WESTBROOK – The Westbrook School Committee was expected to approve a series of adjustments to the 2012-2013 school budget this week that will help stave off a property tax increase this year.

At a meeting on May 2, held after the American Journal’s deadline, the committee was scheduled to vote on a proposal to lower the school’s spending plan by about $204,000. The savings come from lower-than-expected insurance rates and savings realized from staff retirements. School Committee Chairman Ed Symbol said Friday that he expects the committee to approve the measure.

“It’s the right thing to do,” he said.

Superintendent Marc Gousse introduced the cost savings at a presentation to the City Council’s Finance Committee last week. Gousse said the school department’s budget had anticipated a 5 percent increase in health insurance costs, while the actual figure came in at 4 percent. Additionally, the department’s dental insurance premiums actually decreased by 1 percent and a number of teacher retirements added to the savings.

Once the School Committee approves the new, lower budget figures, the total school budget will drop to $30.9 million, down from the originally proposed figure of $31.1 million, decreasing the money needed from local property taxes from $16.7 million to $16.5 million. The proposed budget represents a 0.15 percent increase in spending and a 1.16 percent increase in the amount needed from local taxes over this year’s budget of $30.8 million.

The new reductions would lower the school budget’s impact on the local tax rate from 30 cents to 19 cents per $1,000 of valuation. That reduction would drop the overall tax increase in the budget to 10 cents, though the city administration is asking the council to establish a tax stabilization reserve that would provide additional money allowing the city to avoid presenting a tax increase to residents this year.

While it appeared that the committee was going to support the lower figure, one member said that he would not. Alex Stone, chairman of the School Committee’s Finance Committee, said that while he knows it’s important to provide tax relief, he wants to see the extra money go to the establishment of a fund to help pay for new programs or for future maintenance and capital improvements in the district, something that is presently lacking.

“If something goes wrong, we don’t have the money to fix it,” Stone said. “That’s irresponsible. You have to have a reserve.”

Stone said that he thinks the School Committee has presented a solid budget to the council that provides a great deal of cost-savings to the city while still maintaining a strong school system.

“I feel pretty good with the right-sizing that we did based on class size and signup rates,” he said. “(But) we’ve cut so paper thin, if we have a bad winter, then we have a problem.”

Symbol said he thinks that Stone “brings up some great points” in regards to having extra money available to pay for unanticipated expenses, and he does think that a capital improvement fund for the school department needs to be addressed, but he doesn’t think that this is the year to do it.

He pointed out that the city is in the process of establishing a pool of money from its own excess funds to help cover any tax increases and it wouldn’t be right for the school department to hold onto money that it could use to help lower the tax burden.

“I think it’s insane to pull that (money) back and roll it over when people need tax relief,” he said.

The school budget next faces the Westbrook City Council, which will hold its first vote on the combined city and school spending plans on Monday, May 7, at 7 p.m., in room 114 of Westbrook High School. The council’s second and final vote is Monday, May 14, at 7 p.m., in room 114. The citywide referendum on the school budget is Tuesday, June 12.