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Board Given Budget
Advice
By FULVIO CATIVO
Courant Staff Writer
May 30 2007
WEST HARTFORD -- A
standing room-only audience of residents Tuesday night offered ideas and
suggestions and made impassioned pleas to the board of education on where to
reduce and spare funding as the board looks to cut its 2007-08 budget by $1.84
million.
Close to 100 people turned out for the meeting, and almost three dozen
residents - ranging from students to parents and seniors - addressed the
board. All but a few speakers asked the board to keep cuts away from items
like the town's gifted and talented program, scholastic sports and magnet
schools.
"People don't move to West Hartford for the tax breaks, they move to
West Hartford for the education," said Kiernan Majerus-Collins,
one of two Bristow
Middle School
sixth-grade students, who asked the board to save the Quest gifted and
talented program.
Several parents with children in the district's magnet schools urged the
board to maintain its commitment to reinvigorating Smith
School and Charter Oak
Academy. The proposed
cuts, Smith School parent Otis Maynard said,
"are disproportionately weighted against Smith and Charter Oak."
The two schools have large minority student populations and an increasing
population of high-need students requiring more services, instruction and
resources.
Out of 35 speakers, only about a half-dozen spoke against the budget and some
urged the public to vote against the spending plan in a June 12 referendum.
Theresa McGrath, president of the West Hartford Taxpayers Association called
the budget situation "a crisis." She added: "This is not the
year to play politics or scare tactics."
In their comments, many residents touched on numerous programs they wanted to
see spared. Overwhelmingly, parents the board to keep foreign language
programs, keep class sizes small, maintain sports funding at current levels
and maintain the system's overall quality.
The town council passed a school budget for the new academic year totaling
$118.3 million, a 4.24 percent increase over current spending.
Many longtime residents expressed concern that the round of budget cuts would
signal a drop in the quality of the school system, which they called the
"brand" of West Hartford.
Board members reassured the public that the town's hallmark would be upheld.
"The brand of West Hartford is
education," board member Harry Captain said. "We need to continue
to put our money there."
Other residents, armed with pages of the budget and selected line items,
offered the board suggestions on where to cut funds or offset cuts without
hurting students. Some urged the board to reduce and consolidate
administrative expenses. Others wanted the board to outsource expenses, such
as printing.
Hall junior Alex Porter suggested reducing the school year by four days to
trim costs. Board members said the school system is exploring that option and
has sent the town teachers' union a letter to see if it would negotiate a
reduction in instructional days.
Board Vice Chairman Bruce Putterman said the amount
of money to be saved in such a move is unclear, but board members said the
district could find thousands of dollars to offset cuts if the number of
school days is also reduced.
Once the public finished speaking, board members thanked residents for their
input and ideas, saying some of their suggestions may lead to less painful
ways to cut the budget.
"We are going to get through this as a town, together," Clare Kindall said. "We need to invest in education.
Education is what makes this town great."
Board member Tom Fiorentino also gave the public
some assurances that the cuts that will be made will not go in the order
presented in Superintendent David P. Sklarz's
suggested list of reductions. Putterman also said
programs like full-day kindergarten would not be affected unless residents
vote down the budget and further cuts are necessary.
Heading into next week's vote on the cuts, board members said they would
consider eliminating curriculum specialists, cutting the funds for
conferences and meetings and discontinuing Norfeldt School's magnet program.
The board will vote on the cuts when it meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday in town
hall's legislative chamber.
Contact Fulvio Cativo at
fcativo@courant.com.
Copyright 2007, Hartford Courant
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