As the Board of Education continues its inspection of the proposed 2021-22 school district budget, one topic is lingering: 2020.

As previously reported in The Newtown Bee, the superintendent’s proposed 2021-22 $81,080,697 budget represents a 3.09 percent or $2,428,921 increase from the current spending package. Superintendent of Schools Dr Lorrie Rodrigue shared an overview of the proposal at the Board of Education’s January 19 virtual meeting.

A public hearing on the budget is set for January 28 at 7 pm. Coverage of the hearing and further budget deliberations will be in the February 5 print edition.

The board will inspect the budget before approving it, along with any changes or updates, next week.

Since the budget was first proposed, the school board has heard from representatives of individual areas of the proposal, including school principals and heads of departments, at consecutive board meetings. Those presentations began directly after the superintendent’s January 19 presentation, with most of the district’s school principals speaking about their budget proposals that night.

School Budgets

Middle Gate Elementary School Principal Chris Geissler began the elementary school budget presentations by sharing that each of the elementary principals would highlight something happening in their building. At Middle Gate, Geissler spotlighted a program that is designed to meet the needs of individual students who display delays in “academic, social, cognitive, adaptive, and communication function.” That program is supported by a special education teacher, a behavioral analyst, and adult support. The program impacts the budget by maintaining students in the district, rather than outplacing them, according to the presentation. Hawley Elementary School Principal Chris Moretti, Head O’ Meadow Elementary School Principal Tim Napolitano, and Sandy Hook Elementary School Principal Dr Kathy Gombos all spoke about social/emotional learning (SEL) programs and how they have been supported through budget requests over the years, like behavior interventionist positions.

The combined elementary school budgets, as outlined in the “Superintendent’s Requested Operational Budget Plan 2021-2022” document, is requested at $11,683,313, or 5.22 percent more than the 2020-21 budget.

During multiple budget presentations, administrators expressed appreciation to district employees for all they did in 2020 and continue to do as the pandemic wears on. Dr Gombos said teachers were “asked to do the unbelievable” and they rose to the challenge.

“I have never in my career been so impressed by human beings,” Dr Gombos emphasized.

Board of Education members noted enrollment concerns in regard to multiple school budgets, including some specific class sizes. When speaking about his school’s budget, Reed Intermediate School Principal Dr Matt Correia said the economy is always kept “in mind” when creatively thinking of the budget. He highlighted ways enrollment is addressed in his school’s proposed spending plan, like adding two teachers for sixth grade classes to aim for 22 to 23 students per classroom. Reed’s proposed 2021-22 budget is $4,910,760, a 5.13 percent increase over the current budget.

Newtown Middle School Principal Tom Einhorn reminded the school board of the recently approved new schedule for his school and its impact on the budget. NMS’s proposed budget is $5,067,350, a 2.57 decrease from the current budget. Einhorn said the budget proposal supports students while being fiscally responsible, and the new schedule will position the school to be more flexible to student needs.

The school board then heard from Newtown High School Principal Dr Kimberly Longobucco for its January 21 virtual meeting. She explained her school’s proposed spending plan reflects budget drivers like state-mandates, contractual obligations, and ensuring adequate resources for maintaining a high level of quality instruction. The high school’s proposed budget is $12,316,320, a 1.12 percent increase from the current budget.

Other Proposed Budgets

Other budget presentations were heard at the January 21 and January 26 virtual Board of Education meetings.

As listed in the Superintendent’s Requested Operational Budget Plan 2021-2022, the special education proposed budget is $12,355,594, a 3.86 percent increase from the current budget; the pupil personnel services proposal is $4,451,671, a 5.91 percent increase; the health proposal is $1,038,873, a 5.12 percent increase; the curriculum budget is $1,090,512, a 12.99 percent increase; the technology proposal is $1,573,666, a 2.05 percent increase; the general support services proposal is $3,081,919, a 4.36 percent increase; the employee benefits proposal is $11,685,953, a 2.05 percent increase; the plant operations and maintenance proposal is $7,917,030, a 3.6 percent increase; the transportation proposal is $4,780,211, a 2.19 percent increase; and the continuing education proposal is $166,398, a .83 percent increase.

After a representatives spoke for each aspect of the overall 2021-22 spending proposal, Board of Education members asked questions. Board members are also expected to bring more questions up at the January 28 virtual meeting, following the scheduled public hearing.

2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic came up in different ways throughout the meetings. Newtown School District Nursing Supervisor Anne Dalton reflected that the district’s nurses “have taken on the challenge” of the pandemic, and a number of people voiced support and gratitude for the district’s nursing staff for the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Saying his department, like all others, was impacted by the pandemic’s ripples, Director of Security Mark Pompano thanked the Newtown Police Department for its support of the school district in the last year.

Director of Technology Carmella Amodeo on January 26 offered a glimpse into what 2020 was like for her department.

“2020 will forever be the year we counted the Chromebooks,” Amodeo said, after sharing an outline of her department’s work to ensure access to technology for students and staff in the Newtown Public School to support the remote and distance learning models that were established due to the pandemic.

The Superintendent’s Requested Operational Budget Plan 2021-2022 is available in full online at newtown.k12.ct.us/_theme/files/Board%20of%20Education/BOE%20Budgets/2021-2022%20Budgets/Super%20Operational%20Budget%20Plan%202021_2022.pdf.

The school board is expected to vote on the budget at its February 2 virtual meeting.