A Matter of Choice

The budget process began last August, eight months ago. At that time, I presented the Board of Education with the harsh realities of the projected impact of the contractual salaries and the depleted health account on the upcoming budget season. In response to this news, the Town Council held a special joint meeting in September with both the Board of Education and the Board of Finance. It was shared publicly at this meeting that these expenses would drive the education budget above 6%, even if all other items remained the same. My responsibility was to inform our town at the earliest point of the budget process, to keep our town leaders and citizens apprised of these critical issues. To this end, a letter was also mailed home to all parents alerting them to the pending budget issues, months before the formal budget was presented.

As the educational leader of the district, my role is to support a quality system, while being fiscally responsible. In order to drive down costs over these past two years, staff members have been laid off, the entire health insurance for the district rebid, the transportation system overhauled, line item expenditures reduced by hundreds of thousands, programs cut, and efficiencies of operations implemented across the district. But these aggressive strategies of creative thinking and hard work were not enough to offset the financial result of a self‐insured medical account on the verge of bankruptcy. Fixing the insurance issue meant a significant increase to the BOE budget for next year.

The impact of insurance costs on the bottom line of the 4.6% failed education budget approached half of that requested increase, over 2%. If insurance had stayed the same, the education budget would have been at less than 2.6% at the polls, very much in line with other neighboring districts’ increases.

There are those who espoused that the 1M in extra funds required for insurance should have come from further reductions in the district. Had another million been cut from the budget when it was first proposed, class sizes and programs would have been severely impacted. Before slashing the bottom line and eroding the foundation of the district quality, the mission of the district work compelled me to provide the option of an intact system to the BOE for its review. Subsequently, the BOE, First Selectman, and BOF all rallied to present the town with an education budget that would leave programs and class sizes intact. These elected officials offered the voters at‐large a choice – vote to maintain the current system and its programs for all students or not.

But, our citizens chose not to approve the referendum; it was their right to do so. I am respectful of the process and will continue to work with the Board of Education, the First Selectman, and all town officials to ensure that the precious resources ultimately allocated to the education of Monroe’s children are put to the best possible use.

However, until the budget is determined for the fall, the district remains in a holding pattern. There are 17 weeks until the start of another school year. Yet unknown at this time are: how many schools will be in operation, how the buses will be configured, where staff members may be assigned, who will be laid off, what grades will be assigned to what schools, and what resources the district will have to address all of the needs of its students. The district cannot move forward until the town budget is approved.

As the budget numbers change with each referendum and the necessity to meet the demands of the voters, so do the plans. My efforts to keep you informed will remain steadfast and true to the best of my knowledge. That is one thing I know for sure.

I thank you for taking the time to read this column and to continue to be informed in your choices.