a meeting April 13 that he managed to secure more than $500,000 in federal money to help protect 17 jobs from being eliminated in the 2011-2012 budget.

The $588,443, Gousse said, will come from the Education Jobs Program, under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act.

The committee voted to adopt the budget in its current form, in advance of the April 20 public hearing, held after American Journal deadline. On April 27, the committee will vote to finalize the budget and send it off to the City Council. Once the council approves it, the school budget goes to a referendum vote on June 7.

The district has been grappling with a $3.7 million gap ever since officials learned of massive cuts in state and federal funding. Gousse stressed that the final budget figures are still a work in progress, but the current numbers show administrators and the school committee have managed to shrink that gap by nearly $3 million.

Gousse originally released a list of possible cuts to the budget on March 30, which would have eliminated, among other things, 76 teachers and staff members, in exchange for a 0 percent increase. Since then, the school district has recommended replacing a number of those positions and programs, raising the budget increase to just above $700,000.

Through last past few weeks, parents, staff and students have offered impassioned pleas to keep the programs, teachers, nurses, guidance counselors and others.

As of the end of the April 13 meeting, the budget stood at $31 million, which is an increase of $871,000 over the 2010-2011 budget. If approved, the increase would be passed onto taxpayers in the form of a 2.74 percent, or 47 cents. According to Chief Financial Officer Dawn Ouellette, that means the owner of a $190,000 home would face an annual increase of $89.46.

On April 13, Gousse recommended replacing 14 more positions, to be paid for largely by the new federal funds.

In all, Gousse said, the total number of layoffs now stands at 37. Gousse also said he would be processing a number of retirements this week, which would put more funds back into the budget. Gousse said just how those funds would be allocated is up to the school board, but acknowledged that the funds could potentially save more positions.