The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Schools chief’s proposed 2.99 percent hike is first in four years
‘This is a different budget’ for Winsted schools
WINSTED — For the first time in four years, Winchester Superintendent of Schools Melony Brady-Shanley presented a 202122 budget with an increase.
Part of the 2.99 percent hike is due to the Gilbert School’s tuition, which is proposed at 7.345 million, an increase of $286,055 over the 2020-21 amount. The rest of the increase, according to Brady-Shanley, is for salaries and benefits, as well as from diminished grant funding.
Several Board of Education members discussed Gilbert’s proposed tuition increase during Brady-Shanley’s presentation. Member Dick Dutton, who said previously Winchester should not have to pay for capital improvements at the school, took his concerns a step further.
Gilbert’s increase stems from its increased capital improvement budget, part of a five-year plan that includes replacing the auditorium roof, telephone and security systems and other repairs to the building. Gilbert’s school board and superintendent approved their budget earlier this week.
“I wanted to speak against (the tuition increase),” he said. “Capital improvements should not be part of the budget, and should not come out of our tuition. Is any effort being made to take it out?”
Member Cheryl McGlynn reminded Dutton that the school district can’t refuse to pay. “We don’t have the option . ... Unless we’re looking at litigation, because we don’t have a contract,” she said.
“I’m happy with the idea of litigation,” Dutton said. “If we don’t pay, we get the lawyers.”
Brady-Shanley asked both members to take their discussion to the district’s finance committee meeting, which is scheduled for next week.
Winchester’s proposed education budget is $20,558,504, an increase of $596,818, or 2.99 percent, over current spending.
“This is a different budget than what we’ve seen in the past, when we were able to deliver a flat one,” the superintendent told the school board. “As you’ll see, it’s my first time presenting a budget with an increase in my four years with the Winchester Public Schools.”
Later, Brady-Shanley said, “If we don’t get this budget approved, it will have a disastrous impact on our programs.”
The proposed budget is also driven by salaries and benefits. Salaries for 202122 are $6,993,262; benefits are $1,913,237. Brady-Shanley and Finance Director Nancy O’Dea Wyrick said special education costs, for students who are being educated outside of the district, will cost $1.855 million.
She said the majority “of this budget is driven by non-negotiable costs,” Brady-Shanley said.
Other issues with the 2021-22 education budget is diminishing funding sources, such as the threeyear Commissioner’s Network Grant, and Winchester won’t get the extra $500,000 for the coming year. Other grants and sources of revenue remain, but some funding sources have been reduced, leaving the superintentent and finance director to find ways to fill in the gaps. Brady-Shanley first discussed those losses in January.
“Educational Cost Sharing (a federal program that supplements education costs per student based on a town’s economics, population and other factors) funding has gone down slightly, from $7,862 to $7,823,” she said Thursday. “Overall, in the past three years, our total revenues have gone from $11.2 million to $10.2 million; and it’s at $9.6 million for the coming year.”
Brady-Shanley is eliminating several positions in non-certified staff — one interventionist, who assists teachers with needed instruction and support — and one kindergarten assistant. She’s adding a building substitute, who will work in the special education program and provide support as a substitute for teachers who need time out of class for a meeting, or for an absence. “We don’t have anyone to cover for those teachers,” the superintendent said. “That’s the purpose of a building substitute, to help staff.”
Once the school board approves the superintendent’s budget, it will be presented to the Board of Selectmen, and then go on to a town meeting with Gilbert, followed by a referendum.
During a discussion on the impact of COVID-19 on costs, board Chairman Doug Pfenninger asked what would happen if the pandemic was still going when school reopens in fall.
“There could be a serious acceleration of the virus, or we could be out of it,” he said.
“I feel we’re prepared for whatever happens, regardless of what happens in the fall,” Brady-Shanley said. “We’ll be ready to have the students come back to school in person.”