School District Faces 'Difficult Decisions' in 2014 Budget

Dr. John Reed didn't mince words at the first Board of Education meeting after the municipal election last week at Reed Intermediate School.

"If the public perceives we're not going to a fair job adjusting staffing as enrollment declines, I believe they'll assert their will and budgets will be defeated," he told school officials. "There's a relationship between long-term interest of school system and saving some of those positions."

Facing an enrollment decline of more than 200 students and forecasts of a tough budget season ahead, the district is examining ways to present a tighter budget to voters in the spring of 2014. With newly elected members Michelle Ku, David Freedman and Kathy Hamilton joining the discussion, Reed said he expected to introduce a budget with "significantly more than three or four positions eliminated."

After 2013's referendum — in which the education budget passed on the third vote — and a joint town/school budget that took five tries in 2012, Reed said he'd like to deliver a budget that can pass on the first ballot. Board of Education members rallied in support of the school budget before it passed this summer, and some credited its eventual success to the teamwork of school officials and PTA members. But Reed said "significant reduction" would require removing millions from the budget.

"I think this budget will be under a lot of scrutiny, and we have to be conscious of that," Reed said. "If we're going to nurture the interest of the school system, it does require some difficult decisions be made. I don't know how our class size could be better than most school systems given the fact we spend less than most school systems. The salary ranges aren't different across the state -- every school system struggles with the same issues related to what we struggle with."

In fact, he said, Newtown's district is in better shape than some.

"Newtown is already a very cost-effective district," he said. "We're in the bottom quartile of the state in per-pupil cost. I really think the [criticism] is perhaps well-intended, but sophomoric. Facts are facts. When people want to put us in context, we're already cost-effective."

New Voices

From continued recovery funding for the Dec. 14 shooting to upcoming NEASC accreditation planning, the board has begun sizing up what should stay in the budget and what will change as they deal with the reality of declining enrollment.

Board chair Debbie Leidlein has asked members to submit ideas for budget goals, some of which have been carried over from last year's budget.

"I'm looking for a low budget increase, and I want to make sure we're taking all those factors into account, but making sure we're not reducing programs unless they're deemed unneeded by the administration," Leidlein said.

Kathy Hamilton, who rejoined the Board of Education in September and was elected to a full term last week, covered a "wish list" for areas in the budget she'd like to examine, including mental health, security and special education.

"Obviously, if there's some special circumstances, we have to rely on our educators to tell us that," she said. "We can't just dictate how many fit in a classroom."

Hamilton said the district should be "reflective" of declining enrollment, and possibly balance the fluctuating costs of technology and maintenance, which have risen and fallen erratically in past years.

"If we're low in enrollment, perhaps we can lower our budget and add more programs if we have class sizes closer to guidelines," she said. 

Freedman disagreed on technology, favoring a focus on the fundamentals, a position he also took while running for office.

"I'm not a big supporter of tech and computers at a young age," he said. "We really have to look at putting in place or continuing the core value of education at that age. A first or second-grader plugged into iPad is getting away from core development as a child and the skills they need to go through life."