courant

School Board Trims $500,000 From Budget

By FULVIO CATIVO

Courant Staff Writer

July 11, 2007

The school board approved a patchwork of program, funding and staff reductions Tuesday night to cut about $500,000 from the 2007-08 school budget.

In reducing the $118.3 million budget to $117.8 million, the board unanimously eliminated the Norfeldt School's magnet program. The board also eliminated the equivalent of 4.4 full-time positions, affecting a variety of student support, services and instructional staff.

The largest single amount cut - $97,000 - came when the board unanimously eliminated 11 part-time custodial positions. The board increased the pay-to-play fee from $100 to $110 and reduced high school and middle school student activities funding by 25 percent.

Board Chairman Jack Darcey called the board's tasks "tough decisions."

The board's actual cuts Tuesday totaled $453,500. To make it all the way to $500,000, the board unanimously authorized Superintendent David P. Sklarz to make discretionary cuts to meet the bottom line.

Many cuts were made unanimously, but about a half-dozen proposals sparked debate among board members, several of whom lamented the latest round of cuts.

One such debate ended with the board voting 5-2 to keep $67,000 in the budget for the expansion of Spanish language instruction in kindergarten through second grade at five elementary schools this fall. The expansion was planned after West Hartford became the only town in the state to receive a federal grant to expand Spanish language instruction in elementary schools. When the grant is fully implemented, the district will offer Spanish instruction at all of its schools through Grade 12.

Board member Tom Fiorentino argued that expanding the program was inappropriate given the district's financial climate. He also argued that the school system would be obligated to fund the program once the grant money runs out in 2009.

"This is an item that, given time, gets more and more expensive," said Fiorentino, who joined Lib Brassil Spinella in voting against the expansion.

Terry Schmitt, Bruce Putterman and Clare Kindall spoke in favor of the program and argued that as West Hartford grows more diverse, expanding its foreign language offerings becomes necessary.

"We've all agonized over this one," Schmitt said of the proposed cut to the language program.

Kindall also lamented cuts to student activities funding and said she hopes the district can maintain some of the "funky" and "offbeat" after-school programs that some students enjoy.

"We are going to lose some of the activities," Sklarz said, explaining the impact of the student activity funding cuts.

The votes on the budget were met with minimal reaction from the audience, as only a handful of residents attended. This time, no one pleaded with the board to spare programs, as was often the case in the last four months of budget negotiations.

Contact Fulvio Cativo at fcativo@courant.com.