School Board Reviews Budget Proposal

A week after Region 13 Superintendent Susan Viccaro proposed her 2011-2012 budget, school officials are struggling to find ways to save money.

At a meeting Wednesday night, several members of the Board of Education were quick to point out that while the overall increase to the superintendent's budget is 6.25 percent, the proposal only calls for a 1.7 percent increase in expenses.

"This is actually just an increase in expenses from last year of $600,000 [actual $601,998]," board member Bill Curlin said, while applauding Viccaro's proposal. "That's pretty good."

"Any other year we'd go from five [percent] to four [percent]," board chairman Thomas Hennick said, indicating that the board would need to get creative in its efforts to reduce the budget.

"We can't raise any more money," he said.

School officials said the overall (or net) increase in the budget is exacerbated by a decline in revenues, specifically the district's fund balance.

District 13 has allocated $1.79 million from the fund balance to the 2010-2011 budget, leaving the district with $489,215 available for the 2011-2012 budget.

The funds, which are often used to offset increases in expenses, were spent under pressure from town officials and residents to keep the current budget under control, Hennick said.

The district will lose nearly $75,000 in state funding as well.

"It's unfortunate that [costs] keep going up and our funding from the state is level funded and has been for years," board member Elizabeth Gara said.

While no specific details were discussed at the meeting, Hennick said the district is looking into the possibility of offering an early retirement package to employees to help narrow the budget.

Viccaro also provided board members with a report from DATTCO, which reviewed potential cost savings in transportation expenses by adjusting the start and end times for schools.

The report, which indicated the district could potentially save about $20,000 by moving from a two-tier transportation system to a three-tier system, will be given to the administrative council to review, Viccaro said.

Viccaro also added that she plans to share with the board cuts she made to the budget prior to announcing her proposal last week.

The next Board of Education meeting will be held on March 16 at 7:30 p.m. at .

A Public Hearing is scheduled for April 6, at 8 p.m. at .

On May 2, the Board of Education meeting will be held at 8 p.m. at CRHS, at which point board members will vote on the budget. If passed, the budget will go to referendum the next day.

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