Manchester Residents Sound Off On Proposed Budget

It was a packed house in the auditorium of Waddell Elementary School Thursday evening as the town held a public hearing on General Manager Scott Shanley's proposal for the 2013-14 fiscal year budget, but almost everyone who was there seemed to only want to talk about one thing. 

"The state of our town is deplorable. I hope that difficult but necessary steps will be taken to avert the significant budget cuts proposed at the Board of Ed meeting on Monday," said Manchester resident Michel Gara Grady. "After that meeting I was dismayed to say the least. As the reality of this dire situation set in, it became apparent that action is needed now, as costs will only increase in the future. I implore you to do whatever is necessary within the town's budget before leaving the Board of Ed with an insufficient budget to meet its basic needs." 

Shanley's $169,388,904 proposed budget is a 2.4 percent increase over the current budget, but a 3.6 increase in taxes (the mill rate would increase to 32.72, which would result in a tax increase of $135 on the value of the median home in town valued at $118,300). However, Shanley's budget falls almost $2.5 million short of the funds the Board of Education were seeking for the 2013-14 school year. 

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Because of that, and in an attempt to make up that balance, Interim Superintendent Richard Kisiel unveiled a long list of cuts earlier this week that would have to be made to the upcoming school budget if the spending cut was not filled. Those cuts include the elimination of nine full-time teaching positions, music and sports programs at the elementary level, the elimination of language arts programs, possibly closing the Manchester High School pool, eliminating the districts Gifted and Talented Program, cutting assistant coaches and the athhletic trainer at Manchester High, and a number of other cuts that Kisiel said would have a "dire impact" on Manchester's education system (Kisiel's entire proposal is attached to this article as a PDF). 

Residents, parents and students appeared none too pleased about the proposed cuts Thursday night, and spent more than two hours telling the Board of Directors exactly how they felt (click on the video above to see some highlights). 

"I'm going to send my 10-year old son to Two Rivers if he gets in. They have more to offer than our schools here do," said resident Scott Aiken. "If you get rid of the Gifted and Talented Program - my daughter's in kindergarten and is already reading at a first and second grade level - what do you have to offer her? Why should I keep my kids here? Why should I stay here in Manchester, other than the fact that I'm under water on my house? If I wasn't underwater on my house, I'd be looking for a way to move right now." 

Prior to the public hearing, Shanley outlined the Board of Directors stipulated goals they asked him to keep in mind when assembling a budget, which included keeping taxes low but still balancing the need for services and offering a competitive education system, but noted that cuts in state aid and a relatively stagnant grand list made the balance even more difficult this year. 

"Bottom line is the reduction in state aid is having a big impact," he said. "...It's never been more dire than this year."

The 2013-14 town budget is not finalized until adopted by the Board of Directors, who will hold a series of workshops over the next month before holding a vote on the budget on April 9, 2013. The Board of Directors can chose to add to, subtract from or ultimately vote to approve Shanley's proposed budget as is. 

Click here for a look at Shanley's full budget proposal and the schedule of budget workshops.