Granby Board of Education Postpones Vote On Budget, Considers Additional Cuts

The Granby Board of Education decided to not vote on the fiscal year 2012 school budget at their meeting Wednesday night.  Instead, the board will now consider revising the budget to arrive at a zero percent increasing, eliminating an additional $50,000.

Superintendent of Schools Alan Addley presented the fiscal year 2012 budget last Wednesday evening, which came in at a 0.2 percent increase over the previous year utilizing $315,000 from the Federal Education Jobs Fund Program. 

The board subsequently held a budget workshop last night, where they addressed questions that had been raised in the past week. Despite the small increase over last year, Addley said the board is looking to reduce the budget even further, to a zero percent increase.

The fiscal year 2011 budget totaled $26,667,594, whereas the proposed 2012 budget comes in at $26,720,912 with the Federal Education Jobs Fund money. The difference in the two budgets amounts to $53,318. 

“The intent is to get to zero,” Addley said. 

The Board of Education recessed from the special budget workshop into an executive session to discuss personnel matters, and announced that the vote on the budget would be postponed until a future meeting. 

Among the questions that Addley addressed that had surfaced over the week included whether the district was increasing the cost of each student with a level-funded budget. 

Addley said the answer is yes, as the spending per pupil will raise from $11,910 to $12,154 per student, which still places the district in the bottom 25 percent in the District Reference Group (DRG) when compared against FY2010 spending rates. 

“It is basically just over $200 per student,” Addley said. “It still puts us in the bottom 25 percent.”

Addley said the population is expected to drop by 45 students. Enrollment in 2010-11 was 2,239, whereas the projected enrollment for 2011-12 is 2,194. 

Another question asked whether where is a policy on having a teaching assistant in each classroom. Addley said there is no such policy that places teaching assistants in each class, but noted that historically the population of assistants has grown. The district’s practice is to have an assistant in every kindergarten class as well as to share assistants between the first and second grade classes, he said. 

Addley said from fiscal year 2009 to 2012 the total employee headcount has been reduced by -3 percent. Totals went from 330.9 to 320.1. 

Addley also addressed the 8.7 percent increase in substitute teachers. The line item, he said, was increased by $7,000 due to a new curriculum writing process, but offset by a decrease of the same amount in purchased instructional services. 

The new curriculum writing process will take place during the school year, as opposed to during the summer months, he said. 

“This is really a new direction,” Addley said. “It will bring coherence and continuity to the process.”

A couple of times during the year when a teacher is not present in the classroom due to the curriculum writing, a substitute teacher will be brought in to cover, Addley explained.

Although the board did not vote on the budget Wednesday evening, they are expected to at the meeting on Wednesday, March 16 at Central Services at 7 p.m.