Next year’s proposed $34.1 million school budget passed its first reading this week, but not without concerns about a lack of funds for building improvements.

At the initial first reading, held by the Westbrook School Committee last week, committee member Alex Stone made a motion to add $50,000 to the budget for capital improvements, an item that had been eliminated to make up for revenue losses.

Due to the last-minute change, a special committee meeting was convened Monday for a first reading vote.

Stone believes a capital improvement budget at zero is a mistake for the school department, which has a number of aging buildings. Superintendent of School Marc Gousse had included some $100,000 for it in his initial proposed budget.

Committee member Veronica Bates motioned to reconsider the addition of the $50,000, which was supported by the rest of the committee, excluding Stone.

Bates, as well as the school’s Finance Committee chairwoman, Suzanne Salisbury, argued that there had been discussion with city officials about possibly adding the $50,000 to the city’s Capital Improvement Plan for next year, which has not yet been completed by City Administrator Jerre Bryant.

Stone said that depending on funds from the city is risky.

“There is no guarantee from the City Council that that would get approved,” Stone said about the funding Monday night. “I’m not sure why we’re going back to take this out. I think capital improvements are a necessity.”

Stone added that if the city included any school projects in its Capital Improvement Plan, and the school department didn’t use those funds, the money could carry over to the following year’s budget.

The school department has three elementary schools, a middle school and high school under its umbrella, as well as the Westbrook Community Center. Funding originally included in the budget was slated for paving and roofs, projects that could be put on hold if neither the school nor city includes money for them in their respective budgets.

The funds were removed from the proposed school budget in response to a school department revenue shortfall of more than $1 million. Overall spending by the department is up just 0.4 percent, but its portion of an estimated property tax increase is 65 cents.

Salisbury said the list of capital projects originally included in the budget, which totaled $138,000, was to be recommended by city staff to be part of the Capital Improvement Plan budgets.

“The work that has gone into building our relationship with the city over the last year has really brought us to a good place, and I’m confident they will follow through,” Salisbury said.

Stone countered that Bryant made clear that he couldn’t guarantee the City Council would ultimately approve the amount.

“I think it is our responsibility to put some money in the budget for our schools, and I don’t see any guarantee,” he said.

At a city Finance Committee meeting last week, councilors Victor Chau and Mike Sanphy were also concerned about the lack of funds budgeted for improvement projects. Sanphy gave the example of the former Prides Corner Elementary School, which was closed three years ago owing to mold and other issues.

Gousse said Tuesday that while he “didn’t feel good” about cutting from the budget, the rationale by Salisbury and the Finance Committee was to keep the budget increase as low as possible.

No funding for My Place Teen Center has been allocated in the school budget. Money for the school department’s alternative learning? ?program, originally slated for My Place Teen Center, was allocated to pay? ?for space at the Westbrook Community Center.?? ?My Place Teen Center? has also so far failed to received funding from the city’s? social services budget. In past years, the city had appropriated $25,000 for the teen center.

Gousse reiterated that Bryant committed to adding at least $50,000 for school projects to the city’s Capital Improvement Plan, but could not guarantee an approval by the City Council. However, Gousse said he is “confident that we’re going to be in a good place.”

The committee voted 6-1 to remove the funds from the budget Monday, and ultimately unanimously approved the first reading of the budget.

The final reading on the fiscal year 2015-16 school budget is scheduled for Wednesday, April 15 (after the American Journal’s deadline for this week) at 7 p.m. in Room 114 of Westbrook High School. If approved, the next step would be approval by the Westbrook City Council and then through a budget validation referendum on June 9.