Board of Education Makes Cuts

Planners, the middle school late bus and the travel and conference fund escaped further cuts at Monday night’s Board of Education meeting. A Farmington High School reading specialist, late buses at Westwoods Upper Elementary School and summer school did not.

The board met at the Farmington High School library with the task of reducing its $54,472,399 budget by $494,103, as mandated by the Town Council.

“We’re really at a point where, if you make a reduction, it does start to hit against programs and class size,” said Superintendent Kathleen Greider. The board has always been fiscally responsible, she said, and years of cuts – including almost 24  positions ­— have already chipped away. Still, she said, class sizes remain the priority.

Saying, “none of these decisions is a decision as a superintendent in my second year that I would want to support,” Greider presented three levels of cuts, one being the least significant and three being the most.

The board reviewed all the items on Greider’s list, debating as they went along, then voted through them – quickly at the beginning, then slowly up to the end.

The board voted to do away with the $22 per test Advanced Placement test subsidies, but may revisit the issue in another budget year. Members also voted to look for a co-op opportunity for the ice hockey team. Currently, Greider said, dwindling participation has put a stress on participating students. Combining with another town or possibly two would immediately cut the program’s cost in half.

Projects to combat a safety issue at a Union School entrance and to put a monitor at the student parking lot entrance at Farmington High School will go forward, but not with money from the Board of Education’s operating budget. The money instead will come from the office of Continuing Education, which uses the high school entrance and the related EXCL program, which uses the Union School entrance.

The board moved on to postpone all its remaining building projects for a savings of more than $47,000 and to cut one of two coaches for the high school gymnastics program. The program will remain the same, Greider said and will continue to serve the same number of students.

Against the better judgment of Finance Director Mike Ryan, the board moved to increase the projected Excess Cost Sharing money it expects to get from the state from Ryan’s budgeted 50 percent up to 57.5 percent, for an additional $54,500.

A long discussion looked at the usefulness of planners, where students record assignments, keep track of responsibilities and read mandated materials on conduct. Assistant Superintendent Mike Galluzzo agreed with several members, saying they’re not just spiral notebooks to write homework in, but an organizational tool. Finally, the board voted to keep the planners in the budget.

The family and consumer science program was cut for the 2011-12 year because the teacher is retiring. The program needs to be revamped, Greider said, and the retirement will provide an opportunity to do that should the board again fund the program. The move will change the schedule from quarter to trimester periods, bringing grades 5-8 into the trimester system. The move would also increase class sizes in specials because there would be three sections instead of four.

The $95,000 remedial summer school program, which serves grades kindergarten through 6, was cut by $15,000. The original proposal was for $25,000 in cuts, which the board reduced. Greider said she was considering a fee structure to defray costs. In the past, she said she’s also seen a higher commitment if there is a small fee.

The board easily parted with the late bus from Westwoods, but a proposal to cut the Irving A Robbins bus service on Fridays didn’t sit well and eventually the program, serving a little under 100 students weekly, was kept.

A reading specialist teaching three classes a day with a total of 26 students was cut. Greider explained that the district had hired a full-time English teacher with experience doing interventions, who she thought could handle the extra students.

A special education paraprofessional was also cut.

Finally, the board voted to empower Greider to cut $31,182 from across the budget, bringing the board’s total increase to 4.83 percent, or $53,978,296.

“We were pleased to get a 4.83 in this economy,” said board Chairman Mary Grace Reed. “Now your job has to be to get the vote out.”