Superintendent
proposes budget to BOE for 2010-11 school year
Published: Wednesday, March 3, 2010
After a zero percent increase to the
Board of Education’s budget last year, rising medical liabilities and pension
costs for retired employees are the major driving factors for a proposed budget
that contains a $5.31 million increase for the 2010-11 school year.
The budget’s 4.37 percent increase is what Superintendent Karen List proposed
to the Board of Education on March 2. The total budget proposal is $126.7
million.
Over $1.6 million has been slashed from the budget to keep from a roll-forward
budget increase of 5.72 percent. Under List’s proposed budget, which is
currently under review by the board, 27 positions are projected to be dropped
next year. Eleven of the cuts to full-time employees will come at the hands of
the school board eliminating the World Language Program at 10 out of 11 of the
town’s elementary schools. The program began during the 2000-01 school year and
will still remain at the Charter Oak International Academy.
The board is also eliminating two administrative and two non-instructional
positions while consolidating its AIMS program — a program for non-special
education students who need a smaller and more focused setting -- to Sedgwick Middle
School.
Reductions to the budget also include putting on freeze on school supplies,
saving a projected $141,000.
There are no additions to this budget.
“One of the things we feel good about this budget is maintaining services that
we see as the core,” said List. Current class sizes at the elementary, middle
and high school levels will remain the same. The budget still preserves
services that are seen as important to the vitality of the West Hartford school
system, things like full-day kindergarten, small class size guidelines and
solid arts and physical education programs, List said.
The $1.6 million reduction to the proposed budget is on top of $4 million that
has been reduced to the school board’s budget in the past four years. Money
given from the federal government through ARRA funds will cover $3.791 million
for the 2010-11 school year. Chip Ward, the town’s
finance and planning director, said that ARRA money will go away for the
2011-12 school year, making that year the most difficult in the three budget
years.
The town council will draft its version of the budget for March 9, followed by
a combined passage of the board’s and town’s budget on April 27.