Superintendent Susan Compton
SEYMOUR – Though a budget has yet to be approved by voters, members of the Seymour Board of Education on Tuesday (April 29) outlined how they’ll absorb some $1.6 million in reductions to their proposed 2025 – 2026 budget.
“We’re cutting, cutting, cutting. Wake up parents, wake up community, stand up for this school district, I am begging you” Seymour Superintendent of Schools Susan Compton said. “We’ve got to stop the bleeding. We have been totally gutted.”
Background
In January, the school board adopted a budget of $42.9 million and then sent it to the Seymour Board of Finance. The proposed budget carried a $3.1 million, or 7.9 percent, increase over the current budget.
In March, the Seymour Board of Finance shaved off about $397,000 from the school board’s request, giving them a $2.3 million, or 5.9 percent increase.
In April, at an annual town meeting, residents voted to shrink the proposed school budget by another $750,000.
On April 17, voters rejected both the school and town budgets.
Four days later, the finance board reduced the proposed school budget by another $25,000. They also reduced the town side of the budget by nearly $300,000.
What’s Next?
A second referendum on the town and school budgets is scheduled for 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, May 1 at The Community Center, 20 Pine St.
The school budget proposal is now $41.3 million. That bottom line represents an increase of $1.6 million, or 3.9 percent, over the current budget – but roughly $1.6 million less than what they said they need.
At the school board meeting April 29, school officials outlined how they cut $1.6 million from their budget request.
The district reduced:
*$271,400 in staff and program cuts (middle school science teacher, loss of middle school STEM program, a shared high school/middle school music teacher, high school French teacher, loss of high school French program and student supplies).
*$390,674 in health insurance (from a projected 20 percent increase to 12 percent)
*349,932 in new staff (an elementary English Language Learner teacher, a middle school social worker and a special education Pre‑K teacher)
*$128,499 in health insurance benefit adjustments
*$368,734 in shared services and other adjustments
*$53,815 in school supplies (Compton said Seymour schools currently supply students with the essentials they need like crayons, pens, pencils, notebooks and paper, but that’s also on the chopping block).
Board member Jim Garofolo, a 20-year veteran on the board, asked voters to support the budget.
“We have a responsibility to the children, they are the future of our nation,” Garofolo said. “But people don’t seem to understand the importance of these children who rely on us to make good decisions for them.”
The proposed school budget has been a topic on Seymour community pages on Facebook. Posters there urged the public to defeat the town and school budgets. They’ve said the school board can do more to trim the budget, and have accused the district of having too many administrators.
What If The School Budget Is Rejected Again?
Compton said the district may have to resort to the following additional reductions if the budget is defeated on May 1:
Eliminate funding for sports and afterschool clubs and resort to a “pay-to-play” program
No new uniforms
Cut Seymour Middle School track & field program
Staff layoffs
“If it comes to this, we’re going to have to lay people off,” Compton said. “And that would be the most heartbreaking of all. Everything would be on the table.”
The only change the school board voted on to date was the $390,674 reduction in health insurance.
School board chairman Chris Champagne said the other cuts would be implemented once voters approve a budget.
The town and school budgets total $68.2 million. That is $1.8 million more than the current budget. The proposed $26.8 million town side of the budget carries an increase of $260,447, or 0.98 percent, over the current budget.
