Date: Fri 05-Mar-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: STEVEB

Quick Words:

Council-budget-schools

Full Text:

Council's Education Panel Fails To Reach Consensus On School Spending

BY STEVE BIGHAM

After 90 minutes of deliberation Monday night, members of the Legislative

Council's sub-committee on education finally came to agree on one thing --

they did not agree. Their views on the Board of Education's $35.3 million

proposed budget were far too divergent for any consensus.

The four-member board did agree that the school's requested increase of $3.37

million (10.41 percent) does need to be cut. Just how much it should be cut is

another story. Lisa Schwartz and Joe Borst felt a $700,000 reduction might

help bring the overall package down to a more manageable level. Karen Blawie

and Brian White were thinking more along the lines of a $1.77 million cut,

which Mrs Blawie formally proposed. That would bring the overall increase down

to $1.6 million.

Neither suggestion flew and despite Mr White's subsequent efforts to find

common ground, the committee walked away from the table with little

accomplished. The school board's budget will now head to the Legislative

Council without a recommended reduction. It will be up to the full council to

decide how much to cut.

Committee Chairman Joe Borst said a five percent increase (or $1.6 million)

was far too small and was discouraged with the committee's inability to reach

a consensus.

"When you do a project you'd like to successfully complete it. I'm

disappointed we didn't come to any agreement," Mr Borst noted. "We could not

come to a consensus, so we just pass it on to the full council."

Mrs Schwartz's motion to cut the school budget by $700,000 was not seconded.

"I feel that's a fair compromise between cutting far too much and going beyond

what we could afford," she said. "If it was up to me, I would put the budget

out as is and let the voters decide."

Consensus may prove to be just as elusive for the full council, according to

Mrs Schwartz. "We had an impasse with only four people. God only knows where

we'll be with full council," she said.

Mrs Blawie, who also serves on the town's finance committee, was looking to

cut the proposed increase in half, believing the town would not approve

double-digit school increases two years in a row. Simply cutting $700,000 from

the proposal would still leave the taxpayers with a two mill increase.

"History has proven that Newtowners will accept a one mill increase. They will

not accept a two mill increase," Mrs Blawie said.

Untouched, the combined school and town budget of $63 million represents a tax

rate increase of 2.3 mills.

Last year, according to Mrs Blawie, the council used a large portion of its

surplus to offset the school board's massive budget. Those days are over, she

said. We've raised the bar too high.

The double-digit education increases are not expected to slow down anytime

soon, Mrs Blawie said. She considers the proposed 5/6 school a "foregone

conclusion" and will surely keep the increase going.

The finance committee, which was slated to meet Wednesday night (see related

story), is expected to make a spending recommendation to the full council

later this month. Chairman John Kortze said he does not have what he considers

an "acceptable" spending figure to date. However, Mrs Schwartz fears some

members may come into the next council meeting with "preconceived notions"

about what should be cut from the Board of Education's budget.

Some council members believe the school board's budget is more like a 12

percent increase, since it did not include $400,000 in capital costs to be

used mostly for a new roof at Middle Gate School.