School Budget Meetings Continue

By Eliza Hallabeck

The Board of Education returned to its regular meeting place in the Reed Intermediate School library for its Thursday, January 30, meeting, that had principals from all but one of the schools in the public school district present their planned budgets for the coming year.

Newtown High School Principal Charles Dumais presented the budget for the high school first.

“I think that it is well understood, and well accepted, that the high school is overcrowded,” said Mr Dumais, “and was overcrowded before this budget season.”

He said the class sizes at the high school are larger than “we would like them to be.” Teachers at the school have taken on more responsibility, and with the incoming addition of 50 to 60 more students in the expected freshmen class for the fall, he said, a minimum of two additional teachers would be needed to keep the class sizes where they are now. Other positions suggested for the high school in the proposed budget include a world language teacher, a science teacher, a social studies teacher, and a guidance counselor. Noncertified positions request for the high school next year are an athletic trainer, a technology specialist, and an added 22 percent of increased hours for the attendance office.

Mr Dumais said it could be prudent to hire a world language teacher that could be shared between the high school and the middle school in place of hiring one just for the high school.

Comparable schools with NHS in the state’s group for comparison, called DRGs, have roughly 214 students per guidance counselor. NHS, Mr Dumais said, now has 247 students per guidance counselor.

Despite everything, Mr Dumais said, morale is high at the high school.

Overall the expected increase for the high school’s budget for the coming year is 4.13 percent.

Newtown Middle School Principal Diane Sherlock presented her school’s budget next, which has an expected increase in spending of 2.65 percent for the coming year.

Ms Sherlock said this is her tenth year in the school district, and this is the first year when she has not had new staff or programs to advocate for before the school board.

“We have never worked harder than we have this year,” said Ms Sherlock. She said there are no positions at the middle school that do not teach students.

Reed Intermediate School Principal Donna Denniston presented the budget for her school next, which has a budget decrease of .34 percent for the expected year. In the proposed budget Reed Intermediate School will be loosing two teacher positions and a portion of the gifted program at the school.

There is an expected budget decrease of 1.01 percent for all of Newtown’s elementary school in the proposed budget. Head O’ Meadow Principal William Bircher was not present for the meeting.

Faculty and school community members from Hawley Elementary School showed up in force, nearly filling at least half the seats in the library themselves, to tell the school board why the lead teacher position at the school is necessary. During the first public participation, multiple people stood up to say the lead teacher fulfills many jobs within the school. The lead teacher position at Hawley is one of two lead teacher positions expected to be cut in the proposed school district budget.

“We feel the role of the lead teacher is one of importance,” said Wendy Olson, president of the Hawley Elementary School PTA.

Hawley School PTA member Marybeth Pereira said she is a fan of Hawley School, a fan of each faculty member, and a fan of the Newtown public school district. She added that the lead teacher position is the liaison for the teachers to the PTA.

“I want to thank everyone from Hawley that came out,” said school board Vice Chairperson Lillian Bittman. “I see a lot of familiar faces, so I really appreciate it. And I’d like to thank everyone who is here for the budget in general. It’s wonderful to see Newtown so involved, and I would encourage you to follow the budget process on our website this year, because we are going to try very hard this year to make sure as much information is out there in various forms.”

The entire proposed budget for the school district has an increase of 2.73 percent, with staff reductions and furlough days, which are a change in the school calendar of three staff attendance days and three half days of student and staff attendance.