Board, Council Look to Improve Communication
NEWINGTON - The Board of Education is looking to hold joint â€"priority sharing” meetings with the Town Council as a means to improving inter-body communication during the months leading up to the budget process.

       Board member Steve Silvia suggested the idea through an email sent to the rest of the body, and the matter was discussed at the June 15 special meeting with voices at the table deciding that it’d be worth exploring.

       â€"I really do believe that such a workshop would help us understand what they have going on in future years, so both entities have an understanding of what we’re trying to do in the next three to five years,” Silvia said.

       Board member Jane Ancona-Siegel had similar thoughts.

       â€"I like the idea, because the way the budget went this year, there was no discussion,” Ancona-Siegel said. â€"It’d be nice to talk about things before.”

       The Board and Council are coming off of a contentious budget cycle that saw the two parties at odds over an initial 0 percent spending increase on the school side.

       They would negotiate for a 1.2 percent increase-a combination of a Council added 0.5 percent and $515,000 of the Board’s own surplus funds that came with the establishment of a non-lapsing account for the retention of unspent appropriations.

       Although it would provide an additional opportunity for the Board and Council to communicate their goals, the discussion should be held with an attempt to steer clear of specific budget areas, said Board member Josh Shulman.

       â€"Then we miss the chance to discuss our needs with the community, and we make those cuts behind closed doors,” Shulman said.

       Avoiding it altogether, is admittedly easier said than done, he said.

       â€"Even at Strategic Planning, when we try to have a higher-level focus, it devolves into dollars,” Shulman said. â€"I feel like they’re so intertwined.”

       Board Chair Nancy Petronio said that she liked the idea, but shared Shulman’s concerns.

       â€"Maybe it’s all in how we approach it,” she said.

       Silvia said that he had meant for the sessions to be geared more toward strategic planning, and not the budget itself.

       â€"If we got into budgets, I’d probably have the same trepidations that I’m hearing,” he said.

       Mayor Roy Zartarian threw his support behind the idea, saying that he would prefer the meetings be public.

       â€"I would welcome the opportunity to have a meeting with the Board of Education,” he said. â€"If we could discuss issues and commit to working on them, I think it would only benefit the town.”

      

      
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