The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Schools present proposed budgets
WINSTED >> Administrators with the Winchester Public Schools and The Gilbert School presented their proposed budgets for the 2018 fiscal year Monday. At the same time, negotiations over a new contract between the town and its semi-private high school continue.
Receiver Freeman Burr initially recommended a $20.42 million budget for the coming fiscal year, which included the hiring of as-
sistant principal Kim Roy, a second-grade teacher, fifthgrade teacher, and other staffers.
Town Manager Robert Geiger put forward a recommendation of $20.1 million for the public schools, which Burr said would prompt the reduction of three full-time staff positions, six non-full time positions, and not hiring a second-grade teacher, a fifth-grade teacher, and a paraprofessional. Eliminating these proposed hires would increase class sizes to approximately 22.5 students.
Burr said his latest proposal for tuition at The Gilbert School totaled $6.32 million, which was based on receiving $547,474 from the total for non-educational costs.
Geiger has included $200,000 in his proposal for those costs, leading to the discrepancy between the recommendations.
He also said that this offer could rise to $6.4 million, dependent on the town setting aside an additional $80,000 for potential noneducational expenses, to be drawn on if necessary.
The state Department of Education has agreed to seek a two-year contract with Gilbert, Burr said, and he has verbally committed to Serio that alternative school placements for students in grades 7-12 would not be sought this year.
At the hearing, Gilbert School Superintendent Anthony Serio said his latest proposal for tuition from the Winchester schools totaled $6.6 million, down from an initial proposal of $6.77 million, with a total budget of $8.05 million.
To reach this diminished figure, Serio said that at least two certified staff and two non-certified staff positions would be eliminated, either through unfilled retirements, early retirement, or a reduction in staff. Elective and Advanced Placement courses would be offered every other year, and paraprofessional and mathematics support would be cut.
If the tuition to Gilbert was reduced beyond $6.6 million, Serio said that potential changes to the proposed budget could include increased class sizes, less teaching staff, and cuts to extracurricular activities like music, the arts, and athletic programs.
Serio said that he expected the two sides to continue negotiating in the coming weeks.
During the hearing, Gilbert students and town residents also came forward to share their thoughts on the proposed school budget.
“My experience at Gilbert is something that I want my little sisters to have when they get into high school. I want them to build bonds with teachers that make an impact on their lives. I want them to enjoy the same sense of community that I did (in) my time here. I want them to have the same opportunities as I did with foreign language courses, AP course, electives, and extracurriculars,” said Gilbert senior Lena Texeria. “We are lucky enough to be getting more than just an education (at Gilbert.) We are getting an experience. We are a family, we are proud, and we do not have a price.”
“To think that next year, everything I’ve built in the theater, and everything I’ve built in the band, with my fellow peers — the fact that that might be gone, it hurts me, and it hurts the friendships I’ve made,” said Shannon Bagoly, a Gilbert student. “I don’t want to see the underclassmen and the people I’ve grown very close with, to see them not have the opportunities that I was given.”
“I think it’s clear that flatlining the budget is no longer feasible for us,” said Lisa Steeves. “We need to go up. Whether it be a little bit or not, I don’t know, but we cannot stay where we are — we can’t.”
The Board of Selectmen is expected to submit a proposed municipal budget by April 21, Mayor Althea Candy Perez said Monday, before the annual budget meeting on May 8.
The proposal by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to shift one-third of teacher retirement costs to municipalities was also raised as a potential budgeting variable during the meeting, by Perez and Town Manager Robert Geiger, as was a possible shift in the Education Cost Sharing formula.
The town also owes more than $92,000 for an overpayment to the district lunch program to the state Department of Education, Burr said, over a 40-month repayment plan. A series of corrective actions, including “cash management and reimbursement claims determinations,” were part of the remedy for that issue, he said.
Waivers are being developed for payments of more than $129,000 tied to the closure of Hinsdale School before the end of a term, for a state grant and onefifth of the $720,864, which was mistakenly provided to Winsted for the Excess Cost Grant, Burr said. A waiver was sought for the lunch funding, but was unlikely to be received.