A screen shot from Tuesday’s tax board meeting in Derby.
DERBY — Derby school district leaders asked the tax board Tuesday for a 3.3 percent funding increase to operate Derby Public Schools during the next school year.
The 3.3 percent increase represents a spending increase of $629,000. The bulk of the increase is from salary increases for certified and non-certified staffers, which is $492,119 of the increase.
But …
The Derby public school system is designated as an “alliance district” by the State of Connecticut. The designation means the school district is under-performing and receives extra support from the state for school-reform efforts.
Superintendent Matthew Conway pointed out during Tuesday’s tax board meeting that the alliance district designation also sets up the city to possibly receive an additional $541,915 next year because the state legislature just changed its “PILOT” program (“payment in lieu of local taxes” is money from the state to cover state-owned properties that don’t pay local taxes, such as Osbornedale State Park in west Derby). Click here to learn more.
Conway suggested the tax board set aside that extra PILOT money to cover part of the school district’s requested increase. The superintendent suggested Derby set aside that amount from PILOT each year moving forward.
However, he also pointed out that while the bill has passed that state House and Senate, it has yet to be signed by Gov. Ned Lamont nor funded by the state at this point.
Judy Szewczyk, chairwoman of the tax board, was cool to the idea, pointing out the extra PILOT funding was more like a one-time increased revenue stream.
Staffing
Conway, who attended Tuesday’s online meeting with his soon-to-be retired business manager Mark Izzo along with members of the Derby school board and school principals, said the district wants to add a staffer at Derby High School to teach technology and consumer education.
The superintendent said the classes, which are routine at other schools, are not offered as electives in Derby. The district also wants to make a physical education teacher at Derby High School full-time. Conway pointed out modern physical education teachers aren’t the gym teachers of years ago. They’re trained to teach classes that incorporate social and emotional learning into the curriculum. Click here to learn more.
The district is also planning to reduce an English as a second language position that is currently at the middle school and the high school.
Enrollment in Derby schools is expected to decrease slightly during the next school year, from 1,248 students today to 1,198 students next year. However, Conway noted the district is seeing an uptick in kindergarten and first-grade classes, particularly in east Derby.
The superintendent noted that Derby schools have eliminated six classroom positions since 2016 as enrollment declined. In addition, some salaries are paid through alliance district funding from the state. Example — Conway said half of the business manager’s salary is covered by alliance district money.
Bringing Kids Back
Transportation and tuition for students with special education needs is a major expense for school districts. If Derby can’t meet the educational needs of a student with special needs, that student has the right to be transported and attend a program outside of Derby where he or she can be educated.
The federal government promised decades ago to cover these costs, but has never followed through.
Conway and Izzo pointed out that Derby Public Schools have been using grant money to renovate space with their school buildings — the “Raise Academy” within Derby High School, and “learning centers” at the Irving School, for example — and hiring staff so that some of these students can be brought back to receive services in Derby.
Conway pointed out that this year the district was able to bring back three students whose education was costing the city $85,000 each. Being educated in Derby not only saved the district $185,000 overall, but gave the students the ability to be educated in their hometowns with the kids they’ve grown up with.
“They thrive in this environment, and they are with their peers,” Conway said.
The Budget
It’s a unique budget cycle in Derby this year.
The city is expecting additional aid from the federal and state government in the form of COVID-19 relief, along with the potential “PILOT” money coming from the state.
The city, which is ranked as the fifth most economically distressed city in the state — doesn’t know precisely how much aid is coming at this point.
It’s also a revaluation year. Some property owners in Derby are hopping mad because they received letters showing steep increases in their assessment. An increased assessment does not automatically mean a tax increase — it depends on what the tax board decides to do with the budget.
It’s also an election year in Derby, which further complicates the process.
Right now the mill rate in Derby is 43.869. The tax board and Mayor Rich Dziekan are looking at proposals that could bring that rate down to around 40 or so, but the numbers are still in flux.
The proposed spending increase in the Derby budget is around $2 million, which would bring the city’s bottom line budget to about $50 million.
The tax board is scheduled to meet next on March 16 at 6 p.m. to continue deliberations, although there was talk of canceling that meeting if the numbers from the state aren’t in.
There’s a meeting scheduled for 6 p.m. March 23 as well.
A preliminary budget could be adopted 6 p.m. March 30, and a public hearing is tentatively scheduled for 6 p.m. April 6.
The final adoption could happen at a meeting scheduled to start 6 p.m. April 13 (Derby must have a budget by April 30).
All meetings are being held on Zoom and are open to the public. Check Derby’s calender for Zoom info needed to watch the meetings.
