Schools

Board Sends Budget To Public Hearing

More cuts made to RSD13 budget ahead of April 6 public hearing

Wednesday night's Board of Education meeting began with a heated two minute exchange between Middlefield resident Jeremy Renninghoff and board chairman Thomas Hennick, but ended with the board sending a $33,179,276 budget to public hearing.

Renninghoff, who also sits on Middlefield's finance board, accused school officials of "fear mongering" by announcing that the district was considering sending to as many as 40 teachers as part of its effort to prepare for further reductions to superintendent Susan Viccaro's 2011-2012 budget proposal.

"There is no way 40 teachers are going to get laid off. I think this is just a tactic to get the teachers, many of whom are well meaning, but are ignorant and don't know the way that budgets and government works, to get them to pressure the students to go and tell their parents to go vote yes on the budget," Renninghoff said during public comment, calling the process "distasteful."

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Hennick responded by sharply criticizing Renninghoff's accusation.

"I find it distasteful that you accuse [the board] of fear mongering," Hennick said. "We are following the law, by giving out these non-renewal notices when we don't know what the bottom line is."

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Hennick told Renninghoff the district had no intention of laying off 40 teachers.

"But we do not know which of the teachers we are going to lay off," he said. 

The two men exchanged words before Hennick finally said "We're done," and Renninghoff sat down.

A short time later Viccaro told the board that she had in fact notified 15 non-tenured teachers that their contracts were not being renewed, which by law is required by April 1.

"This is the largest number we have ever noticed. It allows the board to look at many options," Viccaro said while reiterating that many school districts rely on non-renewals and issue them "every year" to provide more flexibility during budget season.

Following the exchange between Renninghoff and Hennick, Teresa Opalacz of Durham said "I have been doing this now for many years... and I haven't been able to influence the parents, no matter what I do. I can't get them out to vote no matter what I do."

Opalacz added that she supports changes to bus schedules - a preliminary proposal previously discussed by the board in an effort to find possible savings in the budget - and also raised the idea of utilizing "pay-to-play" rather than cut teachers.

Durham resident Melissa Lesniak, whose son is a first grader at Brewster Elementary, voiced her concern about teacher layoffs.

"I ask you please not to cut any more teachers, especially at the elementary school level where [students] are just learning to read and write," Lesniak told the board while adding that she supported the transportation savings plan.

Jennifer Wells DiPentima, a Board of Education liaison for Lyman Elementary School, opposed the transportation proposal because she felt the idea of mixing students at various grade levels on a bus would cause problems.

Following public comment, Region 13 business manager Ron Melnick explained several new cuts that had been made to Viccaro's original budget proposal, which helped reduce the budget's overall increase to 3.98 percent, down from the 6.25 percent initial increase.

The cuts include the reduction of the district's nursing staff from six to five, a savings of nearly $47,000.

Viccaro said Coginchaug High School, Strong Middle School and Korn Elementary School will share two nurses.

"Ideally I'd love to have a nurse in every building. I think it makes the most sense. But given the extraordinary situation that we're in, I'm suggesting that we manage with two nurses in three buildings," she said, but would not elaborate on which nurse would be let go.

Viccaro told the board that nurse schedules to accommodate the three schools were still "being flushed out."

"We will be able to work out a schedule. Student's safety will not be compromised," Strong principal Dr. Scott Nicol said.

Further reductions were made, including the loss of support staff (-$18,000), as well as to health insurance costs (-$27,185) and supplies (-$32,073).

On the revenue side, the district will benefit from an increase in enrollment at the Middlesex Transition Academy at Wesleyan University (+$30,000).

"I have personally gone through this budget and I am just amazed that you were able to find [the cuts] you were able to without cutting programs and without cutting additional teachers," board member Debra Golschneider told Viccaro shortly before the board unanimously approved bringing the budget to public hearing.

The Public Hearing is scheduled for April 6, at 8 p.m. at .

On May 2, the Board of Education meeting will be held at 8 p.m. at CRHS, at which point board members will vote on the budget. If passed, the budget will go to referendum the next day.

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