The Derby tax board could not agree Tuesday on the amount of money to allocate to Derby Public Schools for the 2011 – 2012 school year.
Nine out of the 10 members of the tax board were in attendance in City Hall, where the tax board had been expected to adopt a preliminary budget for next year covering school and city services.
However, after six attempts and a long break, the tax board ended the meeting without a budget.
Tax board chairwoman Judith Szewczyk will be contacting members to reconvene and try again.
There were four Democrats and five Republicans on the board Tuesday. However, seven votes were needed to make anything happen.
The tax board was in agreement in just about every area of the proposed budget — except when it came to funding Derby schools.
The school board had asked for $19 million, an increase of roughly $1.28 million — or about 7 percent — over its current budget.
The Attempts
At the tax board meeting last night, the board was split as follows:
First the tax board Republicans (Szewczyk, Jeremy Bell, Carolyn Duhaime, Mark Nichols and William Nelson-Cummings) voted for a school budget of about $18,231,662 million. Democrats voted no.
Democrat James Butler then proposed funding schools to the tune of $18,444,170. The Republicans voted no.
Round three — Democrats upped the ante by proposing to give the schools $18,590,170. The Republicans voted no.
Round four — Republican Mark Nichols proposed $18,337,916. The Dems voted no.
Round five — the Democrats proposed $18,450,000. The GOP said no.
Round six — OK, Republican William Nelson-Cummings said, in the spirit of cooperation, how ‘bout a compromise number of $18,337,915?
The Democrats voted no.
Deadlocked, Republican Mark Nichols asked the meeting to be adjourned. Everyone voted yes.
Speakers Ask For Adequate School Funding
Last night wasn’t the official public hearing on the combined Derby school and city budget — but a public comment period was offered at the start of the tax board meeting.
Six people spoke. All said positive things about the school district.
Dan Foley, a Democrat looking to unseat Mayor Anthony Staffieri, said the city has traditionally under-funded education in Derby.
“We, as a city, have not supported education the way we need to,” Foley said, adding later that Derby must stop treating education as “a hindrance we must deal with.”
Chantal Gerckens, a mother of three and a part-time school district employee, stressed the importance of all-day kindergarten — a program that could be the first thing the school board looks to eliminate if the tax board doesn’t allocate enough money to the schools.
Superintendent Stephen Tracy reminded the tax board that the school district has already lost 20 staff positions in the last three years. The school budget, even with its proposed 7 percent increase in funding — included the elimination of four teaching positions.
The school district has been tightening its belt. “We get that message,” he said.
Derby resident Christopher Bowen also said the city doesn’t give enough money to the school district. He said parents he talks to in Derby are talking about sending their children to private school or moving out of Derby due to the school system.
“We are creating a very bad situation for parents in this city,” Bowen said.
Beth Colette said if education isn’t Derby’s no. 1 priority, “This city will never prosper, in my humble opinion.”
Kimberly Kreiger, a 10-veteran of the school board, said the last three years in Derby “have been particularly difficult” in terms of funding. Programs in the school district are being dismantled due to the funding situation, Kreiger said. Click the video to see a portion of her comments.
If local city officials see a problem with the overall manner in which school costs are driven ever upward by things such as collective bargaining regulations and unfunded mandates — officials need to address their state and federal representatives Kreiger said.
“We need not to take it out on local boards of education,” she said.
The members of the tax board did not respond directly to the statements made by the speakers. However, during the deliberation over the school budget, tax board member Mark Nichols pointed out that the city provides the school district an additional $1.1 million not reflected in the school budget — an issue that has become a talking point for Mayor Anthony Staffieri’s administration.
