Hearing Set On 2006-2007 Budget

A public hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, March 1, at 7:30 pm, at the Reed Intermediate School on the proposed budgets of the Newtown Board of Selectmen and the Board of Education for the 2006-2007 fiscal year.

Initially on January 31, Superintendent of Schools Evan Pitkoff presented a proposed budget for the 2006-2007 school year totaling $62,016,578, representing an 8.92 percent or additional $5,007,808 increase over the 2005-2006 school year budget.

Earlier this month, the school board approved a reduced version of the superintendent’s budget proposal, trimming it by an additional $594,424, making the revised school budget for the 2006-2007 fiscal year $61,422,154.

The bulk of the budget costs fall in the area of staff salaries at 62 percent, with employee benefits taking 15 percent, and the remainder of the budget falls under purchases of services, supplies, and equipment, which take up 23 percent of the budget.

For more in-depth budget details see the public hearing notice on page A9.