Simsbury Board of Finance Meeting April 3, 2024 Public Hearing

Board of Finance Meeting April 3, 2024 Public Hearing

I would like to give my point of view on long-term goals that would reduce the cost of education through regionalization, redistricting and changing the configuration of the schools by increasing the quality of education.

Core subjects have been highjacked with mandates that have placed an undue burden on the taxpayers and the educational system.

The Board of Education has taken on the task of educating and parenting the students at an insurmountable cost.

It is time to find creative ways to reduce costs.

Special Education has been one of the drivers of the budget with a staff at each school delivering mental health and social services to meet the needs of the students.

Special Education should be managed by the State with satellite schools to deliver the needed services to the students with professional staff.

Regionalizing Special Education would be cost-effective.

This model should be developed as a district with many schools participating with shared expenses from several towns, partnering with the State for funding.

Under this model there would not be spikes in the budget with the delivery of special needs as all expenses are shared in the districts.

The Board of Education should be tasked with an effort to redistrict the schools in a cost-effective way to deliver the services needed to maintain high standards of learning.

One of the ideas would be to move the 6th grade to Henry James Junior High.

This move would reduce the student population in each school, allowing a reconfiguration of the primary schools.

This can be done with redistricting.

A doable project would be to have 2 schools for kindergarten through 2nd grade.

3rd grade through 5th grade would be housed in 2 schools, leaving the Tariffville school for many ancillary services as the school continues to be maintained as a shelter.

During the transition modular classrooms could be added, if needed.

This model of delivering educational services to a concentrated age group would allow the staff to develop programs specific to the needs of the students.

The reconfiguration of the schools will save money with a large reduction in support services.

The Superintendents of Schools in all districts should work together to develop a plan for cost-effective ways to deliver quality educational services eliminating the burden of unfunded mandates

The budgets that will be forwarded to a referendum for a vote is up to the taxpayers to approve or vote no on the increases in the budgets.

Budgets have consequences.

Since I have been speaking to the issue of the Board of Selectmen budget at public audience at the Board of Selectmen meetings and the last Board f Finance meeting, I will not be redundant in my comments and leave it up to the boards to access my comments for reductions that I have already expressed. They are posted on Simsbury Patch and twitter@joancoe.