NEWPORT — School Committee chairman Charles Shoemaker isn’t sure what will be discussed at tomorrow’s joint budget workshop with the City Council, not since officials at City Hall appear unlikely to give more for education next year when the School Department has a sizeable surplus.

“It’s supposed to be a discussion, but I don’t think it will be because the City Council has already made up their minds as to how they would fund the schools,” Shoemaker said. “There may be discussion, but I think they have made up their mind.”

As required by state law, the council and the school board will hold their second summit on the budget at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall.

During the first session, held on March 5, city officials scoffed at Schools Supt. John Ambrogi’s budget proposal, which called for a 5 percent increase in the city’s appropriation for education. Ambrogi said he kept the overall spending increase down to 2.12 percent by using some of the school surplus to balance his budget. He planned to use more of it the following year for the same purpose.

Several weeks after the first session, City Manager Edward F. Lavallee presented his budget. He balanced his proposed budget by freezing the amount of local tax dollars that support education. In doing so, he cited the school’s $2.7 million surplus.

Lavallee’s $99.1 million budget would result in a 3.9 percent increase in the property tax levy, under the state’s 5 percent cap. The tax rate, per $1,000 of assessed value, would rise to $8.68 from $8.34. The owner of a house assessed at $300,000 would pay about $100 more in taxes next year.

Shoemaker said that neither the manager nor any member of the council sought any input from school officials.

“As far as I know, there was no discussion with any School Committee member,” he said.

Since the last joint meeting and the presentation of the manager’s budget, there have been no substantive discussions or reports of any revised financial projections that would appear to allow for any major budget revisions, Shoemaker said.

The City Council will hold a hearing on May 28. A final reading of the budget ordinance is scheduled for June 11.

rsalit@projo.com