Montville approves education budget

$40M spending plan represents 3.47% bump

Montville — The Board of Education unanimously approved a $40,034,736 operating budget for 2020-21 on Tuesday night, a 3.47% increase in spending from the current year.

Superintendent Laurie Pallin recommended the increase at the board's Feb. 25 meeting.

The board on Tuesday also approved a capital improvements budget of $3,462,257, spread out from 2020-21 to 2024-25. That includes fixing Tyl Middle School's roof for $60,000, replacing the gym floor and bleachers at Mohegan Elementary School for $195,000 and fixing the Oakdale Elementary School parking lot for $255,000 in 2020-21.

Pallin had proposed $290,000 worth of additions. The remainder of the 3.47% increase is for items, such as salaries, health insurance, special education and transpor

tation costs, that automatically go up each year. These fixed costs include a $600,240 increase in salaries and a $143,207 increase in benefits, among other expenses.

There was little discussion Tuesday among board members, who all expressed approval of Pallin’s work on the budget. She answered questions the board submitted to her in advance of the meeting, about proposed increases in tutors, professional fees and funding for transportation services. These questions did not result in any changes to the proposed budget.

The board and Pallin also discussed solutions to outdated technology. Board members followed her lead and opted for leased Chromebooks, which will cost $227,972 over four years, to replace desktop and laptop computers that are between seven and 12 years old at Tyl and in the high school.

Pallin said students and teachers at Tyl who use Chromebooks regularly have spoken highly of the technology. The only question she didn’t have an immediate answer for was about a timeframe for receiving the Chromebooks. Due to concern over the coronavirus in China, it’s unclear how soon the district can obtain the machines.

Board Chairwoman Sandra Berardy said the budget still needs to go through the town Finance Committee and Town Council. Public presentations of the education and town budgets take place in April.

“Will we get all the funding?” she asked. “We’d love to, but chances are we won’t.”

Staffing, technology and enrollment are the main factors driving the proposed increase in spending. For example, the district has seen a surge in special education students: during the last year, 33 have entered Montville schools. “This places a significant stress on our staff,” Pallin has said.

To meet the need, the district is set to hire four fulltime paraeducators to replace eight part-timers at a cost of $50,000.

The new budget includes an increase in certified staff to maintain class sizes at Murphy Elementary School, Tyl and Oakdale. For Tyl, the district is unsure of what effect closing the Dual Language & Arts Magnet Middle School in Waterford will have, but up to 12 seventh- or eighth-graders may be returning to Montville. The final numbers budget for six of those students to come to the district.

First grade in Oakdale and second grade in Murphy may have to absorb new students, which would make class sizes too large. Furthermore, the special needs classrooms at Mohegan and Tyl are above capacity and additional students would require a new classroom, according to Pallin.

The budget adds two fulltime teachers and a third social worker — right now, the district has only two to serve 2,000 students — at a cost of $210,000.

Pallin had sought budget input from the public at seven different forums ahead of Tuesday’s vote. Common topics included maintaining small class sizes, improving technology, increased social work services and school safety. “The thing that’s most important to me is that we get as much input as possible from the community, and that the community understands our budget,” she said ahead of Tuesday’s vote.

Berardy said the 3.47% increase sounds like a lot, so it’s important people know the reasoning behind it. “The more open the process is, the more positive people can be that the budget is a reputable amount for what we actually need,” she said. “It’s a budget of needs, not wants.”