Buoyed by an applauding crowd of about 100 people, schools Superintendent MaryAnne Mascolo and a number of school parents asked members of the town’s Board of Finance Monday to send the proposed school budget to the voters without any reductions.
“Let the people decide on this budget,” Mascolo told finance board members, who did not take action.
Click the videos to hear what some parents had to say.
“Our kids have sacrificed, our teachers have sacrificed,” said parent Kristen Bruno, one of about a dozen who spoke.
They emphasized that the school district has been without an increase in two years.
“Please take the vote for the children and not the money in this budget,” said parent Allison Cunningham.
Putting an education budget directly to the voters of course is no recipe for success. It took four referendum tries to pass a budget last year, showing that the voters are not in a spending mood.
Robert Koskelowski, the former First Selectman who is the new chairman of the finance board, said the finance board must consider the needs of all residents, not just the school community.
He could not predict whether the finance board will trim the school district’s $30.2 million budget request for 2011 – 2012.
The proposed budget is a 3.9 percent — or $1.12 million — increase over the current budget.
With the same programs as the current year, the district expects to need about $900,000 more in 2011 – 2012. Mascolo’s added programs total another $200,000.
On top of the as is budget, Mascolo is asking for:
▪ $50,000 for more professional development
▪ $55,000 for building repair and maintenance
▪ $31,800 for equipment, including cleaning machines
▪ $63,200 for technology equipment, specifically “smart boards” for classrooms in each of the town’s schools
The finance board could make a decision on what to do with the school budget later this month.
