As School Populations Continue To Grow…

Superintendent’s Budget Appeals

For More Teachers, Administrators

By Larissa Lytwyn

Unveiling his $53,865,315 budget, to school board members last January 29, an approximate 8.37 percent raise over the current budget, Superintendent of Schools Evan Pitkoff emphasized the necessity of hiring more teachers, including an additional guidance counselor at Newtown High School.

Salaries and soaring insurance premiums comprise about 72 percent of the budget increase; employee benefits alone are increasing by about $1 million.

But additional teachers and administrators, Dr Pitkoff said, are a necessity.

“If we do not hire these additional teachers, classes will grow beyond [state education department] guidelines,” he warned.

Newtown schools currently rank 139th out of the state’s 169 towns in per-pupil expenditure, according to the superintendent.

Dr Pitkoff explained that the expenditure is related to class size.

“Teacher’s salaries are included in per-pupil expenditure,” he said. “If there are more teachers, class size is lowered [and per-pupil expenditure goes up].”

Dr Pitkoff’s proposed Newtown High School budget includes an additional assistant principal, guidance counselor, English teacher, social studies teacher, and increase from part-time to full-time clerk.

An additional guidance counselor would offset next year’s projected 1,606-student population at Newtown High School.

During his budget presentation last December, Principal William Manfredonia said the school’s six-member guidance staff currently maintains an already “very high” 1:300 ratio serving 1,560 students. Adding the counselor would sustain a 1:250 ratio that, while “not great,” is acceptable according to state and national standards, he said.

At the school board’s school budget workshop on February 3, Mr Manfredonia reiterated the school’s “desperate need for an additional guidance counselor.”

“If you had to choose between [hiring] a guidance counselor and an assistant principal, whom would you choose?” asked Board Vice Chair Lisa Schwartz.

“Oh, that’s like asking Solomon to choose between his two children!” Mr Manfredonia declared, laughing.

Currently, the school has two assistant principals, Lorrie Arsenian and Jules Triber, who will be retiring at the end of the school year.

In addition, a Newtown High School teacher was hired last month to work as a full-time dean until June, equaling a half-time dean position for the 2003/04 school year.

In addition to replacing Mr Triber next fall, Mr Manfredonia would like to hire an additional assistant principal [eliminating the half-time dean position] for the 2004/05 school year.

If a dean was kept in lieu of the assistant principal position, Mr Manfredonia estimated a “roughly $6,000 to $21,000” salary difference.

“But, [for the money] you will get so much more with an assistant principal,” he said.

Assistant principals, for example, could work during holiday and summer vacations. The nature of their work would also move far beyond a dean’s largely disciplinary responsibilities.

Ms Aresenian, for instance, works with improving the administration of tests including CAPT, while Mr Triber plays a large role in course scheduling.

Pay To Participate Fees Curtailed

Dr Pitkoff said he has no intention of reinstating the $40 extracurricular fees the board passed this year to offset this year’s $49,407,147 school budget.

Board Chairman Elaine McClure said she was glad to hear it.

Mr Manfredonia said he has collected about 75 percent of the pay-to-participate fees. “We hope to get the remainder collected by [February 13],” he said, citing a “sluggish pace” due to the recent holiday vacation and even more recent schoolwide exams.

In addition, Dr Pitkoff would like to reduce the pay-to-play sports fees by $50, reducing costs to an approximate $50, $150, and $250 scale.

Student athletes currently pay as much as $300 to participate in some sports.

“A lot of families have several children involved in sports, or children playing multiple sports,” said Dr Pitkoff.

Nevertheless, Mr Manfredonia said that pay-to-play participation rates seem to have remained stable this year, despite the cost increase.

 

Overcrowding Concerns At Sandy Hook

While the superintendent described particularly worrisome “bubbles” of student growth at the middle and high school level, Sandy Hook School Assistant Principal Cathy Mazzariello estimated the school’s average class size to be between 21 and 22 students.

Newtown averages about 20 students in kindergarten while the state averages around 18 or 19, noted Assistant Superintendent of Schools Alice Jackson.

In addition, Newtown High School averages about 22 students per class while the state average is 20.

Nearly two-dozen Sandy Hook School parents attended the February 3 meeting in support of the superintendent’s request for a second grade teacher at Sandy Hook School, as well as an educational assistant and an increase in hours for a library specialist, and music and physical education teachers.

The superintendent is considering implementing an additional hour to the schedules of Hawley’s physical education and music teachers, allowing them to teach part-time at Sandy Hook School.

Sandy Hook School has the town’s largest elementary school population.

Hawley would also transfer a third grade teacher to Sandy Hook School because Hawley’s third grade’s projected class size is down from 110 to 91 students.

The proposals concerned parents, including Head O’ Meadow father William Sheluck.

“It’s very unusual for schools to switch teachers like Hawley may do [with Sandy Hook School],” he said. “Usually, you hold on to [teachers]!”

He expressed concern that in an effort to keep the budget as lean as possible, the district may be compromising educational quality.

Head O’ Meadow parent Michelle Hankin said she agreed with Mr Sheluck.

Since town committees are likely to cut the budget even further in the weeks ahead, she said, it was better to include everything “the schools wanted” now.

Additional Reed School Counselor?

Board member David Nanavaty suggested reinstating Reed Intermediate School Principal Donna Denniston’s request to hire an additional guidance counselor, a proposal ultimately cut by Dr Pitkoff.

“I understand everything you’ve said about high school guidance counselors being involved with the college application process, and the importance of that,” Mr Nanavaty told Dr Pitkoff, “but I am very concerned about Reed’s [1:875] ratio.”

Dr Pitkoff said he understood Mr Nanavaty’s point.

Newtown Middle School Principal Diane Sherlock, a former elementary school guidance counselor, said there are crucial problems counselors could address at Reed’s age levels.

“There are issues such as bullying and abuse,” Ms Sherlock said, adding that addressing these problems at a younger age could ease tougher situations later on.

Gary Doski, a parent involved with Save Our Schools (SOS), worries that “money is still driving our minds.”

“People need to realize how important education is to all of us,” he said. “If we do not have a good school system, the property values go down. I’m afraid the [the school board] has just been emphasizing dollars from the get-go.”