Diana Stricker Photo
Superintendent Hamlet Hernandez presented a proposed $52.7 million budget Tuesday, an increase of $1.4 million over last year, which equates to 2.73 percent.
Hernandez said the 2015 school budget proposal is realistic. “We are doing this in a very smart way. … We’re not asking for an insurmountable amount of money,” he said.
The town’s budget, the other side of the overall financial equation, is not yet finalized. First Selectman Jamie Cosgrove has asked his department heads to prepare three budget scenarios which would reflect their wishes, a 0 percent increase, and a 2 percent reduction. Hernandez was not asked to follow the same plan. Click here to read that story.
Last year town boards approved a total of $51.7 million for the school district’s operating and capital budgets; and $47.2 million for the town budget. The combined total for school and town was $99.3 million. Click here to read that story.
The school district’s capital budget for 2015 has not yet been approved.
Property taxes pay for about 96 percent of the school budget in Branford; the state picks up a portion through an Education Cost Sharing (ECS) program. The ECS is based on a town’s grand list, so towns with higher property values receive less funding. Hernandez said last night there needs to be an increase in state funding.
Hernandez (pictured) emphasized that this is the smallest percentage of increase for budget requests in four years. Hernandez proposed a 3.97 percent increase in 2012; 3.10 percent in 2 013; and 2.95 percent last year. These requests are typically whittled down by the Board of Education (BOE), the Board of Finance and Representative Town Meeting (RTM). The budget season formally gets underway in March when the BOF examines both budgets.
BUDGET OVERVIEW
Hernandez said the budget is starting to “move away from resource allocation solely based on enrollment.” He said the budget will focus on the emerging needs of the district, especially in terms of changing demographics.
He said there is an increase in the number of students who come from lower socio-economic backgrounds, an increase in students who do not speak English as their first language, and an increase in students who have social or emotional issues.
When he spoke about enrollment, he noted there has been a drop of 32 students from June of last year until January of this year. See the chart (pictured) for specific enrollment figures since 2008. The total enrollment in January 2014 was 3,239 — a steady decline since 2009. The most noticeable drop was at Walsh Intermediate School, which is currently at 944 students — down from a high of 1,101 in June 2010.
Walsh has been in the news as debates continue about renovating the facility, which was built in 1972 as an open-space school with few interior walls. It houses students in grades five through eight.
Hernandez said the budget maintains programs and extracurricular activities but does not expand them. For instance, there will be no increase in the number of pre-kindergarten programs, as in recent years.
“We need to be more mindful of what is sustainable over time,” Hernandez said, noting that the budget does not include all of the administrators’ requests.
A portion of the $1.4 million increase would include the creation of two new positions — an elementary curriculum coordinator, and the addition of a part-time person for the special education class for students with autism spectrum disorder. The district will also fund several part-time positions that were previously funded through other sources, such as grants.
Also included in the budget request is about $100,000 for text books, an increase in wages for substitute teachers, and increases for transportation. Hernandez said the major drivers for the budget are fixed costs such as salaries, benefits and transportation, which accounts for $48 million in 2015, equating to 91.19 percent of the total budget.
Following the 30-minute presentation, the board began deliberating on the budget, and will continue their discussions at a budget workshop Thursday at 7 p.m. at Walsh Intermediate School. A workshop originally scheduled Wednesday was canceled due to weather.
“SMART” BUDGET
“This year we’re going to budget in a SMART way,” said Hernandez, who likes to give his budgets a nickname or theme. He explained that SMART is his acronym for Strategic/Specific, Measurable/Meaningful, Attainable, Realistic/Relevant, and Timely.
Hernandez said the new position of elementary curriculum coordinator would benefit the teaching staff. A secondary curriculum coordinator was added this year. “A better teacher leads to better student outcomes,” he said.
BOE member Mario Sabatini asked if the budget contains any provision of money for Murphy Elementary School, in light of the drastic drop in standardized test scores for third grade students last year. (Click here to read that story.) “Are there any dollars specifically for that school?” he asked.
“Money, no,” Hernandez replied “Yes, the resources would be used differently.”
For example, he said that those students will be going to fifth grade at Walsh Intermediate School next year, and that all the fifth grade classes will have two-teacher teams instead of teams of four or five teachers beginning next year. Parents in recent years have complained about the difficult transition from fourth grade at the elementary schools to fifth grade at the Intermediate School.
Sabatini also asked what the district is missing by not having a grant writer. “Maybe that’s something we ought to look at,” he said.
“I’d like to explore that a little bit with the town,” Hernandez said, noting that First Selectman Jamie Cosgrove was in attendance at the budget meeting. “That’s something we can dialogue about,” he told Cosgrove. He also said it could be possible to hire a grant writer through a regional effort with other districts.
BOE member John Prins said a grant writer can be very valuable, even if it’s only a part-time position. “When somebody is dedicated to that, the sky’s the limit,” he said.
Hernandez said it’s important to consider whether the district can maintain the added resource after grant money runs out.
Click here to read about a grant that was not applied for last year.
LAST YEAR’S BUDGET
When Hernandez presented the 2014 budget last year, it called for a $51.8 million spending package, an increase of about $1.5 million — or 2.95 percent — over the previous year’s budget. Click here to read that story.
After cuts during budget workshops last year, the BOE unanimously approved a $51.6 million operating budget, which was an increase of 2.62 percent over the previous year. They approved a capital budget of $860,570.
After the BOE approves the budget, it goes to the BOF where cuts can be made. The school and town budgets are than sent to the RTM for deliberation. The RTM may cut items or move money from one department to another, but they cannot make any increases.
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