With $2.5 Million Cut Intact—

Council Education Panel OKs Budget

By Eliza Hallabeck

In a 3-1 vote, the Legislative Council’s Education Subcommittee recommended the school board budget, as passed by the Board of Finance with a $2.5 million reduction, to the full council on Monday, March 31.

In response to public participation comments, subcommittee chair Mary Ann Jacob said “I am listening to all the people I hear,” she said, “and I just want you guys to know, I personally hear everyone who has talked to me. And the voices you hear at a public hearing are not the only people who are reaching out to us, and it is part of our responsibility, in my opinion, to hear everyone.”

Committee member George Ferguson also said the decision had to be made based on what is best for the town.

The motion to uphold the Board of Finance’s recommended $2.5 reduction to the school budget was made by committee member Chris LaRocque and seconded by member George Ferguson. Mr LaRocque, Mr Ferguson, and Ms Jacob later voted in favor of the motion, with member Kevin Fitzgerald opposing.

Mr Fitzgerald said residents asked for programs not to be cut.

“We are working to try to avoid it. Absolutely,” said Mr Fitzgerald. “The bottom line is what we are voting on today continues all the way through to the public, these things they asked us to do, we will not be able to do.”

Ms Jacob disagreed.

The $69,415,876 school budget passed by the Board of Education on February 9 reflected a 4.8 percent increase over last year’s spending package. A month later, the Board of Finance reduced the requested increase by $2.5 million, leaving the school district with a $679,805 increase for the coming fiscal year.

First saying he is an education supporter and a Newtown Public Schools graduate, Mr LaRocque spoke to his motion.

“I kind of resent the fact that there was no option C or D on the table,” Mr LaRocque said. Adding later, “To me, the teachers, where we are making massive reductions in Options A and B without vetting by the Board of Ed and still spreading that to the community, that really concerns me, because I think there is an option C and D and maybe even E that does not involve massive reductions to our teaching staff.”

The reductions, he said, can be upheld without sacrificing the integrity of the system, including increasing class size.

Ms Jacob said she has heard from more than 100 people asking to put the $2.5 million back, a handful of people saying they understood the reduction, but wherever she goes she is told people cannot afford an increase in taxes. In researching voter trends over the past couple of years, Ms Jacob said it is the Legislative Council’s responsibility to put a budget forward that voters will pass.

She also agreed with Mr LaRocque that there are other options the school board has not yet addressed.

“And I think taking teachers away should be options X, Y, and Z, not options A and B,” said Ms Jacob.

Presenting the education subcommittee a paper with her own ideas on the budget for the first time, Ms Jacob said she found options that could save $2,040,120. Those options included removing a high school visitor bench, printing the middle school handbook, purchasing computers for Reed Intermediate School from the budget, and offering an early retirement option to teachers.

In the handout Ms Jacob wrote, “Hopefully these examples will spark a wider debate on how as a town we can support education while keeping a lid on spending and borrowing.”

Mr Fitzgerald said the feedback he has been receiving showed the public would support funding the school system, or at least part of it, and disregarding that feedback is a mistake.

After a failed motion to recommend advisory questions to the April 27 referendum vote, the council agreed with Mr Fitzgerald to have the issue looked into further.

During public participation, resident Kinga Walsh said she was appalled the subcommittee was not recommending to add the $2.5 million increase back into the school budget.

“As a voter right now,” said Ms Walsh, “my biggest concern is how you are going to fix next year, because I don’t see how any of these things will be able to be implemented to fix what we have right now.”

She questioned how some options brought up by the school board could be put in place by next year.

The need to save money is important, Ms Walsh said, “but we seem to have cut so much from the budget already in all the options and proposals, and when is it going to stop?”

The reduction in the school budget increase will hurt the students, Ms Walsh said, adding she thanked Ms Jacob for providing alternative options.

First Selectman Pat Llodra, who attended the meeting Monday, also told the board she has been hearing people cannot afford an increase in taxes. It is the unvoiced population in town, she said, that needs to have a voice.

Mrs Llodra also said while this year’s budget posses a difficult challenge, the real challenge will be next year when the state is already anticipating the reduced funding.