When the Seymour Board of Education presents its budget request to the Board of Finance Monday night, Board of Education Chairman Yashu Putorti said he plans to keep his message short.
“There’s not a lot in this budget to talk about,” Putorti said. “My message this year is that our budget is not an inflated budget. We are spending very close to the bottom for per-pupil spending.”
The 2015 – 16 budget request represents a 3.2 percent or $1.016 million increase over current spending.
That proposed increase includes more money for special education costs, and contractual costs, such as salaries and benefits, according to Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations Rick Belden.
If Seymour schools operated the same as last year, the “level services” budget would require an increase of 3.3 percent, Belden said. However, the district had some retirements and made some adjustments to its budget to keep the proposal just a little lower.
Those adjustments, according to budget documents from the school district, include:
- Eliminating the athletic director position at the high school, and shifting those duties to the assistant principal instead ($34,455 savings)
- Not replacing a retiring high school math teacher ($94,694 savings)
- Replacing a retiring elementary school teacher with a lower-paid newer teacher ($43,379 savings)
Some of those savings are being used for other needs, Belden said.
A special education teacher at Bungay will go from part-time to full time under the budget proposal, and a part-time special education teacher will be added to the high school (total cost: $59,194).
Also, two paraprofessionals (staffers who help prescribed students) will be added for special education services at the two elementary schools, for another $30,982 total.
The budget also allocates money to increase the service provided by the social worker at the high school, for $7,529.
One of the larger increases in what officials call the “level services” budget — the cost of tuition and transportation for special education students who need services outside the district.
In 2014 – 15, the district had budgeted for 15 such students, but took in an additional four students who needed out of district services, Belden said. That increase in students accounts for the increase in the proposed budget for next year.
The district is also budgeting $25,000 for costs associated with its accreditation process, which happens every 10 years.
“It should be noted that half of our line items either stayed at zero or were reduced. The other half increased, again mostly because of the contractual requirements,” Putorti said in an e‑mail.
Per Pupil Spending
Putorti said Seymour spends $13,097 on each student in town. That per-pupil spending is among the lowest 20 in the state, he said.
Wolcott was the lowest, with 12,031 per student. District 12 was the highest, with $26,120. Download this PDF to see the full list of per-pupil spending here.
“My point to the board of finance and the people of town is we are near the bottom already,” Putorti said. “We’re not overspending.”
