Norwich schools have limited budget growth, unlike other agencies

Often times the Norwich Public School (NPS) budget is blamed for our city’s high tax rate. With calls for fiscal responsibility and minimal budget increases for NPS over the past several years. I made the assumption that all city departments faced the same scrutiny. However, after some research, I was shocked at what I discovered.

While NFA’s budget has increased 22 percent over the last decade, the kindergarten through 8th grade budget has only increased 18 percent (barely keeping up with inflation).

The fire departments have seen a 26 percent increase over the last decade while maintaining seven fire stations, three more than the National Fire Protection Association reports a city our size averages.

NPU — a 46 percent increase over the past decade.

The Police Department — a 68 percent increase over the past decade and per the FBI website has 16 more uniformed officers on staff than an average town our size.

NPS has done their part in being fiscally conservative. They have closed three facilities and removed over 160 positions to meet budget demands, all the while creating state-mandated pre-k programs, implementing fullday kindergarten, and improving academic success. So before you blame NPS, ask yourself, what have others done to maintain fiscal responsibility? ryan telford Norwich