Ansonia’s 2012 – 2013 budget comes with a $622,786 increase in education spending.
But schools Superintendent Carol Merlone said the $58.6 million budget — finalized by the Board of Apportionment and Taxation Monday — will mean layoffs and program cuts in the school district.
“It’s devastating,” Merlone said after the vote.
That’s because the Board of Education is losing about $2.2 million in grants next year, after moving off the state’s Priority School District list of poorly performing schools.
At the same time, Ansonia schools face the same rising costs of other districts, such as increased salaries, benefits and transportation costs. Click here to read a past story detailing the grant loss and rising costs.
Merlone said the combination means about 24 positions will be cut from the district in 2012 – 2013.
Some positions, such as the assistant principal post at Ansonia High School, will not be refilled after a retirement.
Several others will result in a layoff, Merlone said.
“Many of the people are from Ansonia,” she said.
The cuts will likely include teachers in art, music and physical education. Also on the chopping block are a math curriculum coordinator, a proposed behavior interventionist, a reading interventionist and tutors.
School district officials will have a meeting Tuesday morning to start issuing pink slips, Merlone said.
Mayor James Della Volpe, in a statement handed out after the budget vote, asked school officials to seek out new income sources.
“I call upon the school system leaders to determine what additional funding may be available for our students in the recently enacted state educational reform law just passed,” Della Volpe wrote in the statement. “We cannot afford to pass up any reasonable opportunity to gain additional outside funding.”
Budget Details
The Ansonia Board of Apportionment and Taxation unanimously voted on the budget proposal. However, two members — Gale Banks and Karl Williams — voted against the individual line item for the Board of Education.
Banks, at a meeting last week, said she had hoped the Board of Education could have come forward with a zero-percent increase proposal.
The schools budget is $27 million — about a 2.36 percent increase over current spending.
Total budget: $58,680,788
Mill Rate: 27.65
Mill rate increase: 1.4 mills, or 5.3 percent
Tax increase on home assessed at $230,000: $322
Board of Education: $27,000,000 — 2.36 percent increase
Police: $5,692,986 — 9.07 percent increase
City Government: $3,023,425 — 1.35 percent increase
Educational grants: $4,419,704 — 33.68 percent decrease
Senior Center: $143,633 — 3.93 percent increase
Economic Development: $201,828 — 38.53 percent increase
Capital Improvement: $409,000 — 293.27 percent increase
The capital improvement budget includes money to purchase three new police cars, the design for the second phase of the Riverwalk, and half of a payment for flood levee inspections.
“This budget reflects our priorities of making our city safe while doing all that we can in partnership with the State of Connecticut to educate our children,” Della Volpe said in the statement.
City expenses are actually lower than last year. However, the tax rate is increasing to offset the large decrease in education grants.
The Board of Apportionment and Taxation approved using $322,000 from the city’s reserve fund as revenue in 2012 – 2013.
That leaves about $2.5 million in the fund.
The Board of Apportionment and Taxation had its regular meeting after the budget vote, and members were not immediately available for comment.
The final budget is posted below.
