Chris Panek, the chairman of the Citizens United party, has compiled a list of 42 suggested cost savings for the Board of Education to consider while it tries to close its $700,000 budget deficit and prevent more cuts for the 2010-11 school year.
Panek got the suggestions from parents and community members and e‑mailed the list to school officials Friday afternoon.
The action comes in response to the Board of Education approval of up to 70 layoffs this year, and the proposed 2010-11 budget which, if approved, would eliminate another 28 and increase class sizes.
The Board of Education will have a public hearing on the 2010-11 budget proposal at 7 p.m. Monday at the Shelton Intermediate School.
The board will also have a special meeting on Tuesday to continue discussing the budget proposal.
The Board of Education is still talking to union leaders about how it will close this year’s budget deficit.
The Suggestions
The suggestions on Panek’s list include turning down the heat a notch in school buildings (#9), eliminating elementary school vice principal positions (#3) and making central office employees work out of closets in another building (#31).
“The most important thing to accomplish today is to get creative, think out of the box and work every angle of this issue until you all can come to an agreement to eliminate the pending lay offs,” Panek wrote in his e‑mail.
“It is obvious from some of the ideas on the list that many parents are even willing to make some sacrifices if it means keeping our teachers safe from lay offs,” Panek said.
Board of Education Chairman Timothy Walsh said he has already thanked Panek for the list, and that some of the ideas will be looked at.
Other ideas, like having district employees pay a higher percentage of their health care costs, are contractually impossible right now Walsh said.
“There are several on there that are not practical,” Walsh said. “We could not unilaterally raise insurance. But I think there’s quite a few of them that could be looked at.”
Walsh said he has received e‑mails from teachers with other practical suggestions as well.
The List
Here is the list, as Panek e‑mailed it to school leaders:
1. Eliminate all after school building use for the remainder of the school year. Ask girl scouts/boy scouts/other groups to find other locations to have their meetings so buildings can be closed earlier. (submitted multiple times)
2. Make all Spring Sports “Pay to Play” just for this year.
3. Eliminate the Vice Principal position for elementary schools, we never had this in the past and it is not needed (submitted multiple times)
4. Keep schools open for full days on scheduled half days (data assessment days on 1/21/10 & 1/22/10 and days after conferences 2/5/10 & 2/10/09) and then eliminate 2 full days from the end of the school year.
5. Eliminate one of the remaining paid holidays for all district employees. (submitted multiple times)
6. All Central Office Employees and Administrators who earn over $100K per year should forego their guaranteed pay raises for next year.
7. Take money out of High School Parking Account and Bleacher Account.
8. Consolidate bus runs where possible. Combine and make some runs longer so that a few buses can be eliminated. (submitted multiple times)
9. Turn the heat down a few degrees. Schools are too hot and many kids where short sleeves to school even in winter. (submitted by parents at nearly every school building)
10. Seek more parent volunteers to help inside of the classrooms.
11. Share teachers between schools.
12. Switch to the “Duel Fuel Group” program where gas and oil are purchased through a vendor. Schools with boilers that can use gas while those that cannot continue to use oil. Other school districts are doing this and showing a significant cost savings.
13. Investigate changing electrical providers.
14. Eliminate 2 of the secretaries at Long Hill School. There are currently 4 and only 2 are really needed.
15. All district employees should pay a higher portion of their health care costs. In Seymour teachers must pay 18% of their health care. (references to Town of Seymour was submitted 14 times)
16. Eliminate post retirement life time health insurance coverage for all new hires.
17. A 1% pay cut district wide for all employees for one year.
18. Close schools for extra days in the winter to save on heating/energy costs and add those days in at the end of the year.
19. Reuse existing furniture for the new 5/6 School instead of buying new stuff.
20. Asked parents to donate more or do a community wide donation program.
21. Change district health insurance from an HSA to an HRA.
22. Delay all building projects, repairs and non emergency maintenance items for the remainder of this fiscal year.
23. All district employees forgo their pay raises for next year. (submitted multiple times)
24. Use fewer buses for kindergarten transport buses are only 1/3 full. (submitted by several of the elementary schools)
25. Do not use air conditioning in months of September and October like they do now.
26. Ask all suppliers to re-negotiate their contracts especially the fuel and electric suppliers.
27. Start a petition to let the Aldermen and Mayor know that since our taxes have gone up we expect that a portion of this will go toward covering the current BOE deficit and future cost increases for the BOE.
28. Energy Savings – install motion light switches, time devices on vending machines; perform a district wide energy audit.
29. Raise the fees for summer school.
30. Inventory and sell all surplus equipment. The basement at ESS used to be full of equipment from Ripton School that must be worth some money.
31. Shut down Central Office completely and make them work out of closets like the art teachers do.
32. Stop the major waste of paper. Use email like everyone does. We get way too much paper sent home every day that just ends up in the garbage.
33. Eliminate all field trips for the remainder of the school year.
34. All elementary schools should only have 2 secretaries, not 3 or 4.
35. Teachers should take 2 furlough days with no strings attached and a guarantee of no lay offs.
36. Eliminate all the extra “House” people at the High School.
37. Eliminate the Maintenance Supervisors.
38. Eliminate the Janitorial Supervisors, they are not needed and the regular janitors can handle the work on their own. (submitted multiple times)
39. Eliminate the Assistant Superintendent Position.
40. Reopen part of Ripton School or another location for full day services and supervision of Special Ed. students. It was obviously a mistake to close it.
41. Ask all district employees to donate 2 of their vacation or sick days. (submitted multiple times)
42. Consolidate bus runs and make them longer, encourage parents to drive their kids to school to eliminate some of the bus runs that are half full or less.
