Schools

Board of Education Budget Approved, But Funding Concerns Persist

The Board of Education voted unanimously to approve a 1% increase in this year's budget, but some worried funding might be low-balled.

The North Haven Board of Education voted unanimously to approve a 1% increase in the education budget for 2011-2012 at last night's meeting in the Town Hall Annex.

The total budget of $44,389,014 includes an increase of $439,664 over last year's numbers, with 44% of the bump allocated to pay for additional outplaced students in Special Education.

Acting superintendent Patricia Brozek explained that the marginal increase will allow all current services and employees to be maintained for the coming year. However, some parents and teachers expressed concern that the figure remains too low.

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Sean Laydon, a teacher at Montowese, noted that the budget may be cut back by the Board of Finance during the Board of Education's budget workshop Saturday morning, leaving students and staff to deal with difficult cutbacks.

"It's a disservice to voters to put forward a budget of 1%," said Laydon during public comment. "You need to set forward our real budget needs, and then let the Board of Finance decide."

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"What happens when the Board of finance cuts the 1%?" he added. "We're giving, giving, giving and the town's not behind us."

Krista Kaplan, an organizer of the North Haven Education Association, commented that the Board of Finance has only approved the BoE budget as proposed twice in twenty years.

"It's discouraging, to say the least," she said.

Dorothy Logan, a middle school teacher, agreed, saying: "If we don't ask for things now we may never get them. If we ask for the same things again and again, five years down the line they can't say we didn't ask for them."

The Board of Education defended their decision to stick to the 1% increase, explaining that in the current economic climate all regional school systems are facing financial shortfalls.

"Unfortunately this year, it's like getting blood from stone," board member Alicia Clapp said, encouraging families to phone bank for greater educational funding from legislators.

Brozek said she was certain that the Board of Finance would approve the proposed budget as submitted.

She further explained that if the 2.5% bump in the BoE's healthcare plan, partially shouldered with the help of the Town government, and this year's change in the retirement incentive were factored out of the budget, the increase in the education budget was closer to 2%.

The acting superintendent also pointed to the future, suggesting that by maintaining existing programs and services, the incoming superintendent—introduced later that night as Dr. Robert Cronin—would have freedom to survey and shape curriculum and priorities in next year's budget.

In a break from past Board of Education meetings, the board responded to questions asked in public comment, in one case assuring a group of parents unhappy with the size of 4th grade classes at Ridge Road that an additional 5th grade teacher would be hired for next year to compensate for the overcrowding.

The Board of Finance will review the education budget at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday morning.


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