Parents Fume Over WeHa Magnet School Position Merger Plan

WEST HARTFORD, CT — A West Hartford Town Council hearing Monday afternoon evolved into a de facto school board hearing as several parents expressed displeasure at the town's education budget.

At issue, according to hearing speakers, was a decision by the West Hartford Board of Education to combine a teaching position at Florence E. Smith STEM School with a STEM coordinator position.

STEM stands for "science, technology, engineering and math" and Smith is a magnet elementary school specializing in STEM lessons for kids throughout the town.

While school officials have said combining the positions is to create better efficiency in school operations, Smith parents fumed, saying it shortchanges children, many of them being socioeconomically disadvantaged youngsters.

They claim asking one teacher to, essentially, do two full-time roles is too much and, in the end, will result in a lessened educational experience.

Smith parent Steve Chamberland said the proposal only harms Smith pupils, who hail from all types of backgrounds.

"I don't see cuts happening at Bugbee (Elementary School). I don't see cuts happening at all the other privileged neighborhoods in town." Chamberland said.

"When you're making your votes, consider the optics of what you're doing very, very closely."

Smith parent Lindsay Cook agreed.

"The goal of the magnet program is to create greater racial and socioeconomic diversity," Cook said. "It takes resources away from a school that serves one of the most racially and economically diverse communities in West Hartford."

Plus, she said, combining the positions isn't fair to the staff or students.

"Asking a science teacher to take on the responsibilities of a full-time curriculum specialist is just unreasonable," Cook said. "To me it is unacceptable that a budget cut made will target the least privileged in our community."

Comments like those heard Monday at the town council were also relayed last week at a special West Hartford Board of Education budget hearing and workshop.

After a parade of parents protested at the approximately 30-minute hearing Monday, conducted in the daytime to better fit in with some schedules, West Hartford Deputy Mayor Liam Sweeney closed the hearing.

He reminded parents the council didn't set the school budget and thanked them for their testimony.

"There's a lot of us that have kids in the school district and we are all trying to put together a budget that is equitable for this entire town and we appreciate your advocacy," Sweeney said.

The town's spending package for 2023-24, as it stands now, is:

• $124.32 million for town spending, up $5.2 million or 4.37 percent larger than current spending.

• $189.94 million for school spending, up $8.7 million or 4.83 percent larger.

• $16.236 million for capital projects, a decrease of $543,138 or 3.24 percent smaller.

Add all those numbers together, and it makes for a combined $330.5 million town/school budget, which is 4.23 percent larger.

As is typical of all municipal budgets, taxes fund much of the spending, along with other government revenues.

And in West Hartford's case, those taxes will go up, according to this budget draft, by a figure less than 2 percent.

The proposed spending plan would require a new mill rate of 40.96 mills, 0.28 mills larger. That figure is only for real estate and personal property taxes.

Motor vehicle taxes, which are capped by the state at 32.46, will not go up, Ledwith said, with the town garnering revenues from the state to offset the vehicle mill rate difference.

Crunch the numbers and you get a tax hike of about 1.87 percent for taxpayers.

If you're home was assessed at $300,000 in West Hartford, your taxes would go up by $84 total for the year with the proposed new mill rate.

The West Hartford Board of Education was expected to decide its budget Tuesday, April 7, at 7 p.m. The West Hartford Town Coujcil is expected to decide its budget on Tuesday, April 25, at 7 p.m. Both meetings are at West Hartford Town Hall.

Voters do have a chance to repeal the adopted budgets, so long as 6 percent of electors sign a petition to send the spending plans to referendum.

This must be done within 25 days from the adoption of the budget.

From March 31: 'Matinee Budget Hearing Slated In West Hartford'

For more information on the West Hartford Town Council budget, click on this link.

For more information on the West Hartford Board of Education budget, click on this link.