Along with discussing aspects of the Superintendent’s Proposed Operational Budget Plan 2020-21 at its January 28 meeting, the Board of Education approved expanding a program for individualized learning for special education students from Newtown High School to Newtown Middle School.

Superintendent of Schools Dr Lorrie Rodrigue, Director of Pupil Services Deborah Mailloux-Petersen, Supervisor of Special Education Maureen Hall, and NMS Principal Tom Einhorn spoke about the proposal of extending the high school’s Supportive Alternative Individualized Learning (SAIL) program to NMS at the meeting.

Dr Rodrigue said SAIL is “something we felt we truly needed for many of our students at the high school level who were experiencing high anxiety, depression, behavioral issues, [and] school phobia... We felt this smaller, more personalized setting was critical.”

At NHS there are 15 students in the program. Students can spend most of the day in the program to have access to the SAIL curriculum and have access to courses outside of the program, according to Dr Rodrigue.

“We’re finding now students coming up from Reed [Intermediate School] into the middle school are having or are experiencing those same kinds of concerns and issues,” said Dr Rodrigue. “So in talking to staff in special education, including the director, we wanted to propose adding that same kind of program to the middle school.”

There are seven to eight students who would benefit from the special education program starting this school year, Dr Rodrigue explained, and a “health and wellness component” is planned as an addition to the program. A regional program was thought to be an option at one point, but one did not come to fruition.

“We need something here, and we really can’t wait,” said Dr Rodrigue, adding “down the road” having a “good/sound program” could produce revenue if other districts send students to SAIL.

Expected costs for expanding the program would include $36,000 for a special education teacher for the remainder of the 2019-20 budget, and about $124,000 in the 2020-21 budget for both the special education teacher and a staffing adjustment to include a health/wellness position, although a $35,000 grant to help defray costs is anticipated, according to information supplied to the Board of Education at the meeting.

Mr Einhorn said, “These are students that are near and dear to our hearts and we want to keep them in our building.”

Ms Mailloux-Petersen said the NMS students in question have been “dis-regulated” throughout the 2019-20 school year and this program will help them.

After board members asked a range of questions around the proposal — like where it would be housed at NMS, how it will draw out-of-district students, and how the hiring process will work for staff — the Board of Education unanimously approved expanding the program.

2020-21 Budget Discussion

Later in the meeting, the school board discussed aspects of the Superintendent’s Proposed Operational Budget Plan 2020-21.

As previously reported in The Newtown Bee, Dr Rodrigue presented her spending plan at a January 14 meeting. Multiple meetings have been held since for the school board to begin inspecting portions of the budget. The $79,281,774 spending plan represents a 1.51 percent increase from the current budget. The school board is expected to review the superintendent’s proposed budget before approving its budget proposal for further review by the Board of Finance and Legislative Council, ahead of the town’s April referendum.

The school board is expected to adopt its budget at a scheduled Tuesday, February 4, meeting. The Superintendent’s Proposed Operational Budget Plan 2020-21 and the superintendent’s presentation to the school board from January 14 are both available on the school district’s website, newtown.k12.ct.us.

No one spoke during the public hearing portion of the January 28 meeting, but two residents expressed concern for the impact of a proposed reduction to elementary music teacher positions during a later public participation.

The school board also took up the subject when board Secretary Dan Cruson, Jr, asked Dr Rodrigue to explain both the proposed reduction of one music teacher position from the four currently at the elementary schools and a possible elementary schedule change to a six-day rotation.

Dr Rodrigue said the “discussion of a potential schedule change had really nothing to do with how we are re-arranging music.” She offered examples of how the elementary day “is utilized and cut up” for student and teacher schedules. She also shared an art teacher’s schedule of classes, as there are three elementary art teachers who rotate through the four elementary schools. Dr Rodrigue highlighted a “difference” in the number of sections taught by the three art teachers and by the four music teachers. She later said the music teacher schedule with four positions is “almost a half-day schedule for a regular [full time equivalent position].”

The superintendent said reducing the music teacher positions could have happened when the same change was made to the art teacher positions in a previous budget year, because what “we want to do is build equity among teachers.”

The possible schedule change came about because it was noticed that “science was really lacking in the schedule,” Dr Rodrigue said.

Both Dr Rodrigue and Assistant Superintendent of Schools Anne Uberti said a six-day elementary school schedule rotation would allow more balance. Dr Rodrigue also offered as an example that the current Monday-to-Friday schedule means specials on Mondays can be missed more than others between holidays and school cancellations. They also explained reducing the music teacher positions will not impact whether a schedule change occurs.

While speaking to the impact from the past reduction of one elementary art teacher, from four to three for the four schools, Director of Visual and Performing Arts Michelle Hiscavich said the three art educators each teach between 437 and 444 students. Holding annual art shows is a pressure now, and there has been an impact on how the teachers can work with their students and fellow building educators.

Ms Hiscavich later said the dilemma is “how to fit it all in” when it comes to all programming and federal and state governments guidelines for how much instruction to have in a schedule. The state, she said, recommends 90 minutes of music and 40 minutes of art instruction a week. She pointed out that Newtown does not meet those guidelines.

In other discussion board members turned their attention to the technology budget, a history of the world languages budget for elementary schools, and more.

During public participation, residents Stephen St Georges and Melissa Beylouni both spoke about the impact reducing an elementary music position could have on the district.

From his experience as a music teacher in another town, Mr St Georges said a reduction like the one proposed can have a severe impact on the climate and culture in a school as a whole. Ms Beylouni, who said she was speaking as a parent and not as co-president of the NMS PTA, said she witnessed a “tremendous difference” when the art teacher positions were reduced in the same way. Saying programs like art and music are important for offering students a release, she said the same type of “difference” will happen to music if the reduction is made.