Thiery Makes Region 17 Budget Pitch

Town officials who attended a presentation Monday on the proposed $38 million budget for Regional School District 17 said they’re pleased the budget came in with an increase of less than 1 percent, but questioned whether it’s sustainable.

“I find this proposed increase refreshingly responsible,” said Gwen Celmer, who serves on the Killingworth Board of Finance. “But I am concerned. Is this a one-time, isn’t-this-wonderful, can’t-we-all-get-along thing? Is this something we can reasonably see as a trend? I think it’s a remarkable start and I would like to have a sense that this is not a little bit of smoke and mirrors, that we’re going to pay for it down the line.”

Superintendent Howard Thiery stressed to the nearly 30 officials who attended the meeting that he worked hard to bring a “no gimmicky budget” to the district that limits spending increases while focusing on improving education.

The meeting was called so the superintendent could formally present his $38,167,680 budget to the boards of selectmen and finance from the two towns that make up the district, Haddam and Killingworth. Thiery was hired last spring and this was his first full budget presentation to the board.

He said that in drafting the budget he focused on ways to improve learning without excessive cost increases. For instance, the budget calls for a reshuffling of administrative staff in the district’s schools that will see positions eliminated but several new ones created to improve learning.

Thiery is proposing eliminating several teaching and learning specialists positions at Haddam Killingworth High School, as well as a guidance chairperson. Doing so will allow him to create new positions of an English/language arts coordinator and a math/science coordinator, both for grades K-12, along with a new dean of academics at the high school, a special education coordinator and a part-time literacy specialist at the high school.

Those changes, Thiery said, are designed to boost learning throughout the district, but will save the system $35,000. While the changes weren’t intended to save money, Thiery said he was pleased that they did.

“My goal was to be cost neutral, I wasn’t going to restructure with a cost to the district. I’ll have better learning and better cost efficiency.”

Catherine Iino, first selectwoman in Killingworth, questioned whether current staff “is on board with all this.”

Thiery said the bargaining units “recognize that we have a right to do this under their contract.” He said the general feedback he’s getting from rank and file staffers is that they agree with the need for this kind of “linear feedback and consistency in the new staffing arrangement.”

John McMahon, a member of Killingworth’s finance board, warned the Region 17 Board of Education, which can cut or increase Thiery’s budget request, that voters he’s spoken with have said they will not support a large school budget increase.

“I’m not a believer in (the idea) that the more money you spend on education the better the outcome. Any number above this figure would not be acceptable. From what people tell me in the community they are very concerned about mill rates and taxes. I just want to convey that message to you.”

The budget represents a .89 percent increase over current year spending. Following Thiery’s presentation, the district’s board of education will review the spending plan and make changes before sending it on to district voters. Some town officials who attended the meeting warned the board that they should not increase the proposal before sending it to a vote.