Diana Stricker Photo
Hernandez, Krause, Prins & Marsland.
The Board of Education (BOE) unanimously approved a 2015 – 2016 operating budget of $53,281,439 last night — which appears to be about $1 million more than the proposed budget presented Feb. 4. The superintendent said the discrepancy is due to a “typo” in his presentation packet last week.
The BOE also unanimously approved a capital budget of $1,285,650 last night. One major change in the capital plan occurred when board members asked that a total of $150,000 be included for bathroom repairs at the high school and at Walsh Intermediate School. That would be offset by delaying a request that $250,000 be earmarked toward replacing the synthetic turf at the high school. The capital budget was made public for the first time last night.
The two budgets, which tally about $54.5 million, now go to the Board of Finance (BOF) and then to the Representative Town Meeting (RTM) for consideration The final budget meeting of the RTM takes place in May, followed by the BOF’s final review and the setting of the mill rate. The RTM may cut items or move funds from one department to another, but it may not make any increases.
The Million-Dollar Typo
Superintendent Hamlet Hernandez typically makes a Power Point presentation of the proposed budget at a special meeting and hands out a packet to the media and any town officials and residents who attend. The event was televised by BCTV. (Click here to read about last week’s presentation.)
The packet contains information about the district and the rationale for the budget. The last page of the packet distributed at the Feb. 4 meeting stated the proposed budget was $52.4 million, which was a 2.29 percent increase over the budget for the current school year.
Unfortunately, the dollar number was wrong. It should have been $53.4 million. The percentage was correct.
During a budget workshop this week, Hernandez distributed a summary total of the budget which listed the correct amount. When the Eagle asked about the $1 million discrepancy, Hernandez replied, “It was a typo.” Hernandez said he “never stated the number” during the presentation. “I stated the percentage,” he said, adding that he didn’t realize the mistake until later in the evening after the budget presentation.
Hernandez said he sent correct information to the BOE and to the RTM’s education committee, but that he did not issue a press release or contact the media. He said he told the New Haven Register the correct amount when the reporter called to ask other questions about the budget.
A Mindful Budget
“I think this budget is responsible,” said BOE chair Michael Krause at last night’s meeting. Krause said the board has been very aware of its two duties: “advocating for our students” and being “mindful of the taxpayers … especially this particular year with the grand list down as well as the (property) revaluation going on in the town.”
Krause said the BOE asked Hernandez to refine the budget numbers presented last week.
At Tuesday night’s session, Hernandez said that an additional $144,428 could be trimmed, mainly due to three additional retirements. That brings the proposed increase down to 2.02 percent instead of 2.29 percent.
Hernandez said the budget addresses the needs of the district while taking the financial needs of the town into consideration. Hernandez emphasized that no new positions were being added, and that four of the seven retirements would not be replaced. Hernandez told the Eagle that one of the people retiring is Assistant Superintendent Dr. Mary Peraro. He said her position and three others will not be replaced during the coming year.
The budget was approved by an 8 – 0 vote. Board member Ellen Michaels was absent.
Bathrooms First, Astrorurf Later
Hernandez said the capital budget includes requests for the coming school year and also for each of the following four years so that the district can alert the town and the taxpayers to any “big ticket items” on the horizon.
One of those big ticket items was $500,000 over the next two years toward replacement of the synthetic turf at the high school playing field. However board members suggested the request not be included in the 2015 – 16 year, so that the bathrooms could be remodeled. There was no money in the original proposed budget for bathrooms.
The bathroom issue was first raised last night by BOE member John Prins, who stated that parents have complained to him about the condition of the high school bathrooms. “They’ve degraded and deteriorated to the point where it’s embarrassing,” Prins said.
BOE member Kate Marsland said the bathrooms at Walsh are also in disrepair. “I would rather not wait to address it,” she said.
Prins agreed with the urgency, saying “It’s already a somewhat critical issue.”
Krause suggested eliminating the $250,000 initially requested toward turf replacement next year and adding $75,000 each for Walsh and the high school for bathroom repairs. He said the turf project could be proposed for the following two years.
What About Walsh?
In addition to the bathroom repairs at Walsh Intermediate School, the capital requests for next year tally about $400,000.
“That is $400,000 we’re putting into it when we’re thinking of renovating it,” Hernandez said.
The BOE commissioned a feasibility study in 2013 regarding Walsh and the aging Sliney Elementary School. In May 2013, the BOE voted unanimously to recommend major renovations at both Walsh and the former Branford Hills Elementary School. The board suggested renovating Branford Hills to replace Sliney. The estimated price tag for both projects was $142.5 million — - before any state reimbursement. The town has not taken any action on that recommendation.
“We’re reaching the tipping point,” Hernandez said in reference to the amount of dollars being spent to maintain the intermediate school rather than doing a complete renovation. Walsh was built in 1972 as an open concept school with few interior walls.
Hernandez said it is time for the district and the town to look at the big picture.
Included in the capital request for the coming year for Walsh is $185,000 for new air handling and dehumidification equipment in the swimming pool area.
Krause said the pool is important because the entire town uses it. “No matter what happens with that school, I think the pool will be there,” Krause said.
There was also $12,000 earmarked for new security cameras at Walsh, and $35,000 to replace the phone system and public address (PA) system.
“The PA system is a priority,” Hernandez said, explaining that it is a safety issue. “We need to have a dependable way to communicate with our teachers.”
Hernandez said the high school has the same problems with the PA system, and money is also being requested for replacement there.
Requests for Sliney Elementary School for next year tallied $55,000, including $30,000 for carpet replacement; and $10,000 for window blinds and shades in classrooms. That $10,000 request would be repeated in each of the following four years until the project is complete.
Marsland said it is imperative to have adequate window coverings because the sun bakes through the large windows at Sliney in the spring months. “Some of the classrooms at Sliney are unbearably hot,” she said.
Hernandez said that new window shades or blinds for the second floor classrooms will be addressed first, because those rooms experience the most problems.
The total request for Branford High School for the 2015 – 16 school year is about $165,000, including the bathroom repairs and PA system replacement.
No repairs are requested next year for Tisko or Murphy elementary schools, but paving for the parking lots is projected in the 2018 ‑2019 school year.
In the system-wide capital allocation for the next five years, there is $600,000 noted for installation of air conditioning in the elementary schools during the years from 2017 through 2020. There is also a total of $300,000 requested over the next three years for elevator upgrades at the schools.
There were no comments from the public because none were present when the capital budget was presented.
“The capital budget is a little bit more complex than the operating budget,” Hernandez said. He explained that the town has line-item control over the capital budget, which means specific capital expenses can be deleted by the BOF and the RTM. In addition, Hernandez said some capital projects can be part of a bond issue.
Following the meeting, Krause told the Eagle that the budgets “will help keep our schools up to date at a reasonable amount of money.”
###
If air conditioning systems on the elementary schools need to be replaced, the Board of Education, Board of Finance and RTM should seriously consider switching to geothermal systems to heat and cool the buildings. The savings from reduced use of heating fuel and electricity repays the cost of the system in less time than the life of the bond needed to finance the system. After that, the savings reduce the cost to taxpayers over the rest of the life of the system. Another important plus is the reduction of CO2 emissions from burning oil and natural gas. Branford residents are already bearing the cost of rising sea level as increased CO2 and other greenhouse gases cause warming and expansion of the ocean and melting of polar ice sheets. Addressing the problem of sea level rise requires us to be part of the solution to the underlying cause of the problem.