School Finance Committee Requests Funding For Five Additional Positions

After several parents expressed concerns about the level of funding a Board of Education committee is proposing to request from the City Council, committee members approved a request to fund five additional positions in the New London Public Schools.

The Finance and Audit Committee voted 3-1 to support a request to add funding to hire a guidance counselor for Bennie Dover Jackson Middle School and one additional teacher each for kindergarten through third grade.

Board member Bill Morse, who made the proposal, said he based it on concerns raised by parents that the current budget proposal does not address concerns with how the schools function. Morse said several parents raised concerns about class sizes and how a single guidance counselor serves the entire student body at BDJMS.

“As a body that’s elected to represent the community, I think it’s our obligation—and I’m going to say moral obligation—to start addressing these concerns that I think we hear repeatedly,” said Morse.

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The committee formerly requested a 1.5 percent budget increase, or $40,414,666, from the Council. Dr. Nicholas Fischer, who prepared the budget proposal, says this covers costs such as contractual salary raises and an anticipated increase in transportation and energy costs.

The district has been flat funded with a $39,817,405 budget for five years. Dr. Stephen Adamowksi, a special master appointed to the district by the Connecticut Department of Education, says this is the longest running flat funded budget in the state and has criticized such a funding level as unsustainable.

Mayor Daryl Finizio said he will pass on whatever the board requests to the Council unchanged and unreduced. However, he said he considered the requested increase to be modest since he considers some investment will be necessary as the board moves toward adopting an all magnet school model.

“It accomplishes that I think in a very minimal way, but I do think it accomplishes it and it will have my full support,” said Finizio.   

Parent concerns

New London Parent Advocates, a grassroots advocacy group with children attending district schools, criticized the budget in a letter sent to the Board of Education on Monday. The letter says the budget does not address areas such as building maintenance, class sizes, community services, and the loss of faculty and professional support.

The letter urged the committee to present a new budget to address the needs of the district, “without regard to what is politically feasible.”

“A budget reflects priorities - and it is the New London Parent Advocates’ opinion that this budget does not accurately reflect the community’s priorities concerning the public education of our city’s children,” the letter states. “The proposed increase only addresses contractual obligations. It does nothing to address initiatives aimed at ensuring quality instruction and improving student achievement—two concerns about which we all share great interest.”

Resident Jason Morris said the funding level not address issues such as the loss of 46.5 positions under last year’s budget and the transfer of some ECS funds to the city. He said the board should request a larger increase, and let it fall to the Council to decide whether or not they will approve it.

“1.5 percent to me essentially says to me flat funding for another year,” said Morris.

Christa DeVega said she was concerned with the reduction of staff at BDJMS, particularly the guidance staff.

“It saddens me to think that so many children could fall through the cracks,” she said.

Kathy Skrabacz said she did not think the budget provides for enough long-term planning in the budget.

“I don’t see sustainability,” she said. “I feel like we’re just running and jumping at things.”

Extra positions

Morse estimated that it would cost $350,000 in salaries and benefits to support the proposed positions on a base rate. Fischer said a better estimate might be $450,000, saying the board might be better advised to hire more experienced faculty.

Sylvia Potter, a board member who was attending the committee meeting, said she would support the extra funding.

“If we’re going to be putting our taxes into anything, I think it should be more into our children’s education,” she said.

The board’s financial advisor, Rob Funk, said the board should be careful to specify what the funding increase is for so it is not allocated in another way. He also said the district should be more detailed in how it outlines how funds will have an impact on the classroom and student achievement.

“If we increase the budget by $1,000, we need to know what we are spending that $1,000 on and what that $1,000 will accomplish,” said Funk.

Budget figures

Fischer’s budget anticipates $25,106,995 in state funding, but he said the state Alliance District funding for low-performing districts may be cut during state budget deliberations. Fischer also expects a loss of $458,811 in the two percent ECS grant funding due to improved student performance, a transfer of $383,888 in ECS funding to the municipal budget to cover the loss of PILOT funds, and a loss of $317,152 in state transportation funding. The overall anticipated revenue is still a $72,195 increase over the current fiscal year.

Fischer said the 1.5 percent increase would require an additional $597,263 provided in the New London budget.

The budget is split with 30 percent—or $10,068,291—going toward central services and the remaining 70 percent going toward the operational budgets of the schools.

The request is less than the budget approved by the City Council in the fiscal year. However, this budget was approved on the assumption that the district would receive $809,000 in additional Education Cost Sharing funds and realize further savings by having the school business office funds transferred to the municipal budget. Adamowski halted both actions, saying the ECS funding could not be included in the budget before the district submitted a one-year form plan and that any merging of the finance offices should not take place until a planning committee oversees the process over a three-year period.

The full Board of Education will vote on the proposal in a special meeting at 7 p.m. on Thursday at the Science and Technology Magnet High School.

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