Can city afford schools’ budget?

It is incorrect for the superintendent and Board of Education to compare high-income towns’ spending per student to Norwalk’s spending per student.

U.S. Census information for 2017 shows the following median income data: Darien: $208,848; New Canaan: $174,677; Weston: $219,868; Westport: $181,360; Wilton: $180,313; Stamford: $84,893 and Norwalk: $81,546.

It isn’t even right to compare Stamford versus Norwalk in education spending. Norwalk is already spending slightly more per capita than Stamford for our schools. This means that Norwalk taxpayers are straining financially with ever increasing school budgets even though we have less population (fewer taxpayers), and make less money per capita.

(Norwalk population: 89,047; Stamford: 129,775. Norwalk school budget: $202,204,108; Stamford: $286,480,806. Norwalk per capita education spending: $2,270.76; Stamford: $2,207.52.)

The school budget as agreed to in the beginning of this school year is not correct. At least $1 million was added to it in November for additional academic resources by the Common Council. So, what’s the real school budget to date? What’s the real percapita and per-pupil spending?

Mayor Harry Rilling and state Sen. Bob Duff want to replace the Norwalk High School that currently has 1,600 students in it with a new one that will accept 2,000 students, an increase of 400 students. The construction cost would be $40 million to taxpayers. Costs for increased numbers of personnel aren’t given. If the average high school teacher salary in Norwalk is $72,340 and the pupil-to-teacher ratio is 20 to 1, then at least 20 more teachers will be needed in the new building for 400 more students. A future school budget increase for salaries will be $1,446,800. From BOE monthly reports, 15 percent is for benefits. When this is added, the total salary/benefits are $1,663,820 just for additional teachers in a new high school. This information does not take into consideration future salary/benefit increases in contract negotiations.

While taxpayers might know the cost of current building projects, the BOE hasn’t been transparent with us about how many more teachers and other personnel will be needed, with their projected salaries and benefits costs, for all school projects currently being built or future ones such as the high school project. How much more taxpayer money will be required in near future school budgets for staffing? The BOE should have the data; all they need to do is a little math and present it to taxpayers.

Remember, by current state law, once a school budget is increased it cannot be decreased. I hope that taxpayers will get tours of the new school facilities so that we’ll know what we got for our money.

In reviewing policies and procedures of the BOE, I found that many are not more than one-half page long. Some have revision dates in the 1990s. There doesn’t seem to be procedures for the various committees. For example, what does the Schools Facilities/Planning committee do? What are a member’s qualifications to be on this committee?

By the way, did you get your road paved this year? There are approximately 80 roads on the 2019 list for road paving. The money probably went to the schools budget.

Will Norwalk taxpayers be able to continue to support large school budgets in worse financial times? Will you need to move out of Norwalk?