Education Committee Seeks Clarity On Four Issues

By John Voket

The Legislative Council’s Education Committee needs more information about four particular issues that arose from the school district finalizing its initial budget proposal. On Tuesday, February 10, the Board of Education voted unanimously to recommend a budget proposal totaling nearly $67.2 million, representing a 1.74 percent increase over the current budget.

The next evening, Education Committee members Patricia Llodra, Po Murray, John Torok, and Jan Brookes met to set parameters on how their panel will work to support the council’s eventual deliberations on the district’s budget proposal. The group also developed four areas in the school’s plan its members believe require further vetting.

Ms Llodra, the committee chair, said the group needs further clarity about how kindergarten enrollment population numbers were generated.

“The numbers projected, looked to us, higher than expected versus what we have come to believe given recent discussions with demographers,” Ms Llodra said. She said if numbers are overestimated, the committee wants to know “how the district plans to deal with it.”

She said committee members are also concerned about a lightning suppression system that was removed for the middle school.

“We question whether or not that was appropriate given that the middle school houses all the district’s information systems,” Ms Llodra said. Committee members are wondering if a catastrophic lightning strike could cripple or destroy those banks of computers and the vital records stored within.

Another point of issue involves two opposing views about adding an additional tier one bus.

“One side says we need to add another bus, while another side says we can make do,” Ms Llodra said.

She said additional transportation questions revolve around how to make the district’s transportation of nonpublic school students more efficient.

“Transporting the St Rose students is a very costly item in the budget,” she pointed out.

Finally, the committee wants to achieve a better understanding of district plans to add a world language teacher who would be shared between the middle and high schools.

“There is also a Chinese instructor in the budget,” Ms Llodra said. “Is that the same person? And does this mean the Board of Ed is adding Chinese to its curriculum with ongoing financial support going forward?”

Superintendent Janet Robinson subsequently told The Newtown Bee that she is moving forward with plans to add Chinese to the district curriculum, and that program’s instructor will be the world language teacher proposed in the budget. During school board budget deliberations, the board was told that world language teacher would be shared between the middle and high schools.

Ms Llodra said she planned to discuss the concerns with Dr Robinson, and to schedule a meeting as soon as the district is ready to discuss the council members’ concerns. Ms Llodra said she plans to schedule that public meeting next week.

As the council committee completes its work, the town and district spending plans go before the Board of Finance in the coming weeks for deliberation. The finance board can either recommend further reductions, or reverse certain cuts.

Then, supported by input from its Education Committee, the full council will deliberate the finance board’s recommendation. At that stage, the council can act to further reduce the proposal, or restore certain cuts, before sending the final school and town budget requests to taxpayers.