Finance Chairman: Town, Education Budget

Increases Essentially ‘Justified’

By Kendra Bobowick &

 John Voket

Looking back on two nights of budget hearings, finance board Chairman John Kortze described proposed increases as, “well-founded” and seemingly justified. The Board of Finance received input and questioned aspects of the town-side and then the school district budget proposals February 22 and 27, respectively.

During her presentation Tuesday, Board of Education Chairman Elaine McClure told the finance board an additional $129,834 was subsequently trimmed from Superintendent of Schools Evan Pitkoff’s original $64.9 million proposal. The school board’s current $64.7 million budget proposal along with the town-side proposal in excess of $38.5 million may face some additional adjustments after Wednesday’s public hearing on the spending plan. (See separate story.)

The Board of Finance was scheduled to complete its deliberations, ask any final questions, and ratify a final proposal to be sent along to the Legislative Council just after The Bee went to press March 1. Ultimately, the combined education and municipal budget will go to referendum after ratification by the council.

At press time, the combined proposal marks the first budget in Newtown history to break the $100 million mark at $103.3 million.

The Board of Education’s proposal came in at 104 pages, which included charts, graphs, and breakdowns of funding for schools in the system, boiling down to a 7.25 percent overall increase. Ms McClure stressed that the budget reflected sensitivity to taxpayers, indicating several areas of creative adjustments.

“There are partial positions. Where we could we [went with] a slight increase instead of adding new positions,” she told the finance panel. “We could have tried to play catch-up everywhere, but we tried to turn savings over to the town; I am happy it’s 7.25 percent.”

The current school board proposal reflects more than an eight percent rise from the 2005-06 budget.

On the municipal side, First Selectman Herb Rosenthal said he was hopeful the finance board would affirm the proposal selectmen sent forward incorporating a $750,000 proposed allocation to the town’s capital nonrecurring account. He noted that bids for diesel and fuel bulk purchases, which are due in the coming week or two, are likely to be measurably lower since the cost of that fuel has dropped marketwide since the town’s last purchasing cycle.

“That could represent as much as a $100,000 savings to the town,” Mr Rosenthal said. “And since the school board obtains its fuel from the same consortium, the level of savings could be similar or greater.”

The first selectman said before the final council vote, he is anticipating some good news from the municipal benefits carrier.

“I’m hoping that once our carrier takes a look at the whole [insurance and benefit] package, it could add up to as much as $360,000 in savings to the town,” Mr Rosenthal said. “Multiplying that across the school district personnel might provide as much as $1 million in savings for the Board of Education.”

On the town side, Mr Rosenthal said debt service cost is a primary driver in the selectmen’s requested budget increase. All bonding, including school board capital projects, are incorporated into the town-side of the budget.

According to town Finance Director Benjamin Spragg, as of June 30, 2006, Newtown was carrying about a dozen bond or borrowing issues totaling $72 million.

The 2007-2008 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) calls for bonding $10 million for sewer upgrades, $2.75 million for the design phase of the high school expansion, the design phase of the Parks and Recreation Department community and senior center facility at $600,000, a $2 million fund for open space acquisition, and a bond incorporating $6.02 million for playing fields, mothballing buildings, demolition, and the new municipal office renovations at Fairfield Hills.

Driving The School’s Increase

On Tuesday, Ms McClure discussed the factors driving the education increase.

“The most common question is why are we up 7.25 percent?” said Ms McClure. “First are student needs, then there is NEASC.”

The New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) accreditation process is pushing the need for certain improvements.

“We’re already on warning status,” Ms McClure continued. “The NEASC is a factor behind student needs.”

Included in paperwork Ms McClure offered to the finance members is a quote from the NEASC report saying, “The overcrowded facility, the lack of adequate numbers of teachers, the overworked staff, and the limited technology are all issues that the community must address quickly.” The paperwork also shows the current class numbers for Newtown High School, for example, which have some classes at between 26 and 30 students, where additional teachers could reduce the size of classes.

Taking their time to understand the changes from the current operating budget of $60.4 million, the finance board listened to discussions about staffing, enrollment, transportation, health insurance costs, and maintaining state accreditation, among other topics.

Also on the list are maintaining enrollment at certain grade levels, contractual obligations, and transportation.

Mr Kortze asked what has taken place in past years to address NEASC.

“Is there anything we have not addressed?” Mr Kortze asked.

Dr Pitkoff assured finance members that the adjustments annually were incremental. The high school additions, for one, should alleviate pressure. As far as doing all they can, Dr Pitkoff answered, “Yes. We don’t want to be on warning status.”

Finance board member John Torok expressed a worry over meeting the school district’s special education needs.

“This is a special and important area,” he said. “If it’s underfunded, that really needs to be addressed. I would like to know you’ll take another look at this.”

In the interest of cost savings, Ms McClure indicated the school board might again defer maintenance in some areas. This brought rebuttal from Mr Torok, who said, “Deferring year after year can become very expensive.”

Security matters also raised concerns. The district’s proposal calls for one more security guard.

Finance member James Gaston asked directly, “Is there a security risk at the high school?”

Dr Pitkoff stressed that an officer was assigned to the school, but could go on a call at any time. He also defended the need for additional security personnel due to the volume of students.

“There are 1,700 students and a lot of cracks, overcrowding, and you know what happens with a lot of people in one space…we have to keep a lid on it,” Dr Pitkoff said.

Business Director Ron Bienkowski stressed the need for an additional business staff member because of the many changes and added responsibilities that have multiplied the workload filtering through his office in past years without additional staff.

Mr Torok, who formerly held Mr Bienkowski’s position, said, “If any position in this budget is justified with respect to the liability to the town, that’s the position that absolutely should stay in the budget.”

Saying he was much more comfortable with this year’s budget proposals than some in years past, Mr Kortze said the school board in particular formulated a “very transparent” presentation, adding, “the Board of Education seems to be more in tune with the job we have to do. They presented good rationale behind their requests for increases.

He added that both the school board and first selectman brought forth “very solid presentations,” but said ultimately the spending proposals will have to pass muster with the voters.

“The net increase [to date] is greater than what failed at the referendum last year,” Mr Kortze said. “It comes down to what the taxpayer is willing to pay for.”