$2.6 Million Board Reduction Felt Widely
NEWINGTON - The Newington middle and elementary level gifted programs went down with a slew of other cuts last night, after impassioned pleas from parents and students urging Board of Education members to find a way to salvage the one-a-week advanced placement course.

       The explorer program-part of almost $2.6 million in budget reductions that included deferring the seventh grade World Language program, the hiring of a high school STEM teacher, and laying off two administrators-offers extra learning opportunities for high performing students in a variety of subject areas.

       â€"This program enriches all subjects and teaches us things we might have not learned in our other projects,” said Alejandro Riley, a student enrolled in the program. â€"We’re ahead of the game, but in explorer, we’re learning new things that we didn’t before. It’s a challenge. It makes us think harder.”

       Board members-some of whom have children taking part in Explorer, also lamented its elimination-referring to the move as â€"a tough decision” made in light of a budget outlook that pits programs and new initiatives against retaining teaching staff positions.

       â€"My daughter benefitted personally,” said Vice Chair Jane Ancona-Siegel. â€"I don’t think any of us is happy with any of these cuts. We’re sort of pushing aside a group of students who do need more challenging opportunities. In a tough situation, there’s really nothing else for us to do.”

       Board member Josh Shulman-himself an alumnus of the program-said that his vote for the reduction was a painful one, but preferable when compared to the prospect of laying off teachers.

       â€"I benefitted from the explorer program,” Shulman said. â€"A lot of us fought tooth and nail last year to keep it. It was that or some technology or instructional supplies. This year, it’s that or classroom teachers.”

       With that said, the district may not be out of options there. Shulman shared with the Board resident feedback suggesting that they consider reaching out to retired teachers that have up-to-date certification in an effort to partially revive the program in the near future.

       â€"It may not be the same as it was, but I hope we at least have that type of conversation,” Shulman said.

       Board Chair Nancy Petronio said that this will be looked at in later meetings.

       â€"We’ll definitely consider it, because we’re going to have to get creative,” she said.

       Meanwhile, the Board is also hoping to eventually be able to fill the high school STEM position-for the continuation of the biomedical program launched with the opening of the Martin Kellogg Middle School academy.

       The concern is that the academies-both Martin Kellogg’s and John Wallace’s aerospace program-will become â€"feeders” to area magnet schools that can offer high school level STEM education. Tuition typically costs the district between $7,000 and $8,000-per student.

       With an academy class size at 25 students, Newington could see its magnet-related costs skyrocket in later years, said former Deputy Mayor Clarke Castelle during the public comment segment of the meeting.

       Hiring the biomedical instructor would have been a $72,000 line item.

       â€"Twenty students leave and now that costs this town-these taxpayers-more than salaries and benefits,” Castelle said.

       A 1.2 percent school budget increase-partly composed of $515,000 of the Board of Education’s own surplus money-will allow the district to avoid most of the foretold layoffs, but only for the next year.

       Superintendent Bill Collins is proposing to put forth a matching amount of budgeted health insurance money to cover salary expenditures-on the rise due to contractual mandates. The surplus itself would be swapped and used for health benefits.

       The approach would allow the Board to fund its payroll with money from its operating budget, as opposed to relying on a surplus-a potentially nonrecurring source of funds-to cover costs that will be there every year, Collins says.

       The Town Council established a contingency fund for the retention of Board surplus money as a part of an agreement for a school budget above an initially proposed 0 percent. The Council chipped in 0.5 percent-or, $345,000-with the Board’s surplus bringing it to 1.2 percent.

       Board members expressed concern over the prospect of utilizing surplus money for salaries, urging the Council to consider accepting the $515,000, and then transferring it back to them as a part of their base operating budget.

       Doing so would have ensured the budgeting of at least that much the next year, since a Town Council-by statute-cannot fund lower than the previous expenditure unless the district is shrinking significantly in student population.

       Mayor Roy Zartarian contended that committing the town to the $515,000 would have left them having to cover the difference if the Board was not able to fund the full amount themselves.

       The agreement allows the district to save 14 teaching positions, but it cannot guarantee the retention of those jobs next year.

       â€"We have people who are going to be told they only have a job for a year,” said Board member Cindy Stamm. â€"People are going to reconsider whether they even want to come to Newington.”

       And the district still needs to find the $515,000 that will make up the declared surplus. This will take place over a spending freeze to be enacted through the next few months-a move that will defer the usual year-end purchase of supplies, said Superintendent Bill Collins.

       On the administrative side, one central office position will be reduced from 12 months to 10 months per year. Another will be lost entirely. The third-another layoff-will be replaced using lower level staff to cover the work.

       â€"Just because these people aren’t going to be here doesn’t mean the valuable work they did doesn’t need to be done,” Petronio said.

       The shift represented a $100,000 reduction.
MORE NEWINGTON NEWS  |  STORY BY MARK DIPAOLA   |  Apr 28 2016  |  COMMENTS?