It’s a fact that jumps off like a flea on your leg.
In 2010, Seymour voters defeated a school budget that carried a zero percent increase in spending — and it was the third time around for that particular budget.
Why voters rejected that particular budget is subject to as many theories as there are options in an Ikea showroom.
It was an underlying reason for a community meeting held Tuesday, Jan. 7 at the Chatfield-LoPresti School on Skororat Street.
Seymour school board members Kristen Harmeling and Yashu Purtorti hosted a general discussion about the district’s annual budget. They didn’t talk about the proposed 2014 – 2015 school budget.
That is scheduled to happen at a 7 p.m. meeting Wednesday, Jan. 8 at the Seymour Middle School.
Instead, Harmeling’s presentation Tuesday touched upon where the budget’s been, where the bulk of the public’s money goes — and local voting trends when it comes to the school budget.
In addition, Tuesday’s meeting was a chance for the public to get involved in the formation of the annual school budget as early as possible.
The discussion lasted roughly 60 minutes. Click the video to watch Harmeling’s 20-minute presentation.
In Seymour, like many other communities, the public does not seem to be aware of the budget process until the budget is put to a public vote in the spring.
One could argue that with voter turnout hovering anywhere from 14 to 18 percent, the majority of voters are completely disconnected from the process.
But Seymour school officials have been trying to engage residents. A “Citizens’ Academy,” for example, promises to give residents an “insider’s view” of the school district. Click here to learn more about the program.
The meeting Tuesday wasn’t heavily attended — about 10 residents showed up — but they made some concrete suggestions as to how the institution could reach more people.
Parent Cindy Dion urged the district to start using Facebook.
State Rep. Theresa Conroy urged the board to get more positive stories published in newspapers.
Aggie Parlak suggested re-establishing a newsletter.
Small group meetings, whether it be with parents or senior citizens, was another suggestion.
Purtorti talked about possibly doing a budget presentation as a streaming webinar, where parents could ask questions over the Internet from the comfort of their homes.
The information presented stated what everyone knows — Seymour voters are not an easy voting block for the school district.
It took four public votes to get the 2010 – 2011 budget approved. The school board initially requested a 5.7 percent increase (after coming off zero percent increase the previous year), but voters approved a zero increase.
It took three public votes to get the 2011 – 2012 budget approved. The school board wanted 3.9 percent, voters approved 2.33 percent.
It took four public votes to get the 2012 – 2013 budget approved. The school board wanted 5.2, they got 2.06.
It took four public votes to get the 2013 – 2014 budget approved. The school board wanted 2.4, they got 1.79.
Since 2008 – 2009, the school budget has grown 6.2 percent (from roughly $29,117,000 to $30,943,000), or about 1.2 percent per year.
Watch the video for Harmeling’s presentation.
