NEWINGTON - The Town Hall auditorium wasn’t exactly filled to capacity for the Town Council’s setting of the 2016-2017 budget and Mill Rate last night, but looks were deceiving.

       Councilors read aloud more than 60 letters regarding the proposed 0 percent increase to the Board of Education budget before a motion to raise the school expenditure by 0.5 percent, while permitting the retention of surplus funds-to bring it to a collective 1.2 percent-passed by a 5-4 margin.

       The initial .5 percent is $345,000 above the previous proposal to flat fund the school budget-a controversial move that sparked an outcry from Board members and residents concerned about the potential for teacher layoffs and setbacks implementing a slew of new district initiatives.

       With the .5 percent provided by the Council, the Board will retain an unencumbered $515,000-part of a new account created to hold surplus funds that do not exceed 1 percent of the Board’s operating budget.

       The adjustment comes after a tight window of negotiations that took place days between last Thursday’s public hearing, and the setting of the budget-a $115.6 million figure that reduces the Mill Rate by .2.

       â€�"We’ve been trying to find ways to increase the Board of Education budget and fund programs and teachers,” said Majority Leader Beth Delbuono.

       But at 1.2 percent-short of the 1.7 percent Board Chair Nancy Petronio said would be needed in order to cause only â€�"minimal disruption”-the Board is still looking at the possibility of layoffs and significant cuts to programs, said Democratic Councilors and former Deputy Mayor Maureen Klett, who has crossed party lines in opposition to the 0 percent proposal.

       â€�"I feel the majority has taken a Mill Rate over funding education for our kids,” said Councilor Carol Anest. â€�"I’m saddened. There’s so much for our kids to learn, and they need to excel. With a 1.2 percent, I don’t think they can get those things.”

       Councilors pointed to extensive public testimony-both in writing and in-person-urging the Majority to fund enough to save teaching positions and allow for the continuation of the district’s STEM program, already in motion with the opening of two middle school academies.

       â€�"You’re not even close to what they need,” said Councilor Jim Marocchini. â€�"You’re not going with what the people want.”

       While supporters of a larger school budget had a good showing at public meetings, they represent only a portion of the entire Newington community, Delbuono said. Many residents are on fixed incomes and cannot afford even the slightest tax increase, she said.

       Republican Councilors have expressed a desire to keep the Mill Rate from going up, pointing to revaluations that will see property taxes go up for 55 percent of homeowners, regardless of the budget outcome.

       â€�"I want people to understand that we’re taking into account everyone’s needs,” Delbuono said. â€�"They [some residents] have to choose between medicine and food. Although it’s not a lot of money, it has an impact. In our estimation, this was a compromise.”

       Klett raised a motion to transfer $25,600 in town contingency funds originally budgeted for a 3 percent administrative salary raise, noting that administrators on the school side are facing a freeze for the second year in a row.

       The money, she said, should go toward restoring Sunday library hours-something the Library Board had agreed to exchange for the funds to retain certain staff.

       â€�"I’m not saying they’re [town administrators] aren’t worth the 3 percent-they most certainly are-but when you’re doing what you’re doing to the Board of Education, I feel the belt-tightening should be all around,” Klett said.

       The library, on the other hand, is a service utilized by many residents, and should take priority over administrative raises, she said.

       Democrats joined Klett in supporting the motion, which failed 5-4.

       Klett raised a second motion to transfer $20,000 from contingency to cover the cost of contracted Human Services professionals-again, with administrative raise money-but Republicans rejected it 5-4, saying that the Department has had the funding in the past but tends to not use most of it.

       The actual Council discussion on the budget took place only after over two and a half hours of public comment-both from attendees and from those who sent letters in.

       Hannah Siegel, an eighth grader at Martin Kellogg and a member of the middle school gifted program-currently on the chopping block-expressed concerns regarding the fate of the high school STEM academy and plans to add seventh grade Spanish on the Core.

       Siegel is the daughter of Board member Jane Ancona-Siegel.

       â€�"Neighboring communities start Spanish in elementary school, in here we are, thinking about starting it in eighth grade,” Siegel said.

       In a letter read into the record, resident Amy Alexander urged the Majority to consider a 2.8 percent increase-as proposed through two failed Democratic motions. The amount increase is regarded by Democrats and Klett as what the Board would need to retain teaching positions and prevent the growth of class sizes.

       â€�"Nobody wants taxes go up, but we have to look at the big picture,” Alexander said. â€�"The zero percent increase is unacceptable. You are cutting programs. Increasing class sizes and cutting programs will cause parents to look at magnet schools.”

       But others urged Councilors to, as resident Patty Foley said, ‘stay the course’ on the zero percent.

       â€�"It might be tough to say no increase, but our children will be educated, because we have good teachers,” Foley said.