Derby school officials are scheduled to introduce a proposed school budget to the city’s Board of Apportionment and Taxation (tax board) at a meeting scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. (Tuesday, April 23) in the basement level of Derby City Hall.
The budget for the next school year totals about $19.1 million and carries a 2.9 percent increase ($555,210) over the budget currently in place, according to a letter from Jim Gildea and Matthew Conway to Judy Szewczyk.
Gildea is the chairman of the Derby Board of Education, Conway is the superintendent of schools, and Szewczyk is the chairwoman of the tax board.
In Derby, the tax board has final say over spending. The group meets for months with Derby government department leaders to go over budget requests, and a decision is usually rendered in May after a public hearing.
In the letter to Szewczyk, Gildea and Conway point out that the school district was flat-funded last year. They explain the reason behind the proposed increase.
“A majority of the increase can be attributed to contractually obligated increases in salaries, an increase in the number of out-placed special education students and the alignment of budgeted requests to the strategic goals of Derby Public Schools,” according to the letter.
The school district is also asking the city to put aside $240,000 in case more money is needed to cover out-placed special education students.
“Out-placed” refers to students whose educational needs cannot be met in Derby Public Schools. The reasons vary from students with significant development delays to students who have been adjudicated by a court.
A summary of the school district’s proposed 2019 – 2020 budget is available here.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — -
Donate.ValleyIndy.org during The Great Give May 1 and May 2.
