Sippy: 'Budget Will Continue Our Work on Behalf of Children'

With the town and school budget referendum now less than one week away, Southbury First Selectman Ed Edelson this week invited Region 15 Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Frank Sippy, to be a guest contributor to his “First Selectman’s Message.”

“Over the years, I have become a true believer that cooperation, collaboration and combining resources most often results in a better outcome for everyone involved – no matter what the issue,” said Edelson. “It was with this in mind that I have pursued an ongoing working relationship with Region 15 School District and the Town of Middlebury.”

The most recent endeavor in this process was pooling the two towns' health insurance coverage and launching a self-insured business model, resulting in a combined savings for the taxpayers of both towns.

With the opportunity to speak to Southbury residents, Sippy wrote the following in his “First Selectman’s Message”:

Dear Community Members:

On April 8, the Region 15 Board of Education adopted its budget proposal unanimously and now it will go to Public Referendum on Wednesday, May 8.

In advance of the referendum vote, I offer the following synopsis:

• The BOE-adopted budget is a funding plan to support 4,100 students in the amount of $61,952,264, equating to a 2.82 percent increase over the 2011-12 and 2012-13 school budgets which were both $60,251,578.
• This budget will enable us to continue our work on behalf of children with Common Core State Standards as well as Concept-Based Instruction, both of which are integral to our children’s continued success in the 21st Century global community.
• This budget enables the communities of Middlebury and Southbury to support a Full Day Kindergarten program that will provide our youngest learners with a rich language foundation, increasing the probability of continued academic success throughout their education.
• We are committed to safeguarding students and staff and although budget adjustments have been made since its first proposal, this budget continues our efforts toward facility and security improvements.
• This budget provides the technology infrastructure to support children’s academic performance through a leasing program. Providing appropriate hardware will enable students to take state-sponsored tests and Common Core learning activities which will be in a digital format.
• Because of declining enrollment, the BOE-approved budget includes a reduction of 8.1 FTE certified staff positions as well as a number of part-time classified positions, all with no impact to our academic program.
• I want to recognize the collaborative spirit that exists between both towns and the Board of Education. As a result of some pretty nifty teamwork, medical insurance savings will be realized on both the town side and region side of the respective budget proposals.  I‘d like to thank officials from both towns for their efforts on behalf of all community members.  This is a win-win collaboration for everyone.

Further details of the Board of Education’s adopted budget can be found on the Region 15 website at: http://www.region15.org/subsite/dist/page/budget-voting-info-3145.

I want to recognize the hard work of our PTOs who help to bring awareness to the citizens that May 8 is Budget Referendum Day. For the fourth consecutive year, they will be hosting a Referendum Day Art Show/Concert at the Middlebury Green and Southbury Green on May 8 from 4:00-6:00 p.m. They also spearhead a Referendum Day Business Discount Program where participating small businesses in our communities offer a discount simply for asking for the Referendum Day Discount.

Respectfully,

Dr. Frank Sippy, Region 15 Superintendent of Schools