UPDATE — Superintendent Hamlet Hernandez announced at Thursday night’s budget workshop that the enrollment figures he released Wednesday for Walsh Intermediate School were incorrect. He said there are currently 996 students at Walsh, the lowest enrollment in six years. The highest enrollment in recent years was 1,101 in June 2010. Hernandez estimates there will be 946 students at Walsh next year, a drop of 50 students from the current year. He said the total enrollment for the district is 3,217, also the lowest in the past six years. Hernandez is proposing to cut five teaching positions from Walsh for the 2013 – 14 school year, due to declining enrollment.
Diana Stricker Photo
Superintendent Hamlet Hernandez (pictured) is calling for a $51.8 million budget for the 2013 – 14 school year, an increase of about $1.5 million — or 2.95 percent — over last year’s request.
Hernandez, who likes to nickname his budget themes, called this plan “Systemic Improvement by Reallocating Resources.” Some of those resources being reallocated are people.
The plan would create some new positions, including an associate superintendent and two math specialists. Other positions would be eliminated, including a team of teachers at Walsh Intermediate School due to declining enrollment there. The proposal calls for two additional pre-kindergarten classes, and the creation of an elementary summer literacy program.
When asked after the meeting about the number of teachers being eliminated from Walsh, Hernandez told the Eagle he would not reveal the actual number until tonight’s budget workshop. He said a “team” is being cut, but that teams vary in size.
He said the cut is being made because of a drop in enrollment at Walsh. One of the slides in his power point presentation showed enrollment figures for the past five years, which indicated an increase at Walsh. Hernandez said that although 1,156 students were listed for Walsh in 2012, that number includes students that the district is financially responsible for, even though they attend other schools such as magnet schools or specialized programs.
Diana Stricker Photo
The specific dollar amount being proposed is $51,780,381, which is $1,482,777 more than the current year. Hernandez said if this total amount is approved, it would translate to a $79 annual increase in property taxes for a home valued at $150,000; and $394 per year tax increase for a home valued at $750,000. Those figures represent only the school district budget, not the town budget or the capital budgets on the town and school side. The increases per household are based on the assumption that the mill rate goes up by 3 percent.
Hernandez unveiled the proposed spending plan during a 45-minute session Wednesday at the high school attended by about 35 people, including board members, and some administrators, teachers, town officials and parents. The budget will be discussed at the Board of Education (BOE) workshop tonight at 7 p.m. at Walsh Intermediate School.
Hernandez is proposing to eliminate 9.6 full-time equivalent positions, but he said that 6.7 of them are being “reallocated or redefined.” He said the actual reduction would be 2.9 full-time equivalent positions.
Included in the 6.7 positions being added are an associate superintendent, two curriculum coordinators, and two math specialists. He did not specify what the 1.7 full-time equivalent positions would be.
Hernandez said the proposed spending plan maintains the current class size, and preserves educational programs and extra-curricular activities. “There’s no reduction to any learning activities,” Hernandez said. “That’s a board priority.”
Hernandez said the two new curriculum coordinators would be involved in the new teacher evaluation program that will be mandated by the state. Branford was one of 10 districts chosen by the state to conduct a pilot program for teacher evaluations this year. The state will then chose an evaluation program that will be mandatory for all districts.
Diana Stricker Photo
“I firmly believe it’s a very responsible budget,” Hernandez said. “We just can’t add and add and add. We have to look at how we’re reallocating our resources.” Pictured here are Board of Education members in the front row.
Following the meeting, Hernandez told the Eagle that the elementary summer literacy program is a new initiative for students who need additional help. He said the previous summer program was suspended last year, while the district re-evaluated the program.
At the beginning of the 2012 school year, Hernandez told the board the following enrollment figures: 1,036 students at the high school; 992 at Walsh; 362 at Tisko Elementary; 354 at Sliney Elementary; 400 at Murphy Elementary; and 88 at the Early Learning Center. Those numbers include 28 in pre-kindergarten classes at Murphy; and 13 Sliney pre-kindergarten students at the Early Learning Center.
Walsh Intermediate School has been in the news this year as the district is trying to determine whether to replace or renovate the building. Walsh was built in 1972 as an open-space school with few interior walls. It houses students in grades five through eight.
Hernandez is proposing to add 30 pre-kindergarten seats next year — one additional session for Sliney, and one for Tisko. Murphy currently has two sessions and Sliney has one. He said the pre‑K programs have been “very, very successful.”
Hernandez said that 92.8 percent of the budget is fixed costs. Those include about $31 million for salaries, $9.8 million for benefits, $3 million for transportation, $1 million for utilities and $2.5 million for tuition. “These are the major drivers to the budget,” he said.
After the BOE approves the budget, it goes to the Board of Finance (BOF) where cuts can be made. The school and town budgets are than sent to the Representative Town Meeting (RTM) for deliberation. The RTM may cut items or move money from one town department to another, but they cannot make any increases.
Last year, Hernandez proposed a $50.7 million budget, which was 3.1 percent higher than the previous year, even though student enrollment continued to decline. The previous year, the request was a 3.97 percent increase.
The final budget for the 2012 – 13 school year was $50.2 million after cuts were made by the BOF and the RTM. The combined school and town budgets approved last year totaled $96.6 million, with the school budget accounting for more than half the total amount.
Property taxes pay for about 96 percent of the school budget in Branford, and the state picks up a minimal amount through an Education Cost Sharing (ECS) program. Branford’s ESC increased an additional $19 per pupil for the 2012 – 13 school year, bringing the total to $397 per pupil. According to state figures, it costs $14,010 to educate a child in Branford, while the average cost per pupil in Connecticut is $14,551.
The ECS is based on a town’s grand list, so towns with higher property values receive less funding. Like other shoreline towns, Branford’s grand list is affected by waterfront properties that have a high valuation.
The BOE develops an incremental budget each year, using the previous budget as a base. It does not use a zero-based budget system that starts from zero and examines the entire budget.
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