School Board Adopts A 2011-12 Budget

By Eliza Hallabeck

The Board of Education finalized its 2011-12 budget at its meeting on Tuesday, June 21. Adjustments made during the meeting included removing the proposed new assistant principal position at Newtown High School, adding a science teacher position to the high school, adjusting the expected special education Excess Cost Grant reimbursement level expected from the state, and eliminating $239,000 of educational assistant hours not associated with special education.

After learning the final reimbursement amount from the state through the special education Excess Cost Grant was lower than the district anticipated this fiscal year, board members voted to add $50,000 to the amount needed to cover the expenses not reimbursed through the grant next year after first eliminating the new assistant principal position at the school.

Board of Education Vice Chair Debbie Leidlein proposed eliminating the new assistant principal position to add back $123,323 to the $67,971,427 total budget.

“As you know, I am not in favor of cutting [educational assistants],” said Ms Leidlein, “so I looked for areas where we could save money so we would not have to cut the [educational assistants.]”

In her first attempt to amend the budget as presented to the Board of Education by school district Business Manager Ronald Bienkowski, Ms Leidlein looked at the assistant principal position.

“When I heard all of the feedback from the elementary school principals, when I heard feedback from the [educational assistants] currently working in our system, and when I heard feedback from the parents, the direct impact on our students in tremendous,” said Ms Leidlein. “Being put in the position to chose between the [educational assistants] and the assistant principal, to me, the only decision I can make is to keep the [educational assistants.]”

The school board voted 4-3 to cut the assistant principal position from the budget, with members Richard Gaines, David Nanavaty, and school board Secretary Andrew Buzzi voting against the motion. While Ms Leidlein, through motions, attempted to add money back to the $239,413 removed from the educational assistant hours in the district, each motion failed.

The board eventually voted to add a science teacher position to the high school that was originally cut from the budget, give $50,000 to the Excess Cost Grant coverage, and add the remaining savings from the assistant principal position, roughly $16,000, to the Plant Operations and Management budget.

At the Tuesday night meeting, both Superintendent of Schools Janet Robinson and Board of Education Chair William Hart discussed the district’s comparatively high percentage of educational assistants compared to state-determined “like districts” in Newtown’s District Reference Group (DRG).

Dr Robinson also noted that “the research does not validate that [educational assistants] or paraprofessionals, as they are called in the research, increase the academic achievement of students.”

While Dr Robinson said she was not diminishing the work educational assistants do in the district, she said certified teachers are the most effective way to increase student achievement.

Special education educational assistants and kindergarten educational assistants will not be affected by the cut to the educational assistant hours, said Dr Robinson, in response to a question by board member Lillian Bittman.

“We have a very big budget cut to delve into here, and we can’t do that without losing people, unfortunately,” said Dr Robinson.

School board member David Nanavaty noted $150,000 in a capital nonrecurring fund was not made available for the school board’s use in the 2011-12 budget, and he had been against announcing where cuts to the board’s budget would be made before the district’s $67,971,427 budget went to referendum. Without his backing, the board did make known what would be cut.

Board member Keith Alexander disagreed, saying the board had to make the best decisions based on the current situation.

Other cuts specified in the “Final Adjustments to 2011-12 Budget” sheet prepared by Mr Bienkowski are $60,000 from technology equipment, $48,000 to eliminate two educational trainers, $57,000 to remove a Middle Gate Elementary School teacher, $57,000 to remove a Hawley Elementary School teacher, and adjustments for known savings.

Areas added back to the budget include a half-position reinstated Sandy Hook Elementary School kindergarten teacher and adjusted tuition rates to send six more students to a regional center for the arts.

The school board also finalized its 2011-12 school calendar during the meeting, and entered into an executive session to discuss a labor board complaint made by Newtown’s bus owner-operators. (See separate story on the transportation contract.)