Shelton BOE Considers Layoffs, Furloughs To Close Budget Gap

SHELTON, CT — Shelton Public Schools will undoubtedly be different next year as the Board of Education looks for $2.7 million in cuts from the proposed budget. Staff furloughs, salary freezes and layoffs were floated as possible ways to hit the number at a Board of Education meeting.

Mayor Mark Lauretti proposed in an April 21 budget address that the city budget be flat-funded for the 2020-2021 fiscal year.

“There will not be any increases in budgets,” he said. “To add insult to injury, the City’s fund balance has been depleted to almost zero due to the fact that for two consecutive years of overspending by the Board of Education resulted in a lawsuit and leaving the City with no cash reserves.”

Interim Superintendent Dr. Beth Smith said the board could nickel and dime some items off the budget like cutting freshman athletics to save $36,000, but at the end of the day it won’t amount to the needed $2.7 million.

“...for years we’ve been underfunded and for years we have been cutting, cutting and cutting more and now it’s going to be unfortunately this board’s tough decision as to what programs we are completely knocking out,” Smith said at the Board of Education’s April 30 virtual meeting.

Several other nearby school districts are also looking for ways to slash spending. Trumbull is looking to reduce its proposed school budget by $2.3 million, though overall spending for the Trumbull Board of Education would still be raised 2.53 percent over its current budget.

Finance Director Rick Belden estimated that a single staff furlough day would save between $200,000 and $300,000. A salary freeze would save a significantly greater amount. Both would have to be negotiated with the six unions that represent nearly all Board of Education employees. It might be possible to cut another $200,000 to $300,000 with smaller cuts to things like supplies, but some parts of the budget like special education require mandated funding.

“This zero increase is going to affect the delivery of services across the board for the Board of Education and its students,” Belden said. “We are going to have to touch staff, we are going to have to touch programs we are going to have to touch extracurriculars.”

Board member James Orazietti noted that laying off a staff member doesn’t automatically save 100 percent of their salary line in the budget because unemployment still has to be paid.