Ansonia’s public schools will avert layoffs next year despite receiving $750,000 less from the city than they asked for in 2015 – 2016.
The school board made adjustments to its budget for next year at a meeting June 3.
“We think we’re in pretty decent shape now going forward,” William Nimons, the school board’s president, said during the meeting.
Background
In April the city’s Aldermen approved a budget with a year-over-year increase of $1,155,888 for the city’s school district.
The school district’s bottom line for 2015 – 2016 is $30,053,095, up roughly 4 percent over this year.
The school board had requested a higher increase — of $1,901,931, of 6.58 percent — saying that’s the money it needed to avoid staff cuts.
Click here to read more about the school district’s budget request.
Mayor David Cassetti recommended a 4 percent increase for the school district, and the Aldermen granted a 4 percent increase in April.
Numbers, Numbers, Numbers
School officials were able to make a series of adjustments to their spending plan to avoid layoffs.
They saved money by putting employee benefits out to bid and signing a new contract with Anthem that is $496,372 lower than originally estimated.
A further $165,351 in savings comes from school officials recalculating salaries and making adjustments to take into account things like hiring a new teacher for less money than those retiring or leaving the district.
Elsewhere, the school board will realize $92,133 in savings by not filling music and art teaching positions at Ansonia Middle School. The district will save $29,556 by not hiring a special education paraprofessional and a media clerk at Mead School. A part-time bilingual teacher at Prendergast will also not be hired.
The school board will also save $6,000 by paying two part-time secretaries less than originally budgeted.
The school district wanted to hire a full-time special education supervisor in 2015 – 2016 at a cost of $112,865, but will make that position part-time to save $56,432.
The school district will also hire three new special education teachers, not four as originally budgeted, for a $50,091 savings.
The school district also saved $20,324 with a new transportation contract coming in slightly lower than estimated, said James Gaskins, the school district’s business administrator.
The adjustments means that there won’t be any layoffs in the school district, Nimons said — though there will be open positions that will go unfilled.
“We were able to realign (the budget) to meet the immediate needs of everyone right now so that we wouldn’t have to have any layoffs,” Nimons said Thursday. “We may have some open positions that are not going to be filled, but that’s something that everybody does when you’re strapped for budget money.”
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Ansonia School Budget Adjustments
Gaskins told the school board’s finance subcommittee that the school district could do more with more money, but that the 4 percent year-over-year funding increase from the city is “generous.”
“It’s severely needed here, and we appreciate that,” Gaskins said. “It would be devastating without that increase.”
Superintendent Carol Merlone agreed, saying the 4 percent increase has given her “the most comfortable feeling I’ve ever had going into a new year with a budget.”
