The Board of Education continued reviewing the proposed 2010-2011 Superintendent's Budget on Thursday, February 4, at a meeting in the Reed Intermediate School Library.
Adoption of the budget by the school board is scheduled for a special meeting at the Newtown Municipal Center on Tuesday, February 9, starting at 7 pm.
Before the board discussed separate portions of the 2010-2011 budget, Joe Costa, with the architectural firm Fletcher Thompson, presented the school board with an option to replace the Newtown High School greenhouse that was determined unusable after being moved during the NHS expansion and renovation project.
The structure was planned to be moved as part of the project, but, as Mr Costa explained to the board, it was destroyed in the attempt. He also said the greenhouse was originally planned as a temporary structure at the high school, and the new greenhouse, if passed, would have a more permanent design.
"We do need a new structure," Mr Costa told the board.
Mr Costa also told the school board the recommendation from Fletcher Thompson had not yet been seen by the town's Public Building & Site Commission.
The design presented to the board, Mr Costa said, "is by no means a luxury green house." Continuing that explanation, he said the goal was to keep the price of the new structure down.
Fletcher Thompson determined the old structure to have been worth $30,000 to $50,000, and would cover that amount of the expected $130,000 to $150,000 for the new structure, Mr Costa said.
School board member David Nanavaty reminded the board, passing the design would move it to the Public Building and Site Commission to look at further.
Mr Nanavaty moved to accept the design to replace the greenhouse, board member Richard Gaines seconded and the vote passed unanimously.
The areas of the 2010-2011 proposed budget covered during the meeting included special education, transportation, and curriculum.
Director of Pupil Services Michael Regan spoke for both special education and for pupil services costs in the budget. Reasons for expected rise in the special education budget, according to Mr Regan, include lower rates on reimbursement from the state and an increase of students with higher levels of need in town.
The school board asked questions of Transportation Director Tony DiLonardo regarding the budget for the district's transportation costs.
Mr Nanavaty asked Superintendent of Schools Janet Robinson why the elimination of the director of transportation was proposed for the 2010-2011 school year. Explaining his question, Mr Nanavaty said the district is contracted with 34 individual owner/operators and local fleet operator MTM Transportation. Unlike other districts, which have no need for a director of transportation due to contracting with a single contractor, Newtown has multiple contracts, he said. Mr Nanavaty added removing the director of transportation position would add more work for the superintendent, director of business and other workers in the transportation department.
"I can not disagree with you," Dr Robinson said, adding removing the position would make the owner/operators responsible for some things the school district has overseen in the past.
With all of the 19 positions proposed for elimination, Dr Robinson said the work would not go away with the position.
Mr Nanavaty suggested approaching the district's owner/operators with an agreement to five years of service in the district, as opposed to the currently contracted three, if they agree to lowering contractual rate increase. Owner/operators in the district agreed last year to a 4.55 increase over two years, but the terms of that agreement put off the entire increase to the second year.
Board of Ed Chair Lillian Bittman asked Mr Nanavaty and Dr Robinson to look into the idea further.
According to the 2010-2011 superintendent's budget, transportation is budget at $4,822,280, including supplies, fuel, staff training and the transportation of district students.
Assistant Superintendent of Schools Linda Gejda presented the curriculum portion of the budget to the school board.
Curriculum and technology costs are budgeted at a 1.37 percent increase in the 2010-2011 budget, brining the total for curriculum and technology to $1,633,737.
An area of concern with curriculum for Dr Gejda is the loss of professional development days, and, she said she is trying to think of different ways to hold professional development days district-wide.
"It's too bad teachers are not more willing to spend an hour after school," school board member Debbie Leidlein said.
Dr Gejda said many teachers are busy after school with clubs and other activities.
Thursday's meeting was the second night Board of Education members reviewed the budget in public since Dr Robinson presented it on Tuesday, January 26. The board is scheduled to vote on the budget on Tuesday, February 9.