MINUTES
BUDGET PUBLIC HEARING
AUDITORIUM
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 23, 2008, 7:00 P.=
M.
PRESENT: &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; Elaine
Adams, Vice Chairman
&=
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p; &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; David
Demirs
&=
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p; &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; Richard
DiFederico
&=
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p; &=
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p; Richard
Fusco
&=
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p; &=
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p; Carl
Mancini
&=
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p; &=
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p; Scott
Marotta
&=
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p; &=
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p; Raymond
Primini, Vice Chairman
&=
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p; &=
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p; Paul
Rinaldi
ABSENT: &=
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p;
OTHERS PRESENT: Joseph Apicella, Board of Education
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Gina Calabrese, Chairman, Board of Education
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mary Colangelo, Secretary, Board of Education
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mary Dzioba, Board of Education
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Todd Griffin, Board of Education
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Amelia Grover, Director of Budget and Financial Planning
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Thad Hasbrouck, Director of Curriculum and Professional Services
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Kevin Killeen, Board of Education
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Tom Lambert, Board of Education
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Todd LoFrese, Assistant Superintendent of Schools
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Richard Mazzamauro, Vice Chairman, Board of Education
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Frank Nardelli, Assistant Town Manager/Finance Director
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Philip Pelosi, Interim Superintendent of Schools
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Janice Pond, Board of Education
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mary Raiola, Director of Special Services
1.&nb= sp; Convene Public Hearing - 7:00 P.M.
Ms. Adams, Chairm= an, called the Budget Public Hearing to order at 7:00 p.m.
Budget Public Hearing
April 23, 2008
Page 2
Ms. Adams, Chairm= an, read aloud the following Notice of the Public Hearing for the record:
NOTICE OF BUDGET PUBLIC HEARING
FISCAL YEAR 2008/2009 BUDGETS
The
legal voters of the Town of
The Town Council proposes:
A. Town General Fund &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; $2= 3,715,481
B. = School General Fund &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; $35,795,416
&= nbsp; General Fund Total &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; $59,510,897
C. Town Road Aid = ; &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; $ 179,201
D. Water Operations &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = $ 1,377,266
E. = Water Capital = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; $ 224,588
F. = Water Extension &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; $ 151,443
G. Sewer Operations &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = $ 2,066,508
H. Sewer Capital = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; $ 224,588
I. &= nbsp; Sewer Extension &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; $ 94,7= 36
J. &= nbsp; Water and Sewer Debt = ; &n= bsp; = ; $ 226,900
K. Crestbrook Golf Operations &nbs= p; &= nbsp; $<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> 732,502
L. = Local Capital Improvement = &nb= sp; = $ 161,176
Copies
of the proposed budgets will be available at the Budget Public Hearing and =
also
may be picked up during business hours at the Town Hall Annex,
Dated
at
____________________________
Elaine H. Adams, Chairman
Budget Public Hearing
April 23, 2008
Page 3
RETURN OF NOTICE
TOWN OF
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
I =
hereby
certify that on April 11, 2008 I left a duplicate copy of the attached Noti=
ce
of Budget Public Hearing,
I = further certify that on April 11, 2008, I caused a copy of said Notice of Public Hearing to be published in the Town Times, which newspaper has a substantial circulation in said Town.
I =
further
certify that on April 11, 2008, I caused to be set upon the signpost or oth=
er
exterior places nearest the Office of the Town Clerk and all other places a=
nd
signposts designated by the Town, a written copy of said Notice of Public
Hearing signed by the Town Manager of the Town of
I = further certify that all of the above acts took place at least five (5) days before= the holding of the Public Hearing on April 23, 2008.
Da=
ted at
&=
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p; &=
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p; &=
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p; &=
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p; &=
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p; &=
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p;
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; = Charles A. Frigon, Town Manager
&=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
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p; =
Town
of
TOWN CLERK’S CERTIFICATION AS TO
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING AND RETURN OF NOTICE<= /p>
I hereby certify that the attached Notice of Budget Public Hearing and the foregoing Return of Notice of Budget Public Hearing are duly recorded in the records = of the Town of Watertown, Connecticut, and that Joe Pawlak was Chairman of the= Town Council on the date the Notice was signed and that Charles Frigon was Town Manager on the date the Return of Notice was signed..
Dated
at
&=
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p; &=
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p; &=
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p; &=
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p; &=
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p; &=
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p;
&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Virginia Russo, Assistant Town Clerk
&=
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p; &=
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p; &=
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p; Town
of
Budget Public Hearing
April 23, 2008
Page 4
Ms. Adams: I first want to thank everyone for
coming and to just let you know how this Public Hearing will go tonight.
Frank Nardelli, Assistant Town
Manager/Finance Director
Mr. Nardelli: Up on the screen the first item you’ll see is comparing the 07/08 to 08/09 budget. The debt service is up $1,205,000.= That’s due to the 3 new scho= ol renovation project that is currently going on. The Town’s expenditures are = up $680,000 and the total Town is up $1,886,000 for an 8.64% increase. The Board of Education is up $2,02= 6,000 for a 6% increase for a grand total of $3,912,000 or 7.04% spending increas= e. The current mill rate is 22.72, the proposed mill rate is 23.56, for an increase of 2.64 or 11.6% increase. An analysis of a mill rate, a mill equals about $1,600,000, ¾ of a mill $1,200,000, etc.
The Finance Subcommittee made some changes to the Town Manager’s recommen= ded budget:
· They made the Economic Development Coordinat= or a full time position by increasing that $16,000.
· They put some training back into the Police Department for $1,000.
· They put a sweeper in to the Public Works Department, it’s a lease purchase over 5 years at $30,000. They (inaudible) to reduce the veh= icle maintenance by $7,000 by purchasing this sweeper.
· The Fire Department was going to buy a (inau= dible) for $400 and that got cut and they added $750 to the DMS safe vehicle cause they needed that for leasing purposes.
· Some additional cuts were made to the Town H= all, the public buildings, the Town Hall Annex, $3,750 was cut that was going to= be an air scrubber to purify the air at the Annex.
· Temporary salaries was cut $8,000.
·
Asphalt for roads was cut but some of these =
cuts
you’ll see will appear on the next screen in the Town Road Aid Budget=
, so
they were just moved from the General Fund to the Town Road Aid which is a
special fund, that’s a grant from the State of
· The Falls Avenue culvert replacement was also cut from the General Fund but again it will appear in the Town Road Aid Bud= get.
·
The
·
The Parks asked for a slice/seeder, that was=
cut
and some computers for the
Budget Public Hearing
April 23, 2008
Page 5
The Town Road Aid Budget – there was some money put aside for bridge engineering, that was cut and replaced by again, the asphalt for roads, the Falls Avenue culvert replacement, Woodruff Avenue culvert replacement, and = some chip seal that basically zeroed itself out so we reduced the bridge enginee= ring and added those other projects to the Town Road Aid.
On the Board of Education’s side, the Finance Subcommittee recommended t= hat $630,000 cut.
Again this growth for the 08/09 budget was under 1%., it was .91%. That equates to about $207,000 of additional revenue, that’s about $500,000 less growth than there was = in 07/08, it’s just with the building and stuff going on in Town there’s not that much growth. Also the interest rates have been falling. The interest on investments that we’re projecting for next year is about $230,000 less. Again, building permits, we antici= pate about $65,000 less because of what the housing industry is going through. <= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> This year’s budget there was = some sale of Town property that totaled about $600,000 for budgeting purposes bu= t we don’t have that in next fiscal year’s budget so there’s a reduction there. The educatio= nal cost sharing is up $545,000 in the 07/08, that was an increase of $1,191,00= 0 so we are getting an increase but obviously not as much as the year before.
Some of the expenditures that need some additional funding, as everyone knows heating oil and electricity is going up, and so is the Town’s, to the tune of about $60,000. The Hi= ghway Department, again that’s a $30,000 for the lease purchase of the sweeper. The additional $60,0= 00 to purchase 2 new highway trucks. The Parks Department is purchasing a rotary mower for $13,600 and an arrigator = for $7,520. Our gasoline costs, a= gain this would be for highway trucks and police vehicles, that’s up $58,0= 00 and the way gas is going that’s probably going to be too low. An additional $25,000 was added to= the library to bring the total the Town pays to the library $75,000. And contractual raises and benefit increases total $240,000. So that’s pretty much it on the Town’s side. I can answer any questions after t= he Board of Education’s presentation.
Ms. Adams: We do have Town budgets up on = the stage if anyone would like a copy.
Philip Pelosi, Interim Superintend=
ent of
Schools
Dr. Pelosi: The Board of Education’s bud=
get
will be presented at this time and I would like to recognize the Board Memb=
ers
and the Budget Committee, in particular Mr. Lambert, the Chair, Mary Colang=
elo,
Secretary to the Board, Kevin Killeen and Janice Pond and Gina Calabrese, C=
hair
of the Board. There were other
members who attended several of the meetings, Joe Apicella, Mary Dzioba, To=
dd
Griffin, and Rich Mazzamaro. =
You
can see the remainder of the staff all had input in the development of this
budget, the central office staff, Watertown High Schools staff,
Budget Public Hearing
April 23, 2008
Page 6
As
the budget was built we focused on certain areas. One was to continue to support the=
NEASC
recommendations. As you know =
the
High School was placed on warning, taken off warning in one area and kept on
warning in two areas, one being curriculum because they felt that we needed
more courses, we needed more teachers teaching courses, the depth and breat=
h of
courses we recommended specific teachers and expanding specific programs so=
a
report has to be sent to NEASC February 1, 2009 indicating that we are
continuing to grow in the area of adding teachers and adding courses to
Watertown High School. The ot=
her
area was the building project and even though the building project passed, =
to
ensure that the building project is completed. That’s the other warning, th=
at the
community continue to support the budgetary process and specifically the Hi=
gh School
to the budgetary process. The=
last
two budgets were approved and they wanted to see this one also approved.
We also wanted to have a responsible plan in light of the 3 building project a= nd in order to do that we decided to, we asked the Town and the Town agreed to allow us to use Heminway Park next year to move 5th grade to Heminway so that 3rd and 4th graders could be moved within the building at Polk and Judson and the project would be completed i= n a timely manner. If we had 3, it’s much easier to move 2 grades around than 3, so the increase is $= 343,000 or a cost of about 1% of our budget and the bullet ahead of that, the total increase of the budget, this is the original budget as presented, was 7.87%, 1.02% of that was to keep Heminway open.
Our fixed costs, which we’ll define in a minute, were almost $2,000,000 or 5.73% of the 7.87%, so 5.73% we felt had to be put in the budget, if we did nothing else, just to continue what we have, let alone add to it.
Budget Public Hearing
April 23, 2008
Page 7
Overall Summary – what we have here again is the originally proposed budget w= as 7.87%. as you an see on the r= ight, fixed costs 5.73%, estimated cost for Heminway was 1.02% which contains som= e of the fixed cost, so to be specific, if we take out the fixed costs it would = be 0.43% and the remaining what = we added to the budget was only 1.55%. So if Heminway were absolutely necessary which the Board of Education felt it is necessary, adding that to fixed costs, this plus the .43, that s= ome of this is in here, leaves us with an addition of only a little over 1.5% a= dded to the budget in new items.
To
keep
Pupil Transportation – we felt that 2 additional busses would be needed for= the (inaudible) through Mr. LoFrese’s office with the bus company, which = is $71,708 which is included, the asterisked items are in fixed costs.
Utilities: Water, Sewer, electricity repairs,= not in fixed costs, electrical plumbing, glass, HVAC, fiber optic lines to acce= ss the network and heat, in the fixed costs, so the total amount to keep Hemin= way open including staff, transportation, utilities and repairs, comes to $343,= 374, or 1.02% of the total budget and $144,000 of that is included in the fixed costs. WE didn’t want t= o (inaudible) misleading, $144,108 is in the fixed costs, the 5.73% fixed costs.
The original operational plan design – again 2007/2008 this year’s budget is $33,769,261. Next y= ear we are projecting $36,425,463, an increase of $2,656,202 or a total increase of 7.87%. Fixed costs:
&= nbsp; Contract Wages &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; $1,043,191
&= nbsp; Benefits &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; $ 333,317
&= nbsp; Operations &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; $ 220,752
&= nbsp; Transportation &= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; $ 146,534
&=
nbsp; State
Vo-Ag Tuition =
&nb=
sp; $
&= nbsp; Textbooks/Workbooks &= nbsp; &nbs= p; $ 19,401
&= nbsp; Contributions to Track/Turf Fund &= nbsp; $ 56,000 (which will= begin this year to be being to be proactive so that each year money would be put = into the budget into this fund so that by the time 10, 12 year passes we have the money in there to repair the synthetic field and also the turf and track so that we’re not going back and asking for $500,000 or $1,000,000 at th= at time. We would have that money accrues over time in a special fund to be set up by the Town, approved by t= he Town Attorney and BOE and then have the Town set up the funds)
&= nbsp; Total Fixed Cost &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; $1,935,174
&= nbsp; 5.73% fixed costs increase
Budget Public Hearing
April 23, 2008
Page 8
&= nbsp; Distribution of Board of Education - a vis= ual to show you how the budget is split. Salaries make up 66% those are negotiated, almost all of them. Benefits 16%, Transportation 5%, S= pecial & Regular Ed Tuition 3%, District Operations (all other items) 8%, and = Classroom Supplies and Equipment 2%.
&= nbsp; State share of the total funding, the Board of Education/Town is paying 67% and t= hen the State Education grant estimated at this time, a third or 33% so this is= the amount that the Town would fund.
&= nbsp; State Education Grants – The bar graph shows going from this year to next y= ear the estimated increase is not that much, it’s going from $11,470,330 = to $11,749,383, a $283,276 increase. The year before 2006 a year ago, to this year’s budget, the in= crease was much more. Some years it remains rather flat, other years (inaudible) increase, next year we’re not expected to get a little less than $300,000, and that’s an estima= te.
&=
nbsp; Staffing
Levels – people tell us over the last two budgets you’ve done w=
ell,
you made up all you lost. Wel=
l we
made up a lot, that is true. =
Have
we made up everything, no, this is just pulling out position (inaudible).
&=
nbsp; Per
Pupil Expenditure – There are 169 towns or regions in
&=
nbsp; Historical
data – as you can see in 2003/2004 we are #167, then the next year we
were #168, then #169, #169, and this is where we remain. In our Demographic Reference Group=
the
average is $11,025, we’re not even at $9,000. The State average is $11,864 and t=
he
maximum is $17,415 that any town pays per student, the lowest is $8,899 and
that happens to be
&= nbsp; Class Sizes – one of our objectives was to keep class sizes reasonable and = the projected class sizes, numbers and number of teaching staff when divided in= to the enrollment:
<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:1'> &= nbsp; Grade 1 = &nb= sp; 19/20
<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:1'> &= nbsp; Grade 2 = &nb= sp; 21/22
<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:1'> &= nbsp; Grade 3 - Polk = ; 23/24
<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:1'> &= nbsp; Grade 4 - Polk = ; 23/22
<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:1'> &= nbsp; Grade 3 – Judson &nb= sp; 23
<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:1'> &= nbsp; Grade 4 – Judson &nb= sp; 23/24
<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:1'> &= nbsp; Grade 5 = &nb= sp; 23
<= o:p>
<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:1'> &= nbsp; That’s as of now and what we’ve projected for next year, so the class sizes = are relatively reasonable.
Budget Public Hearing
April 23, 2008
Page 9
<= o:p>
<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:1'> &= nbsp; As Ms. Adams said, the Finance Subcommittee of the Town Council made a recommendation to the Board of Education on April 7, 2008 and that recommendation reduced the Board of Education’s requested 7.87% to 6%. That equates to $630,047 reduction. This is what the B= oard then had to grapple with and went back to the Budget Subcommittee and ask w= hat can we do, if anything at all, if we had to, we were given this directive to co= me up with this amount of cut in the budget and as you saw we were already last out of 169 towns, so we don’t have a lot of room in there to make cuts. On April 7th= they requested that the Board of Education should meet, after our Board Committee met, what could be eliminated in order to comply with the Finance Subcommit= tee’s cut. On April 15th= the Board’s Subcommittee met and made the following potential cuts:
<= o:p>
<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:1'> &= nbsp; 0.5 FTE Social Studies/0.5 FTE Special Ed = ($43,844)
<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:1'> &= nbsp; 0.2 Art Teacher &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; = ; ($ 8,443)
<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:1'> &= nbsp; Alternative School expansion (4 teachers) &n= bsp; ($23,400)
<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:1'> &= nbsp; Secretary – Principal’s Office = ; &n= bsp; = ; ($26,221)
<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:1'> &= nbsp; Spanish Textbooks &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; ($13,000)
<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:1'> &= nbsp; English Textbooks &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; = ($22,000)
<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:1'> &= nbsp; Business Ed Textbooks &= nbsp; &nbs= p; ($ 4,209)
Each cut is NEASC related, related to what we said shouldn’t be, we were trying to show the commission and do the best for our students and staff, t= hat we are adding staff, we’re adding the expanded courses for students.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Half a social studies teacher and = half of a special ed teacher, so the salary as we projected in the budget, was a Master’s Step 3, $43,844 of course the parenthesis indicating that it= was cut. .2 art teacher which would have expanded = our 3 dimensional art program and sculpture and ceramic which they recommended we expand, we are not doing that, $8,443.&nbs= p; An alternative school, an after school program has been put in the h= igh school (Tape #1, Side A ended – may have missed some) more important = to help them, we would expand the course offerings actually double by having 4 teachers teach longer and that would have come to $23,000 and that’s roughly $6,000 a teacher. So = that will not be expanded. A secre= tary in the principal’s office at the high school that’s cut out. Textbooks were slashed, Spanish te= xtbooks at $13,000 which again was a programmatic improvement in that to slowly put= in different levels of textbooks each year, this will have to wait. English Anthology again has to wait. Business Ed Textbooks w= as cut, so updating books, adding to the secretarial staff, expanding the alternative school and cutting teachers.&n= bsp; That’s at the High School.
Swift Middle School – replace teacher for in school suspension, as you know= State law as it stands now says we have to have an in school suspension teacher.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> How we define that is we have to p= ut them in a structured setting. Students who are suspended have to be kept in school to the greatest extent possible, unless they are a danger to themselves and others. They will be kept in school, rathe= r than out of school, and they have to be taught in a structured setting. They cannot just be put in with a paraprofessional and not taught. We eliminated the teacher we put in for Swift, and replaced that with cafeteria monitors. The monitors will b= e in the café, the teachers will be removed from cafeteria duty and be pu= t in the setting. Teachers will be teaching, and the monitors will take the place of the teacher’s café duty $29,000 savings.
Budget Public Hearing
April 23, 2008
Page 10
Judson and Polk – again a systematic plan of implementing Grades 3, 4, and 5= Reading textbooks which would go along with the (Inaudible) 2 textbooks I Reading a= nd Language Arts which were supposed to be implemented next year. In looking at this we will only implement Grades 3 and 4, and cut Grade 5, that will be put on hold for at least a year, $43,874.
John Trumbull – you saw the class sizes in Grade 2. In discussion with the administrat= ion at John Trumbull, their recommendation was to cut 1 teacher and not replace someone who will be retiring, saving of $69,300 and Grade 2 will have one l= ess teacher.
System-wide
– English language learners. If you have 20 students who speak o=
ne
language other than English as his/her primary language, you have to have a
teacher. We have a 2 day a we=
ek
teacher at John Trumbull, this is the only school where this would apply.
2 Special Education Paras, we always budget for a few because we always need more, with the special needs that students have, students who move in over = the Summer or students who presently will need additional services, that’s anoth= er $30,000, so we cut that out, we’re only keeping in what we have this year.
When a teacher retires we have anticipated 8 additional teachers in addition to = that one that you say with the $69,000, which would save another $22,000. We already have those in the cuts = for those other teacher amounts.
Track and Turf that I talked about earlier, cut the entire amount, nothing left f= or that. Establish the account b= ut do not put anything in it this year. This is what happens with maintenance all the time. We cut into that area and then we’re caught up years later with having a deficit in the area and not maintaining the building like we should, because we were told to cut.
Contingency – there is none. The $2= 0,000 that was in there was cut.
Bottom line we cut to Obj. 611, Instructional Supplies. Throughout each school we will spr= ead $94,000 worth of cuts in supplies. Again bringing us back to a small amount of supplies. Every year we try to increase this = but we end up decreasing it.
Budget Public Hearing
April 23, 2008
Page 11
Pay to Play, students who presently pay $85.00 per sport, double that to $170.00 per sport, another $60,000. N= one of the cuts are popular, not just this one, none of them. I hear people booing, which you ha= ve the right to do, but that’s the recommendation at this point.
This is just a summary of all the cuts, the High School cuts that you saw, which= I think you should have a listing of, because there should be a paper that has all these cuts that the Board voted on, which add up to the $630,047. Teacher and textbooks at the High School, the in school suspension teacher, the nurse going between two schoo= ls, the 5th grade reading/language arts books, 2nd grade position, English language teacher being expanded, special ed paras, additi= onal teacher retirement hopefully, not funding the track and turf, eliminating t= he contingency, a bottom line cut in supplies, and doubling the cost of Pay to Play. So you have that in fro= nt of you, I thought that was probably the most (inaudible) you’d want to l= ook at, or one of them.
We’re
asking you to consider, remember that fixed costs represent the majority of=
the
budget, there’s not much we can do with the 5.73%.
Ms. Adams: At this point we’re goin= g to put the screen up and the Town Council and Board of Education can take the stage so we can face the audience. <= /span>I’m going to ask that when you come up to the podium to address the Council, pl= ease state your name and address for the record. I’m also going to ask you to= be mindful, we have a lot of people here tonight and I’m sure many would like to speak, so keep it short for the first round and then after everyone= who would like to speak has an opportunity to speak, anyone who would like to s= peak a second time, that’s absolutely fine. Maybe if we just have a line right= here to save time. Anyone who woul= d like to address the Council, you can step forward now.
Matthew Baker,
Mr. Baker: I’ve been a dentist in Town f=
or over
20 years. I am a resident n <=
st1:City
w:st=3D"on">
Dr. Pelosi was talking about fixed costs. I am a small business person. I know that my employees are my biggest expenditure or my biggest fi= xed cost, however, my employees are also my greatest asset. Knowing a lot of the people who are administrators in this school system, teachers, and people involved in the school system I believe we are very fortunate in having such an asset in th= is Town. Another thing I think we have to d= o and I believe it’s very important is that as a community we have to step = up and support the school system.
Budget Public Hearing
April 23, 2008
Page 12
If
you look at the figures 2001/2002, we’re down 15 people as far as
positions are concerned. I th=
ink
with the building referendums that passed and everything it was a great step
forward. You can’t just let stuff go for 40 years without doing anyth=
ing
and then except that everything is going to be fine. I think that would be a very import=
ant
step forward. The other thing=
I
believe we have to do is we have to restore this budget to the initial prop=
osed
budget so we can move forward. My main
concern is the accreditation of the High School. I have a son who is in the honors
program, the honors cohort at the High School, he’s doing very well.<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> We went and, when we looked at the=
open
houses for the other schools that were around, Sacred Heart, Holy Cross, Br=
ian
did not want to go to Taft because he didn’t want to go to school on =
Saturdays,
but the open house and the people at the High School compared extremely
favorably with the 2 other schools that I know a lot of parents in Town send
their kids to. My son attende=
d St.
Mary Magdalene for 8 years, I’m still involved with St. Mary Magdalen=
e. I
paid private tuition, and let me tell you something,
Kate Lyman,
Ms. Lyman: I agree with a lot of the things Dr.
Baker just expressed so I’m not going to repeat them, but I’m g=
oing
to thank him for saying it so eloquently, especially the part about investi=
ng
in the High School here instead of Holy Cross. I’m here just to simply ask =
you to
put the proposed budget back, to give the people of Watertown a chance to v=
ote,
and to approve that budget, like they have in the last 2 years, made a comm=
itment
to the improvements to the schools, the Swift Middle School being one of th=
em,
Judson and Polk and the High School, that they are proving that they are re=
ady
to make a long term commitment to the education system here in Watertown.
Budget Public Hearing
April 23, 2008
Page 13
Rachel Ryan,
Ms. Ryan: My two children go to John Trumbull=
. I have one son in 1st g=
rade
and my younger son is in the preschool.&nb=
sp;
My older son started going to Chase Collegiate preschool and we loved
it, we loved the opportunities down there, but we decided to take him out a=
nd
put him in John Trumbull and it’s the best decision we ever made. It’s an absolutely wonderful
school, my son is thriving, he loves it, it’s just been absolutely am=
azing. But when I saw the 2nd =
grade
teacher was being cut, I knew I had to come down here and say something.
= ; Mr. Nardelli: The golf course= is self supporting. That $700,00= 0 is revenue that comes in to offset that, through greens fees and what not, so that’s a separate enterprise fund that’s self supporting, so th= at does not really affect your mill rate.
Dr. Pelosi: The question about the 2nd grade teacher, we’re not replacing the 2nd grade teacher w= ho is retiring. The savings is $69,300. If we replace the te= acher with the way we budgeted it would cost $43,000 which would mean you would h= ave to add $43,000 back and we would only have a savings of $26,000 for that class. Instead of having $69,= 000, we would have $26,000 saved, so we would be losing the $43,000.
Ed Pannone,
Mr. Pannone: I’ve lived in Town for about =
10
years and I have 2 children in the school system currently, 1 child in the
special needs program at Trumbull, 1 child at Polk School who will be a 5
Budget Public Hearing
April 23, 2008
Page 14
Dr. Pelosi: As you saw what goes into the avera= ge would be the amount of students divided by the budget and that would be how it’s done. It goes from= a high of a little over $17,000 that one district pays per student, to a low = of a little under $9,000 which is what we pay.&= nbsp; And then the groups that we are compared to, which is called the DRG. The groups are made up of similar socioeconomic backgrounds according to what the State believes are similar. (Inaudible) ability = to pay also plays into that.
Mr. Pannone: So what towns are we compared to?
Dr. Pelosi: We are compared to towns like Old
Saybrook, Mr. Pannone: I guess my overall concern and I=
217;m
sure you guys are all over this, but I want to say it if we cut now and we =
vote
for that and we agree to that, I think we are mortgaging our future because
next year I don’t want to be sitting here saying that it’s anot=
her
$2,000,000 or another $5,000,000 to increase this budget and we have to cut=
it
by another $1,000,000. I think
everybody said, this is a growing town, the schools are becoming more costl=
y to
operate, fixed costs obviously you can’t do much about that. I mean I think people just have to
basically grin and bear it a little bit, and okay maybe there is some fat
somewhere in this budget and it’s budgeted that way accordingly so yo=
u have
a little room to cut. I’=
;ve
done budgets and I know how that works, but by the same token, if we’=
re
sitting here looking at a cut of $630,000 this year and next year we come b=
ack
to the table and we need $10,000,000 because of whatever is happening with
legislation or whatever we need to do to support the growth of the Town, you
know I think we’re just mortgaging our future so I don’t think
cutting this is really a wise move; I’ll just conclude my remarks. Danna Mazolla, Ms. Mazolla: I’m here today with a lot of =
other
fellow classmates and the budget affects us all in a lot of different
ways. To me it’s the Pa=
y for Participate,
and in raising this you’re going to decrease the number of students p=
laying
because it already costs a lot of money just for equipment and uniforms. Budget Public Hearing April 23, 2008 Page 15 For
example people who do cross country and track are going to have to pay $340
just to run. Those people can=
do
that on their own, but the people who are on team sports like soccer and fi=
eld
hockey, they can’t play that by themselves, it’s different to p=
lay
with a team and be together and that’s another way we support our sch=
ool,
and keeps the school together, and a lot of kids can’t afford it. Some of the prices at other school=
s in Tom Baker, Mr. Baker: I’m another student at Budget Public Hearing April 23, 2008 Page 16 =
; Marty
Tehan, =
; Mr.
Tehan: (Inaudible)
instructional supplies and the supplies that we use every day in the classr=
oom,
that includes paper, which we are already taking, well teachers are already
taking money left over from their department budgets and putting it into wh=
ite
lined, paper, anything they can get their hands on that is white, because we
are currently using colored sheets for copies for worksheets, anything that=
we
need for Math and English classes.
That wouldn’t be a problem if it were maybe one or two teachers
who use a lot of paper, maybe they can conserve by using colored paper, but
it’s gotten to the point that it’s pretty much the entire schoo=
l,
they just want to eliminate the number of white sheets of paper used throug=
hout
the school. I don’t wan=
t to
say it’s ridiculous, but it’s getting to be a concern when you =
hear
the students talking about it (inaudible).=
Another thing that could be a problem, we’ve interviewed teach=
ers
around the school, they are currently spending between $200 to $1,000 of th=
eir
own money on supplies, that includes markers, again paper, pens for student=
s who
forget theirs, and I want to say that your parents trusting these people who
teach and guide your kids in the right way, as a Town the least we could do=
is
maybe increase the tax rate a little bit and give these people the money th=
at
they need to get their supplies to hopefully help teach our kids more
effectively rather than having to put their own money and own time into goi=
ng
out and looking for the proper supplies and all of that when the school cou=
ld
be ordering it for them. I kn=
ow my
Biology teacher, every class is complaining about how the markers are dryin=
g up
and sometimes we get to the point where she has to dictate the notes to us =
because
her markers are so dried up at the end of the day, we’ll have to go a=
nd
ask somebody else around her to borrow a marker for the next day. The current cut right now is
$94,169. Even dropping that w=
ould
be good; we can’t afford to cut any paper supplies or anything else r=
ight
now, but a decrease on that would be (inaudible). Thank you. Rick Mastroianni, =
; Mr.
Mastrianni: So many paren=
ts,
students, faculty and others are here tonight because we are concerned about
what is happening to our school system.&nb=
sp;
I respect our Town Council members and I am not ignorant of the
necessity of compromise when it comes to politics, however I am not the only
person here who feels that when it comes to our country’s youth the
promise of American’s future, there can be no compromise. It should be our first priority as=
a
people to ensure the greatest quality of education that is possible to
offer. Though we are fortunat=
e to
have an amazing faculty and staff here, if we do not provide them with the
tools necessary to properly educate their pupils, how can we be excepted to
give them the education that they deserve?=
How can a school look to attract more of these high quality teachers=
if
it is barely able to pay the ones it has.&=
nbsp;
I love my teaches and I get along with them very well. The new proposal (inaudible) asks =
that
many of these cherished teachers receive cuts, either through the time they
spend at school or to their even being employed in the first place. Quite frankly we don’t have =
enough
teachers at the High School already. I can’t even begin to imagine=
how
the situation is in other schools across this system. When I was a Freshman I was in cla=
sses
with 20 or 25 students. Now it
seems those numbers are getting higher.&nb=
sp;
More people are moving to Budget Public Hearing April 23, 2008 Page 17 I
am aware that a remodel is in store for us, but until then are we going to =
be
discarded? I sometimes feel t=
hat we
simply do not matter because we are in the in between classes, so to
speak. As a whole we need thi=
s money
for necessities. This is a no=
frill
budget increase meaning we’re not asking for anything fancy. We need these things in order to
function. We’re barely
getting by as it is. And the =
Town
Council wants to take away from what we have. Off the cuff I can personally tell=
you
what I think we should receive money for, dilapidated bathrooms, desks that=
are
wobbly, worn out and potentially unsafe for students, small but valid repai=
rs
for a facility that makes many students and faculty embarrassed to say that
this is their school. Just a =
side
note, I took food class as a Freshman and Sophomore and in that class we us=
ed
pots, pans, and dishes from the 1970’s. In addition, I took a math test the
other day on bright Salmon colored paper.&=
nbsp;
Our school recently ran out of white paper as you just found out and=
we
have since been using the colored paper, and as far as I know there are no
plans to acquire any more white.
How is this good for our community? As
has been stated here already, but it’s absolutely necessary for me to=
say
it again, out of the 169 schools in The
leaders of our Town are in essence penalizing people for being active in sc=
hool
sports. Students who cannot o=
r do
not wish to pay that much money to play these sports will find other things=
to
do, however, those alternate activities might not be the healthiest. I saw a 10 year old child smoking =
cigarettes
just last weekend over by Budget Public Hearing April 23, 2008 Page 18 To
all of us gathered here tonight, this is our school system, and nothing mak=
es
me more proud to be a resident of
Matt Terzigni, 86 Mr. Terzigni: I’m a sophomore at Brenna Czudak, Ms. Czudak: I’d like to comment on the t=
eacher
cuts that are going on not only at the High School, but throughout the whole
district. I’ve not ment=
ioned
what the NEASC requirement that we’re still on warning for, you very =
well
know is the curriculum (inaudible) about the Board of Education presentation
that the curriculum needs to grown in the depth and breath of curriculum. Budget Public Hearing April 23, 2008 Page 19 There
is also an Art teacher that was going to be added. The big issue with the Art student=
s, most
of them have to have a portfolio. I
have a sister who is (inaudible) art and she’s going to have to have a
portfolio. I also know of stu=
dents
who had to take a Summer program to complete their portfolio because they
didn’t have enough time in school, there weren’t enough classes=
to
complete a full portfolio for the college that she needed to go to, and the
school system should be able to provide these opportunities for our student=
s,
so they have time to do their portfolios and get into the college that they
want to. Also with the growing
number of, the issue of number of Special Education teachers, most of the o=
nes
that are being cut, I personally have gone with my guidance counselor to a
program for special needs called “Earthly Delights” and it̵=
7;s
probably one of the best afternoons I’ve ever spent in my entire life=
. They were people I normally didn&#=
8217;t
get to interact with, the sweetest, kindest students probably in our entire
school and they had just as much right as everyone else to make sure they a=
re
properly educated and someone to help them, and any cuts to that program are
just absolutely horrifying to me.
It was also mentioned about cutting a secretary from the principal&#=
8217;s
office, the secretary (inaudible) works constantly. She is always moving around, (inau=
dible)
never rests. Having that extra
person there will help her.
It’s mind boggling to me that those women are still on their f=
eet
at the end of the day. If I w=
as
working that much I wouldn’t be able to do it. Even that (inaudible) a big help,
especially now that we have the extra principal, so having an extra secreta=
ry
there would be very beneficial for what they need to do and get done. Overall just expanding the staff,
expanding the (inaudible) help us to get off NEASC warning, help our sophom=
ores,
juniors, and freshmen get into the colleges they want to. I’m a senior and on many of =
our
college letters we were told that this is one of the most competitive years=
to
get into college and it’s not going to get any easier. (Inaudible) to get into college an=
y leg
up we need because Matt Piccirillo, Mr. Piccirillo: I’m here on behalf of Watert=
own Alternative
Living Community. After being
informed of the budget cuts of about $23,000 cutting 4 teachers from the
alternative program, I was upset by that because I’ve seen this progr=
am
do well for many students, including myself. Before this year I didn’t do=
anything. I never did homework, no classwork=
, I
just sat there, but being involved in this program, having this opportunity
helped me so much. I’ve=
been
on the honor roll all year and seeing what it can do for all the students,
because for most of these students it is their last chance, and adding extra
teachers instead of cutting them would give so many more students that oppo=
rtunity
to succeed, to graduate from high school, to go to college, to do what they
want to do to better themselves.
Thank you. Budget Public Hearing April 23, 2008 Page 20 Christopher Terzigni, 86 Mr. Terzigni: I hold the position at These
are real issues the students face very day, because we don’t have a
choice, we need books but this is the book we have, the one missing a chapt=
er,
missing a cover, missing protection and knowledgeable information. We can (inaudible) education syste=
m,
people are going to start looking elsewhere to go. As been mentioned, you can pay $9,=
000 to
go to Holy Cross, or for considerably less your taxes can go up. (Inaudible) circa 1987 mold infest=
ed Math
book, I saw a mill rate, it said $100, $200 tax increase is no different th=
an
$9,000 and sending their kids to Taft which is also an astronomical figure =
(inaudible). You just have to fund us as people=
and
people are going to (inaudible) they’re going to pay that little bit =
of
money here and there. Let the=
Town
decide. Don’t cut it an=
d then
come back and say listen, this is what we’re going to do, we’ve
decided, okay how do we write this?
Let them choose, let them say, okay, we have that 7.8 in there right
now. Do we like it? And if not, then go back and say l=
isten,
this isn’t working, the Town does not agree with it, let’s see =
what
else we can do. Budget Public Hearing April 23, 2008 Page 21 Many
students are here, you look around you see the track uniforms, baseball
uniforms, there were games today where students were representing Watertown
High School. How many of them=
would
be here next year if the fee were $170?&nb=
sp;
How many of us could afford to play more than one sport, even one
sport? I have a friend who is=
a
senior, his sister is a junior, and his brother is a freshman. They each run cross country and
track. That’s over $1,0=
00 a
year just so those kids can run. The
numbers are mind boggling. Why
would they pay this when they can look elsewhere for their exercise and
entertainment? (Inaudible) co=
ntinue
to be 169th out of 169.
Okay 2004, 167. 2005,
168. 2006, 2007, 2008, 169. Christopher Lafferty, Mr. Lafferty: It’s important for everyone to
realize that the Town Council asking for these cuts, they’re not the =
bad
guys because of it, I believe that they just want to see the bottom line
reduced so our taxes are lower, I think that’s an important note to
make. I don’t think the=
Board
of Education are bad guys for asking for a budget with an increase, I belie=
ve
that everything here is just. Everyone
brought up great points as to why they are. I think the correlation between wh=
at we
just heard and what a lot of people want to say tonight is that although the
Town Council tonight cannot recommend cuts, or say where we should or
shouldn’t cut, I hope (inaudible) put into perspective what cuts we w=
ere
asked to make, what they mean, and hopefully put those cuts into perspective
for you so you understand what that $630,000 actually represents, not just a
bottom line number. I underst=
and
$630,000 is $630,000 anyway you look at it. I know from being on the Board of
Education putting together a budget is a tightrope walk, so I hope tonight =
you
realize that all of these cuts were very difficult to make and I don’t
think there was an easy way to trim the fat, so to speak. I
think this budget affects the future of everyone in the schools system and
Town. We spoke about the NEAS=
C and
accreditation and really this is a high stakes budget with what NEASC means=
to
our schools. It’s impor=
tant because
a lot of students want to go to college.&n=
bsp;
My option was community college, I went on from there, and I think t=
hat
even though we are put on probation, (inaudible) go on to another option no=
t a
4 year university right away, they’re going to be going to a community
college or a trade school, etc., and those will most likely be accredited, =
but
that’s not always an easy road either as I found being a transfer
student, that’s equally as difficult, so that increases the stake of =
why
we need to keep our NEASC concerns and our accreditation, recommendations in
order when we put together this budget. Budget Public Hearing April 23, 2008 Page 22 Lastly
I’d just like to say that I think a solution we need to look towards =
in
the future is reducing the fixed costs.&nb=
sp;
Tonight we heard alto about fixed costs and energy has exponential
effects and ruches out to a lot of the problems that we face on the
Town’s and the Board’s side.&n=
bsp;
You heard from one of the presidential candidates talking about ener=
gy
and what they’re going to do and I think they brought up a great point
and said there is no quick fix with energy costs. The only way to spend less on ener=
gy is
to use less energy and I think that’s good advice. We operate the town day to day. Donna Drapatin, Ms. Drapatin: I’ve lived on Budget Public Hearing April 23, 2008 Page 23 Alex Saraceno, Ms. Saraceno: I am a student at Nadine Savage, 629 Litchfield, Roa=
d, =
; Ms.
Savage: I grew up in Christine Shields, =
; Ms.
Shields: Until a few minu=
tes ago,
I was going to say this is what last looks like until these 2 gentlemen got
behind me. How does it feel?<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'>
Budget Public Hearing
April 23, 2008
Page 24
I’ve
been told it takes a village to raise a child, this is our village and it t=
akes
all of us, every taxpayer and I’ve told many people, it’s not a
requirement to have a house, it’s not a right, it’s a privilege,
one we must pay for and if our neighbor, the naysayer’s in this Town =
feel
that they don’t need to support our school systems, I think they̵=
7;re
absolutely wrong. I was here,=
I
graduated from Watertown High School, I was in the school system from 1
With
that being said, I want to say that it was at least until I was about 20 ye=
ars
old that I realized Sterling was actually a town in Connecticut, now I real=
ize they’re
beating us which is really kind of sad.&nb=
sp;
It really scares me to think, I have a 7th grader, a 9
Mark Fusco, 135 Straits Turnpike, =
=
; Mr.
Fusco: This Council, fran=
kly,
should be ashamed. They shoul=
d be
ashamed that all of these students were forced to come out here tonight to
argue for their future and for their education. I’ve never seen anything like
this. No one likes paying mor=
e,
nobody likes paying more at the pump, nobody likes paying more for electric=
ity,
food, and especially taxes. B=
ut the
time has come. We have neglec=
ted
this school system for years. The
sins of the past are now catching up with us. We’re paying for renovations=
at 3
different schools, we need more teachers, we need funds, and I frankly comm=
end
Dr. Pelosi and his staff, along with the Board of Education for submitting =
the budget
without extras, without fat, without unnecessary items. I really think, no, I demand that =
this
Council restore this budget back to its original state. Find some place else to cut this
budget. Not this budget. Maybe on the Town’s side.
Budget Public Hearing
April 23, 2008
Page 25
Tom Murphy,
Mr. Murphy: I was on the Board of Education a = few years ago for 4 years, I was on the Budget Subcommittee, which I Chaired fo= r a couple of years, spent don’t know how many hours on it, it’s an extrem= ely complicated process. I’= m a CPA by training for 25 years. I believe I understand numbers, and it took me probably 4 years to get a relatively g= ood understanding of how the budget actually did work. Unfortunately how the budget has b= een set up over the years, it’s a definitional budget, which means you wo= uld have to know when you go to the budget meeting, for example it may say teacher’s overtime, and for some reason over the years maybe janitor’s salaries for Swift School are posted there. That’s not the exact definit= ion of it but you do have to understand what goes into that to get a really true comprehension of what’s going on.&nb= sp; I know these people up here on both sides are doing what they can do best, nobody is intentionally trying to hammer the Board of Education or the Town or anything else, but I do believe we have to maintain the budget as o= riginally presented. I think we have to= look hard at where we’re going with this.
Some things that I know from being a former Board member years ago and knowing t= he current state of affairs of what’s going on with the school system, my wife is a Special Education teacher, she’s transitioned from 3rd= , 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th grades. The potential cuts that are here t= onight, there is probably close to $100,000 of the $630,000 that is special ed rela= ted. That I do not believe, it doesn’t make any sense to do that. Unfortunately the special ed progr= am has grown in leaps and bounds. I = say unfortunately because the population is exploding and the kids need the help. We do have a very good program in p= lace, but by cutting the resources out of that I think it’s going to be a s= hort term fix. The problem is goin= g to be a long term problem. It ha= s not, from the level I’ve seen it, and maybe the Board can shed light on th= at, that the student population is going down for special needs. The entire Town population is grow= ing, the entire special ed population is probably growing percentage wise a litt= le bit quicker. When you turn on= the radio, the autism being identified earlier, we do have a lot of that in Town percentage wise so I do not believe that the cuts are truly indicative of what’s happening in the system. They are going to cut a nurse, which is a half full, time equivalent= at the high school and Swift, I bet everybody here knows at least one or two k= ids that have a peanut allergy somewhere. For whatever reason this doesn’t matter, you can go pontificate whatever you want about what the causes are, but we do have serious crisis = that are coming due to (inaudible) at every school to have to be able to deal wi= th effectively. I’m going = to consider the English Language learner teacher in the special ed/special nee= ds program because that is a growing part of our environment, our way of life, it’s going to be there, we have to deal with that. Given that again 25% of the entire $630,000 is coming from the high school alone, between $100,000 and $125,00= 0 is coming out of special ed, which I personally don’t agree with, I don’t think it’s appropriate.
Budget Public Hearing
April 23, 2008
Page 26
The things that I have major concerns with is we have this turf/track funding account, and I believe somebody indicated that the Town Attorney has drawn = up an agreement, and when I was on the Board what ended up happening, and I don’t think anything has changed, that the Board of Education does not own the buildings, does not own the property. The Town owns it, the Town benefit= s from it, students benefit, the Board of Education has use of it. So if I was correct in understandi= ng, we’re going to basically enter into an agreement pay the legal fees, = to set up a fund that the Town will manage, that the Board is going to fund ou= t of their education budget to maintain something they don’t own. Okay? And this is the way it’s don= e, I think it’s an accounting way they have to do it, but I think it’= ;s something that the Town has to come to grasp with. We tried to do, when we were on th= e Board, where you have to (inaudible) the Town and the School Board function I think more clearly. I think the eas= y part is the school should maintain from the doors in, the Town should maintain f= rom the doors out. I had this conversation when we replaced the roof, I was Chair of the Budget Committee, gave it to them, the Town Council member told me you better set up an (inau= dible) fund. I said we can’t, = you have to, and I know that hasn’t been done. So I have a problem with that, I don’t think the turf/track should be in there at all, so I don’t think that $56,000 should be cut, I don’t think it should be in there, period. That should be elimin= ated, and I think the Town has to work on that cause the Town owns that and the entire Town benefits from it.
The Pay for Play, I was the Board Chairman when that was instituted, disagreed = with it then, obviously I’m going to disagree with it now. I just don’t think it’s appropriate. I believe the $2= 0,000 contingency, that’s the equivalent of a cup of coffee on a budget of $36,000,000, so that’s nothing. There was one year when I was the Chair on the Board when we did run short, we had to go to the Town and request money, I believe it was because= of energy consumption. The quest= ion I would throw out to the Board and to the Town, hopefully I haven’t seen the actual details, I don’t know how they’ve addressed the heat= ing costs that have come in. The heating oil contract for the upcoming heating season is probably close to 4= 0% higher than they were last year, and those are facts you have to deal with,= and hopefully that has been addressed in the budget already, because if not the= re will be a substantial amount less, we’ll be way over in the budget an= d be asking for money.
The last thing I have, one of the things that accounting-wise has to be done is= the Board of Education does not recognize revenues. I know (inaudible) $36,000,000 and= the State gives us back about $12,000,000 based on the current rules the way th= ey are, it’s an estimate, but it’s roughly 1/3 of the money we spe= nd we get back, and it has to be presented that way, but I think the Town has = to be a little more forthright, open minded or explain it better, that the Town receives basically about $12,000,000 back and we spend $36,000,000, so my contention is, when I was on the Board and still is, that if you go to Cost= co and buy a computer for $1,500 you get a rebate for $500, you spent $1,000 f= or the computer. So our budget is presented as $36,000,000, we get $12,000,000 back, we’re actually get= ting $24,000,000 so I think the Town should present their budget minus the $12,000,000 revenues that the Board gets back just by virtue of spending the money. I’m not saying it’s right, wrong, or indifferent as far as that reimbursement, those= are current State rules, but the Board has a net expenditure of $24,000,000 and= the Town basically gets $12,000,000 revenue on their side, so if you take that = revenue off their side, where would our budget stand?
Budget Public Hearing
April 23, 2008
Page 27
Again, just for the record, I agree with what everybody said prior to this, and th= at student that was in the alternative program, God Bless you for getting up t= here and keep on doing what you’re doing.
Charlie Brown,
=
; Mr.
Brown: I think we can pro=
bably
make a summation of tonight’s comments as far as the past, present, a=
nd
the future. Over the past sev=
eral
years Watertown has struggled many, many times in trying to provide budgets=
for
not only the education, but for the Town.&=
nbsp;
The past 37 years of which I was a teacher at
The future is probably the most important and as several students and athletes = came up here this evening, they pointed out a tremendous future for themselves, = with direction, with direction from our Town, and with direction from our school system. The future as well as students, the students are most important.= But being educated for 37 years in this Town, and my daughter is als= o an educator, she teaches English, we need to attract fine quality teachers. An= d if you’re a college graduate looking to come into education of young men= and women, you are going to look at the various towns around the State that have openings, and unfortunately if you are ranked as we are ranked, it might be= a negative asset as far as applying to our Town, so I ask in general as we lo= ok at the past, we struggled, we look at the present, look what we have, look = at the future, look at what we can forecast.&= nbsp; Look at the future of what we can attract for our future teachers and educators and for our future students that graduate from the high school, I= ask that you restore the $630,000 and look to the future. Thank you.
Budget Public Hearing
April 23, 2008
Page 28
Sharon Veatch,
Ms. Veatch: I’m also for (inaudible) pur=
poses,
one of the counselors at the High School, but tonight I’m here to spe=
ak
as the mother of a 9 year old who attends
=
; June
Legge,
Ms. Legge: I’ve lived in
Watertown Town Council
Budget Public Hearing
April 23, 2008
Page 29
David Minnich,
Mr. Minnich: I guess I’m probably the lone
person on the other side of the issue tonight and I just want to place some
focus on this if I may. I
don’t believe that concentrating and zeroing in on a particular side =
of
the budget be it the school or the Town and taking a large amount of money =
from
either side is the way to go about it.&nbs=
p;
Obviously that’s nice and easy to say when I’m up here
talking about the macro and you have the issue dealing with the problem of
having to deal which line items are going to be changed, but the concept th=
at I
would hope that would come here through my comments tonight is who is paying
for all of this? We have neat
pieces for what you see before us and the rest of what we had before which =
we
are still continuing to pay for and when we look for example on the school
side, I ask those parents that have children, we understand tonight that the
dollars is $9,000 per student to come to this school. Are the parents of those students =
paying
the $9,000 (inaudible) to their students?&=
nbsp;
The answer is no, so the rest of us are paying for it. I remember when the GTB was establ=
ished
by the State of
I look to this Town Council and I am critical of a couple of things. We know from looking at it from a = large perspective here, the problem is revenue, the problem is who is going to pay this increase which is 11.6% as you have presented, and the question is a l= ot of people believe that increase, forgetting the details of the issues that = have been talked tonight about how to spend the money, all (inaudible) how it sh= ould be done, but 11.6% is a lot of money for an increase on top of everything e= lse that’s increasing in their lives, and it becomes a question of is it = too much all at once. I question = the $9,000 that we have heard tonight as a per pupil amount of dollars. It does not include the debt side = of this which is on the Town’s side.&nb= sp; I know the Town is not paying all of the $110,000,000 plus to which = we have agreed to pay for the 4 schools that we have, I believe our number is around $50,000,000 of that, somewhere in that vicinity so therefore each ye= ar over the next 15 or 20 years whatever the bond is, we’re having to pay debt and interest on that. I = would believe that is part of the $9,000 so indeed we are paying as a community m= ore than the $9,000 per student to which has been presented to us this evening.=
Now one of the areas that we look for is the growth of our community with regar= ds to economic development. I ap= plaud the Council for what was started several years ago of looking to get a part time Economic Development Coordinator, and now a full time Economic Develop= ment Coordinator. We know economic development is an answer to this problem, of lack of revenue, who’s paying for all of this. In the budget that was printed by the Planning and Zoning Commission, you have red= uced the budget by $37,000 over what it was this current year, which we’ve taken a 15% cut. I’ve a= sked you for $30,000 to assist us in finding, or we have someone that would help= us to look at the growth of our Town in terms of helping to change the zoning = so that the growth of the homes in our Town would be less growth than what it = is now.
Budget Public Hearing
April 23, 2008
Page 30
We have in this Town right now 528 new homes, approved and have not been built= , of which 178 of those are not age restricted, so the 178 new homes most likely will bring new children. We’ve asked you for $30,000 to help us to get someone to help = us to look at changing the zoning to make it less growth than we had in that a= rea and you said no to that. Additionally last year we came to you and said we’ll pay for t= his, we increased and you approved it, increased our fees by 23% covering all the costs so I think I’ve made my point, I just think it’s not wise that you’re trying to save $30,000 to which, if my math is correct, 3= .3 children or 4 children for example each $9,000 that would be coming in beca= use of these 178 new homes that are already here plus the growth, more than pays for itself and it’s just pound foolish to do this.
One of my last points is the issue that has to do with economic development, I = hear so many hours that I have stood up and been on the Planning and Zoning Comm= ission and listened to people who do not want economic development, I mean literal= ly hours, and yet when we’re on the spending side, we’re here want= ing to get this. I’m not op= posed to the school (inaudible) that they’re asking. I’m questioning is it too mu= ch all at once. And where is everyon= e at these meetings to help us to balance those comments to which are anti-econo= mic development in Town? My quest= ion to you, wearing another hat for a moment, has to do with an issue the Town Cou= ncil is dealing with with the water tanks. My question is, is there any funding in the . . . .
Ms. Adams: Dave, we’re going to keep this pertinent to budget right now as presented, there is no funding right now f= or that.
Mr. Minnich: That was my question, there is no f= unding in this budget for the water tanks?
Ms. Adams: It hasn’t been approved yet.<=
/p>
Mr. Minnich: That was my question. I thank you. Rob Gurrey, =
; Mr.
Gurrey: I am in favor of =
restoring
the cuts, not just the budget on the Board of Education’s side, but a=
lso
to the Town’s side. I t=
hink
it’s important as a community that we work together, and part of
community is not just schools, but it’s also parks, fire protection, =
and
police safety, especially in this day and age. I really think that it’s an =
unfair
balance when you look to cut $630,000 for the Board of Education’s si=
de,
when the Town’s side is minimal at least. I think it’s important to re=
store
the funds to both sides of the budget, and I would like to ask the Town Cou=
ncil
to come up with a plan of attack to increase (Tape #2, Side B ended- may ha=
ve
missed some) it’s your job, that’s what you guys need to do. Ms. Adams: Would anyone else like to address t=
he
Council? Are there any Board =
of Education
members who would like to address the Council? Budget Public Hearing April 23, 2008 Page 31 Mr. Lambert: I’m the Chair of the Budget
Subcommittee of the Board of Education.&nb=
sp;
We have heard, especially our fine students of the schools, so
eloquently speaking on behalf of not cutting the School Board budget. It really says something about our
school system when we produce students of this caliber. If we on the Board really cherish =
these
moments that we (inaudible) we hear these students speak as well as they do
it’s a real credit to our system.&nb=
sp;
We thank you all for showing up and supporting the budge without
cuts. We do appreciate that.<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> I personally want to thank everyon=
e here
for showing up and supporting us. Thank
you. Ms. Calabrese: I would also like to thank everyone=
who
got up and spoke, many wonderful points were made. I would just like to remind everyo=
ne
that when we’re talking about the school budget, we’re talking
about the kind of a budget that’s very different from a budget for a
business. School budgets are =
not
bottom line driven. The propo=
rtion
of a budget that a Board of Education can control is very, very small. School districts cannot downsize t=
heir responsibility
to educate children, and I would urge the Town Council to think as they vote
this evening on this every important budget. Mr. Mazzamaro: I just want to thank everybody who =
got up
and spoke tonight and I don’t think there’s a lot I can add that
the public so eloquently said tonight.&nbs=
p;
I think it’s very clear from all the comments made tonight that
there is very strong support for our education budget as proposed and IR=
17;m
asking the Town Council to listen to what the public is saying and restore =
the
budget, the original amount, and let them decide if they like it, not just a
few members of the Town Council, and not to do so, I think, is the height of
irresponsibility. The differe=
nce
that the money that would be saved from the proposed budget and the proposed
cut is about $150 a year. Now=
you
take that and look at the amount of programs and potential cuts to our budg=
et,
I don't think there’s anything close to proportionality there so
I’m asking again to please restore our budget. Mr. Killeen: In the past couple of months the Bo=
ard of
Education had several around the table conversations with the Town
Council. At those meetings we
discussed ad nausea the issues of the budget down to specific line items, a=
nd
upon completion of those meetings it was the consensus of the Council membe=
rs
that I could (inaudible) the following manner because it’s thorough, =
no
fluff, and responsible. I had=
no
idea going into the next meeting that we would be asked to cut $630,000 from
our budget, and much less so, $70,000 from the Town’s side which
(inaudible) conditioned to the 60/40 cut I probably couldn’t have had=
an
argument, but I want to move away from that thought and present a few things
that maybe haven’t been adequately presented. I think it was about 5 or 6 years =
ago, someone
from central office can verify this, we lost our Title 1 status so we no lo=
nger
receive Title 1 funds so the special education that we provided, we provide=
d to
the district as a Board of Education line item. Now last year the ECS contribution =
to Budget Public Hearing April 23, 2008 Page 32 I’ve
said at numerous public meetings, that when my wife and I make an improveme=
nt
on the house, we think about what we’re not going to be able to do as
well, and yet as I sit on the Board, I have a personal responsibility to the
people of Watertown to present a responsible budget and I felt confident th=
at
the comments from the Town Council at large that we had done just that, (in=
audible)
there was no fluff, it was responsible, so I would ask you gentleman and la=
dies
to please consider, as you have heard this evening so well spoken by so many
people, to restore the budget and put it at the discretion of our voters who
deserve that right. Thank you=
very
much. Ms. Dzioba: I just want to say that I have the =
utmost
respect for everybody here at these tables and the hard work that they put =
into
each budget but we are a separate entity, we have all been elected by the
voters of Watertown to represent either the Board of Education or the Town
Council and separately we work on budgets and we have to present them to the
voters. A lot of hard work has gone into each and every budget, yours and o=
urs,
and what we’re asking is that you respect our hard work, our dedicati=
on
and our (inaudible) please let our budget got to the voters of Watertown for
the final decision. If they f=
eel
that these cuts should be made, they certainly will reflect it as they have=
in
the past on referendum day, but until then please respect our votes as Boar=
d of
Education members and our hard work and (inaudible) this budget with the be=
st
(inaudible). Thank you. Ms. Colangelo: I’m a Budget Subcommittee mem=
ber. We worked long and hard on this bu=
dget
and as others have said, we feel it’s a very responsible budget and
it’s making small baby steps towards improvement in our school
system. The students here spo=
ke
eloquently and I am so very proud of each and every one of them. I am embarrassed by being dead las=
t in
the State, I’m embarrassed by the textbooks that those students
presented, and ashamed that a Town such as Mr. Apicella: To the students, great job out
there. (Inaudible) you get to=
hear
what it’s really like in the school, not what it looks like on a budg=
et
sheet, or with numbers, you get to see what it’s like in day to day a=
cademics. And to hear them come up here, kid=
s that
was a great job, I’m proud of you.&n=
bsp;
Thank you. Ms. Adams: I’ll ask one more time, is th=
ere
anyone from the public who would like to address the Council? I want to remind everyone that aft=
er the
Public Hearing is over we are going to go immediately to our Special Town
Council Meeting to consider the budget for fiscal year 2008/2009, etc. Budget Public Hearing April 23, 2008 Page 33 Brenna Czudak, Ms. Czudek: I wrote down a couple of numbers but
could everyone from a Matthew Baker, Mr. Baker: In 1959 my parents moved here, they=
chose
=
; Ms.
Adams: Is there anyone el=
se who
would like to address the Council?
Is there anyone else who would like to address the Council? I’ll close this Public Heari=
ng. Thank you, everyone. 3.&nb=
sp; Adjournment Ms.
Adams, Chairman, Closed the Public Hearing at 9:20 p.m. Respectfully
Submitted, Elaine
H. Adams, Chairman &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; =
Town
Council A=
pproved: _______________________________ Lynn M. LaF=
orme,
Clerk