Next year’s school budget retains full-day kindergarten, along with the music and business programs at the high school.
It also includes two technology teachers who were slated to be laid off from the Bradley and Irving schools.
The Derby Board of Education made the moves to the applause of parents and school staff present during a four-hour meeting Thursday at Derby Middle School.
At 10:49 p.m., the school board unanimously adopted a 2010 – 2011 budget totaling $17.7 million.
The approved budget was roughly $850,000 less than what school district officials requested from the Derby tax board.
Last night’s meeting was the second this week where Superintendent Stephen Tracy and the school board tried to figure out how to shuffle money around to balance the budget.
Click the video to hear Tracy summarize the meetings held this week.
On Tuesday, Tracy put a bunch of items on the chopping block, the least popular of which were the elimination of all-day kindergarten at Bradley and Irving and the elimination of the music program in the high school.
Supporters of both programs came out in force this week, urging the school board to look for cuts elsewhere.
It worked.
The school board, thanks to lower-than-expected electric costs and unemployment insurance, were able to carry over $60,000 from this year’s budget into next year’s budget.
They took the $60,000 and, after several football huddle-like conferences, changed their plans to hire a full-time nurse for the middle school (one nurse currently cares for both the high school and middle school).
Instead, the board allocated cash for a part-time nurse, which saved them $25,000. Then they took $5,000 from a professional development (teacher training) account.
Math: $60,000 plus $25,000 plus $5,000 equals parents happy that full-day kindergarten has just been restored.
Click the bottom video to see the reaction from the crowd.
School board members made similar money dances to restore the music and business programs. The jobs of two technology teachers were also saved.
However, the moves were not without consequences. The district’s maintenance account took a big hit. Another custodian will likely lose his or her job — and classrooms at the middle and schools will not be cleaned every day.
The maintenance account was so depleted, school board member Kim Kreiger said the board must start holding meetings at City Hall instead of the middle school so that the district can save money.
Derby Middle School will also be losing a reading teacher, according to district officials.
