Superintendent Presents School Budget Increase Of 6.74%

By Martha Coville

Schools Superintendent Janet Robinson said her proposed budget for the 2007-2008 school year accommodates the needs of both students and taxpayers. She also said it takes into account the money the school board will be requesting from the town for the proposed high school expansion. Dr Robinson presented her budget to the public and the Newtown Board of Education on Tuesday, January 29.

At the beginning of her PowerPoint presentation, she said “It is our role, as educators and Board of Education members, to advocate for what we believe is best for the students. We also need to be sensitive to the needs of the community to hold down expenditures.”

Newtown High School was put on warning status two years ago by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). Among NEASC’s concerns were overcrowding at the high school, and also what Dr Robinson called “inconsistent funding.” One reason NEASC has been concerned about the funding the high school receives is the disconnect between town board members and taxpayers. NEASC would like to see education budgets pass referendums on the first vote.

Dr Robinson requested a budget increase of 6.74 percent over last year’s adopted budget. She said, “It appears that this may be the lowest requested increase in 11 years.” She asked the school board for $67,124,297, which is $4,239,139 more than last year’s $62,855,158 education budget. The $67 million she requested does not include funding for the proposed high school expansion.

“I believe it’s fair,” she said of her budget. “I think it’s doable. I think it’s a passable budget.”

Dr Robinson’s proposed budget is a revision of the original budget requests presented to her by the school district’s principals. “I felt that Newtown’s principals put a lot of thought into their budgets,” she said. Together, the principals said they needed a 12 percent increase over last year’s budget. Dr Robinson said, “These increases would just not be acceptable in this economic time.” The superintendent emphasized that school officials and Board of Education members “must be mindful” of the money they will need to renovate the high school.

Dr Robinson slashed the principals’ requested budget by nearly half. “I’m bringing this budget to you, and I will tell you that it was done with a lot of tears,” she said. “But we have to balance our student’s needs with our fiduciary responsibility.” Her proposed budget reduced the principals’ budgets by a total of $1.7 million. “To make sure that we brought forward a passable budget,” she said, “we made some very difficult decisions.”

Student Needs

Dr Robinson used several rubrics to identify student needs for the upcoming school year. “Our needs are based on a district mission, and an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of our programs,” she said.

Dr Robinson’s budget referred to the requirements of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges and to the Individuals with Disabilities Educational Improvement Act and federal law governing special education. She also took into account such factors as class size, program quality, and textbook and technology standards.

In addition to student needs, key budget drivers for Dr Robinson’s 2008-2009 school budget include the district’s contractual obligations with teachers and staff; transportation costs; “bubbles” of increased student enrollment in special grade levels, particularly the fifth and seventh grades; steadily increasing energy costs; and technology and building costs.

Dr Robinson explained that contractual obligations and energy costs are among the district’s fixed expenses: it has no more power to change agreed-upon contracts than it does influence gas, electricity, or water prices.

Chief among her concerns were the district’s aging buildings and out of date technology and textbooks. “What happens in a lot of school districts,” she said, “is that maintenance costs get cut, because that’s easier than cutting things that directly impact students. But you pay for that down the line.” Dr Robinson said that the district must begin to factor costs for replacing and updating computers and textbooks, whenever they purchase them. Textbooks for a number of subjects and grade levels are out of date she said, and many classroom computers are out of date, or simply broken.

Staffing, Dr Robinson said, is a concern that must be addressed in the long run. She wants to consider hiring additional teachers and aids “as a two-year project,” to decrease class sizes and to “make sure students can take the classes they want.”

Finally, Dr Robinson’s budget includes fees for three more buses to alleviate overcrowding, and a reduction in the “pay to play” fees in “some sports.” Several sports fees of $75 will be reduced to $50, for example; those of $50 would be reduced to $25.

The Board of Education will meet on Thursday, January 31, and Tuesday, February 5, to vet Dr Robinson’s budget. It hopes to approve the budget on February 7. All meetings are at the Reed School library at 7:30 pm.