Somers School Budget Goes to Finance Board Hearing

The next time residents have a chance to comment on and hear the details of the proposed $19.5 million school budget will be Monday, March 21^st.

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Maynard Suffredini gave a brief overview of the 2011-12 proposal, which the board approved in February, to about 50 people who attended a hearing held prior to the school board meeting Monday night.

When it came time for public comment, just one woman stepped to the microphone in the Somers Elementary School auditorium to thank school officials for their hard work.

“I know how hard you all worked to get a level funded budget… even though we’re not out of the woods yet,” Janet Shlafstein, mother of two Somers students, said. Shlafstein also said that she appreciates the cooperative effort made by the boards of education, finance and selectmen during the budget process.

The proposed school budget is $196,276 more than the current fiscal year’s plan. To lessen the effect on taxpayers, school officials have chosen to apply the remaining $188,076 the district received last fall from federal Education Jobs Funding grant. With the federal grant, the overall budget is $19.3 million, or $8,200 (0.04 percent) more than the current year.

The breakdown of the budget in percentages is as follows:

• 65 percent – Salaries
• 19 percent – Insurance
• 8 percent – Utilities/Transportation
• 3 percent – Special Education and other Tuition
• 2 percent – General Supplies and Maintenance
• 2 percent – Textbooks and Instructional Supplies

Suffredini credited the district’s employee unions and level insurance costs for enabling the budget to remain nearly the same and still provide the same services for students and staff.

The teachers union agreed to freeze wages in the next fiscal year. This agreement, along with several anticipated retirements, saved the district about $200,000, Suffredini said.

The other unions have also agreed to forgo a wage increase in either the current fiscal year or the 2011-12 school year. The district will be negotiating soon with the custodial and nursing staff, Suffredini said.

As a parent, Shlafstein said after the hearing that she appreciates the unions for “stepping up,” adding that it was difficult two years ago when the district had to eliminate 12 teaching positions for budget reasons.

In terms of insurance, the district went from a “devastating” increase of more than $600,000, or 25 percent, to a celebratory realization that its insurer, Ovation Benefits Group and Anthem, would keep fees the same as the current year.

The school budget will now formally go before the Board of Finance when the school board presents the plan on March 21.

The school budget is part of an overall $28.3 million municipal budget for 2011-12 that includes expenditures and revenue also associated with the town government and debt service.

The following is a list of tentative dates for important budget discussions and votes:

• March 21 - Board of Finance meeting at Town Hall
• April 26 – Overall budget public hearing at the Somers Elementary School
• May 10 – Annual Town Meeting at the Town Hall
• May 24 – Referendum