Date: Fri 13-Feb-1998

Publication: Ant

Author: MICHEL

Quick Words:

school-budget-

Full Text:

$32.7 Million School Budget OK'd By Board

BY MICHELE HOGAN

On Tuesday evening, the Newtown Board of Education adopted a $32,759,812

budget, which will be sent to the Legislative Council for review.

This reflects a 10.1 percent increase over the current budget of $29.7

million.

The largest part of the budget increase, almost $2 million, is for salaries.

This includes both increases in salaries based on teacher contracts, and 17.8

new positions (14.6 in regular education and 3.2 for special education)

required to meet increasing enrollment.

Equipment, mostly computers, will cost roughly $400,000 more than last year;

improved instructional supplies, "off-years testing" (basic testing for

students in grade levels that Connecticut Mastery Test is not provided) and

workbooks, etc, $143,000 more; electricity and fuel oil, $120,000 more.

This budget proposal reflects cuts totaling $105,000 from the superintendent's

budget presented to the Board of Education last month.

New Teachers,

Higher Salaries

Of the $2 million increase in the budget due to salaries, just more than $1

million is for teachers. Salary increases required by the teachers contract

this year account for $611,000.

The cost of the 17.8 additional teaching positions have a combined salary and

insurance cost of $695,028.

Increased special education teaching staff costing $232,000, support staff

(custodians, educational assistants, technology staff), and a provision for

salary adjustments for support staff whose contracts are currently under

negotiation make up most of the rest of the increases in the salary portion of

the budget.

This budget submission is based on maintaining current class sizes and meeting

an enrollment forecast of 4,422 students, which is 161 more students than

currently attend Newtown Schools.

Technology

Technology, primarily computers, totals $431,242 in the budget.

Almost half of this amount is for Newtown High School ($199,588); with Head O'

Meadow School ($73,465) and the Newtown Middle School ($52,420) also using a

large proportion of the total.

The remaining $105,769 is divided among the other schools and various

administrative functions.

New technology for the high school language lab, to be used primarily in

teaching foreign languages, would cost $99,000.

Another $95,000 is to be used to purchase 50 Macintosh computer systems at

$1,900 each.

Five bubble jet printers at $516 each, one laser printer at $1,220 and two

macro/micro video cameras at $894 each, make up the remaining $100,588 in the

high school technology equipment list.

Head O' Meadow has requested $73,465 in technology.

This includes $3,500 to replace a Power Macintosh 9600 computer for

administration.

Thirty powerbook 1400CS computers for classroom use at $2,239 each total

$67,170.

A video camera at $1,200, a flex camera at $995 and a digital camera at $600

make up the rest of the budget for Head O' Meadow.

The Newtown Middle School has listed a total of $52,420 for computers, which

includes 12 apple powerbooks at $2,060 each (total of $24,720); eight

Macintosh computers at $1,900 each (two of which are replacements); five

computer projectors at $2,500 each; and a 32 inch monitor at $800.

Hawley School's technology list totals $27,620.

This includes ten Macintosh computer systems at $1,900 each (total of

$19,000), two portable computers at $2,060, two laser printers at $800 each,

two 35 inch monitors at $1,200 each and a hub at $500.

Sandy Hook School is requesting 15 Macintosh systems at $1,900 each (14 for

classrooms and one for physical education) for a total cost of $26,600.

Middle Gate School is the pilot school for technology at the elementary level,

and is already well-equipped.

Middle Gate School has requested only one additional computer, a Macintosh

system at $1,900.

The Information Technology Office is requesting $22,450 worth of equipment.

This includes replacement equipment totaling $4,950 (three computer processor

boards with drives and memory). New equipment requested is a laptop computer

at $4,800; an NT Workstation at $7,500; and a CDR at $1,250; a digital scanner

at $1,200; a digital camera at $850; a color printer at $600 and two color

monitors at $650 each.

Administration has $15,000 listed, which includes two laptop computers at

$1,500 each and a replacement pentium computer at $3,500 for pupil services;

$6,500 for curriculum, which includes a computer system with a scanner,

printer and a digital camera; a high speed printer for budget and business

(replacement) at $4,000; and $2,000 for a computer for transportation.

Other items listed are two computers for health and medical functions, one at

Head O' Meadow and one at the Newtown Middle School at $2,750 each.

Budget Reductions

The largest budget reduction is in the area of special education.

Out-of-district tuition and out-of-district transportation for students whose

special needs cannot be met within the district have been reduced by a total

of $50,000.

Bob Chiappetta, pupil personnel services director, said at Tuesday's Board of

Education meeting that two days ago he received notice from the state office

regarding higher state reimbursement levels (which translate into the expected

savings of $50,000).

The second cut was a reduction of $21,000, which had been requested for a

parking lot at Hawley School.

The Board of Education will still build the parking lot, but the money to

build it will come from the money left over in the contingency fund from the

addition at Hawley School.

The third budget cut is a $12,000 reduction in special education tutors.

Superintendent of Schools John Reed said that "the needs were less than what

we had envisioned. It depends on what flows out of the PPTs [Planning and

Placement Team meetings]."

Another reduction of $12,000 is due to the resignation of a teacher who is

relocating.

Finally, a new central link phone system is expected to cut phone bills by

$10,000.

Budget Context

Newtown's per pupil spending of $6,743 in the 1996-97 year placed Newtown at

the bottom of the list for per pupil expenditures, in three comparisons:

bottom of the 22 districts in Fairfield County; bottom of the 18 districts in

Educational Reference Group B; and bottom of list of the nine school districts

geographically contingent to Newtown. (This is the most recent comparative per

pupil costs available.)