Mayor Asks for “Tight” School Budget, Cites Concerns
WETHERSFIELD - Wethersfield Mayor Paul Montinieri says that he is looking for a â€"tight budget” from the Board of Education this year, citing a controversial surplus fund transfer and $36,000 in accidental overpayment to teachers among issues prompting him to re-examine the process.

       Montinieri said that he discussed his concerns with the Board in early budget meetings, stressing communication and transparency. He says he asked Board members, just as an exercise, to assess how well it could meet district needs with a zero percent increase.

       â€"See what it looks like,” Montinieri said over the phone. â€"I want to see what that means. We’re going at this more assertively than we did in the past, but it’s a product of a budget process wherein which maybe, we weren’t as [assertive] as we should be.”

       At a later budget workshop, councilors discussed asking the Board to experiment with a hypothetical 2 percent reduction--a strictly theoretical scenario, Deputy Mayor Steve Barry said.

       Last year’s 3 percent increase, touted as a â€"lean” expenditure that allowed the Board to pursue initiatives such as a new K-6 math program, began as a proposed 5.8 percent. The Council told the Board to aim for a 3 percent increase as the cap, according to Montinieri.

       â€"I need to balance the needs to the district with the economic realities and that’s the process we’re going through at this point,” said Superintendent of School Emmett. â€"I want to maintain the programming I have. Maintain class sizes. The [relocation of] the Transition Academy is very important.”

       This summer, Emmett spent $730,000 in surplus funds on technology--Chromebooks for the middle school level and desktop computers across the district. Equipping the district with devices for the digitalized Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBAC) and establishing equity when it comes to technological access has been among Emmett’s priorities.

       By statute, he was allowed to transfer up to 3 percent of the budget without Board approval, but the decision raised concerns regarding transparency. Members pursued, and passed, a district policy mandating that transfer amounts over $25,000 be brought before the Board--a change that Emmett told the Hartford Courant that he, too, supported.

       â€"That changed the playing field for me,” Montinieri said. â€"When there’s a [$730,000] surplus spend, you say maybe [the budget] wasn’t as lean as it could be.”

       Emmett noted that $150,000 from a Board of Education reserve fund--up to 1 percent of the operating budget can go into it--was turned back to the town. That is separate from the surplus funds that were directed toward technology, he said.

       â€"I’m limited in what I can use it for, but I have built it up,” Emmett said.

       It was around this time last year when the Council was made aware of alleged overpayments to teachers, Montinieri said. The Board had an audit done over the summer and an extra $35,000 in payments were reported. There was also around $1,000 worth of underpayments, according to Montinieri.

       â€"We made it clear that those two variables caught the attention of our community,” Montinieri said. â€"We need to be accountable to the community for those two topics.”

       But the audit showed underpayments to teachers as well, Emmett said.

       â€"I think the audit is a separate issue [from the budget],” he said. â€"The audit is done. We know what we have to do.”

       The report suggested that the Board, among other measures, add an accounting position to oversee district finances.

       Within the past year, Wethersfield saw the arrival of Board of Education Business Manager Matt Kozaka. Both Montinieri and Emmett praised his work, which has included the sharing of monthly expense reports, expressing optimism regarding the direction Council and Board communication is headed.

       â€"We are starting to turn the corner,” Montinieri said.
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