Despite the requirement of eliminating $600 thousand from its proposed budget per town council mandate, Windsor board of education members went a little deeper into its spending plan.
The board approved a reduction of $608 thousand Friday night during a special meeting called to determine which education services, programs or jobs would be eliminated.
Among the $608 thousand in cuts are one full-time position at Sage Park, two elementary foreign language teachers and the return of Roger Wolcott to the town.
The elimination of the foreign language teachers puts an end to the district's elementary foreign language program, but it was the return of the vacant Roger Wolcott building that put the board well over the top — a move that will help the board avoid larger budget increases in years to come.
Also included in budget cuts agreed to Friday were $127 thousand in savings from "newly announced retirements," including an elementary music teacher, an elementary librarian, a high school special education teacher and an elementary classroom teacher.
According to Dr. Craig Cooke, Windsor Public Schools Director of Human Relations, the savings are being made in that the new hires will make less money than the retiring teachers, whose salaries grew over time in the district.
Also included in the cuts were part-time clerical staff at the district's central offices, and software the district is not using.
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