Council Committee Seeks Economy In The Schools

By Martha Coville

Legislative Council member Danny Amaral showed up at the council’s education subcommittee meetings armed with questions.

“I know education’s important,” Mr Amaral said. “I know it’s changing. It’s going to computers now,” he said, explaining the importance of the curriculum and technology increases in Schools Superintendent Janet Robinson’s proposed budget.

Mr Amaral wanted to scrutinize the plant operations and maintenance budget as an area for possible cuts, in hopes of sparing areas like the technology, which impact students more directly.

“You’ve gotten older people,” in town, he said, “and they’ve costed [their expenses] down to nothing.” The proposed $38 million allocation for the new high school will put further strain on these taxpayers Mr Amaral said. “We’ve really got to save more than ever” in the regular education budget, he concluded.

Dr Robinson had previously earmarked three percent of her proposed budget for computer and software purchases, new textbooks, and staff development. The textbook purchases were cut from last year’s budget.

“I felt like I hit a brick wall,” Dr Robinson said, when the Board of Finance proposed cutting $900,000 from her proposed $66,931,044 budget. The $1,811,751 curriculum and technology budget “won’t survive” the cuts, she said.

Council member Pat Llodra chairs the Legislative Council Education Subcommittee. Also on the committee are council members Jan Lee Brookes, Chris Lyddy, and Po Murray. The subcommittee met to review the proposed budget on Thursday, March 6, and Monday, March 10. After a third and final meeting on Thursday, March 20, it will make a recommendation to the Legislative Council, and the council’s Finance Subcommittee. The Legislative Council may then choose to uphold the Board of Finance’s proposed cuts, to cut the budget further, or to restore money to the superintendent’s budget.

Mr Amaral voiced concerned about many different line items on the plant operations and maintenance budget.

“See, of course, the 6 am to 2 pm schedule; it’s something you could save on,” he said. Custodians in the district work three eighth-hour shifts, the first of which begins at 6 am. Maintenance workers, licensed electricians, plumbers, and other personnel, also work the 6 am to 2 pm schedule.”

Mr Amaral said the early start time ends up costing the district in overtime. “Let’s say something breaks at 1 pm,” he said. “Okay, you go get the part. Then you come back, and okay, it’s 3 pm. There’s your overtime.”

But Dr Robinson defended the schedule, saying that she needs skilled personnel on school grounds well in advance of student arrival. She said the maintenance workers show up early to make sure heating, electrical, and other systems are working properly. “I need to know if I’m going to have cancel school,” she said.

Snow removal was another area that concerned Mr Amaral, because calling custodians in early for shoveling means paying them more. He questioned whether every storm needs to be handled the same way.

“The last snowstorm we had this season was on a Saturday,” Mr Amaral said. He said he understood other organizations like Parks and Recreation use the schools on the weekends, and the grounds still need to be cleared. “They had plenty of guys out there. Whereas, it just should have been one,” he said, because there was little accumulation.

Superintendent of Building and Grounds Gino Faiella, also present, took many notes on Mr Amaral’s concerns and said he plans on looking into several of his suggestions. But snow removal is not an area on which he is prepared to cut corners. “We have a responsibility to the parents,” he said, for their children’s safety.