Date: Fri 13-Jun-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: DOTTIE

Quick Words:

school-budget-cuts-surplus

Full Text:

School Board Makes $200,000 In Cuts

BY DOROTHY EVANS

Tuesday night, Board of Education members took a deep breath and carried out

the serious business of slicing $200,000 from their proposed 1997-98 budget,

following the directive of the Legislative Council.

In an effort to keep the property tax increase as low as possible, council

members voted April 22 to limit the school side of the budget to $29.7

million, a figure that was $200,000 less than the board had asked for.

As Superintendent of Schools John Reed handed out his list of proposed cuts

and adjustments at a workshop meeting June 3, he tried to soften the blow.

He called it an "opportunity for dialogue," but admitted it was a conversation

that he didn't relish having.

"I don't like being a proponent for what you're going to take out," Dr Reed

said.

Mentorship Program May Go

Perhaps the most controversial cut may be the loss of a proposed secretarial

position that will directly affect the Honors Mentorship Program at the high

school.

This program, now in its third year, has allowed academically gifted seniors

to spend their fall semester working in a career environment. It has been

administered by Jane McEvoy out of the high school's career center.

A planned increase in the scope of the career center's responsibilities next

year will mean that Mrs McEvoy will not have the time to administer the

mentorship program without the addition of another $15,577 secretarial

position in that office to take up the additional work load.

The proposed new career center secretarial position was one of several line

items that the board kept on its cut list Tuesday night.

Larger Math Classes

Math classes at the high school may be larger than recommended because a new

math teacher costing the system $35,000 may not be hired.

And, as in previous years, Newtown Middle School baseball and softball will

not be funded by the school budget, another controversial decision that many

parents may protest.

For three years, the middle school baseball program, costing $5,000 for

coaches' salaries, has been denied funding in the school budget. Instead, the

parents have chosen to pick up the tab, paying to play, so that the program

could continue.

But many parents feel, on principle, that the town should fund this

extracurricular program since it is available to all students and has proven

successful.

Apparently, several factors have combined to make this year's budget squeeze

especially difficult to manage, Dr Reed said.

"We've got 45 more kids coming into the high school than expected," he said.

Large class sizes at the second-grade level (up to 26 children per class) will

also need to be addressed, he said.

And kindergarten numbers at Sandy Hook are higher than expected, up from 95 to

122.

"We'll have to be stingy with staffing," Dr Reed predicted.

Surplus Revenue

Part of the $200,000 cut can be offset by using $95,000 that was left over

from the 1996/97 budget year, Dr Reed said.

He plans to apply that money toward purchase of a special education van and to

buy textbooks and make critical safety improvements at the swimming pool, such

as new starting blocks and diving boards.

A new fee of $6,500 will be charged to the Marriott food service for use of

utilities such as fuel oil and electric.

And a telephone company give-back amounting to $6,000 will be added to the

pot.