Money for new school start times approved in New Canaan budget
NEW CANAAN — High school students will be able to get extra sleep next spring, since money to support the change in school start times was included in the Town Council’s $154.5 million operating budget.
Chairman John Engel said he thought it was one of the ”smoother budget processes,” after the council took several votes on line items for the budget on March 31. The budget represents an increase of 0.48 percent over the current fiscal year.
There will be “no diminishment of services, no diminishment of excellence” while keeping the tax rate level, Engel said.
The Board of Education operating expenses total $83.3 million, up 2.7 percent, not including transfers to the health internal services fund, which would bring it to $92.3 million.
The school budget includes $463,337 in expenses to implement a change for a school start time of 8:30 a.m. for New Canaan High School students, allowing them to sleep later, starting mid-year.
Forty parents spoke at the previous Town Council meeting on March 25, a majority of them pleading to include the funds for the change, while others opposed school start time changes for younger children.
Under the plan, classes at the three elementary schools would start at 7:45 a.m., the high school would begin at 8:30 a.m., Saxe Middle School’s upper division of seventhand eighth-graders would commence at 8:35 a.m. and Saxe’s lower division with fifth- and sixthgraders would hear the first bell at 9:15 a.m.
Earlier in the budget process, First Selectman Kevin Moynihan said the decision surrounding school start times was not about cost.
Moynihan had also said the Board of Finance should change a practice that some believe collects higher than needed taxes from residents.
The budget assumes the town will collect 98.5 percent of the taxes it levies on residents, even though the town usually collects over 99 percent. New Canaan collected 99.6 percent of billed taxes in 2018, 99.5 percent in 2019 and 99.4 percent in 2020.
The collection rate “is still too low,” resident Sven Englund said. He explained the reserves are going up faster than the money that is raised by taxation each year. “Over taxation is taking money from the people.” The line item passed unanimously.
The finance board removed $900,000 from the school board budget that was earmarked for COVID-19-related expenses until firmer estimates are calculated, and plans to pay for them through special appropriations. The town provided a combined $1.94 million in special appropriations to pay for COVID-19 related expenses last year.
Additionally, the BOF took out $2.2 million from the education board with the assumption it would merge the town and school internal services fund. As of a late-minute decision, that money will be replaced by appropriations.
The mill rate is estimated to be 18.16 as compared to the present 18.12, a decrease of 0.24 percent.
The Town Council’s budget takes into account the town assessor’s reported 2020 grand list increase of 0.8 percent to $7.8 billion from the 2019 grand list of $7.7 billion.
The appropriation will become effective eight days after the publication unless a notice of intent to file a petition for referendum is filed seven days after publication, Councilman Rich Townsend said.
The budget was voted on by line items, to enable the town to break out specific expenses for a referendum if needed.