The first education budget proposed by Superintendent of Schools Alan Addley would increase the current budget total by 3.43% in the 2020-2021 fiscal year, and would cut district staffing by the equivalent of almost eight positions.
The proposed budget totals $103,583,544, up $3,465,136 from the 2019-2020 budget of $100,118,408. That amounts to about two thirds of the town’s operating budget. The education part of town spending increases more when projects for bonding are included.
Addley listed the primary drivers of increased spending in the coming fiscal year: Higher health insurance costs and other employee benefits are a large part of the increase (increasing the budget by 0.93%), but the school district also faces higher teacher pay with the proposed new contract (adding another 1.68% to the budget), Addley said. Higher pension costs add 0.34%, and a reduction in the state’s Special Education Excess Cost Reimbursement program is expected to further raise Darien spending by 0.53%.
Addley said the pension and special education reimbursement are not something the district has any control over. He also said he’s looking to other health insurance companies to see if Darien can save money on that. The Board of Education recently approved the three-year teacher’s contract and it is expected to be voted on by the Representative Town Meeting later this month.
These added costs are somewhat reduced by the elimination of several positions and part-time positions across the school district, amounting to the full-time equivalent of 8.83 jobs (partially offset by the hiring of a teacher for Tokeneke School due to expected higher enrollment there). The net decrease in jobs would be 7.83 full time equivalent positions.
Addley’s slide presentation included this list of positions he’s proposed for elimination in the upcoming budget year, which begins on July 1. “FTE” stands for “full-time equivalent” which can include part-time positions. The title of the slide says 7.89 FTE, but the numbers of cuts add up to 8.89, and then one position is added — the Tokeneke teacher in the first line. (Board of Education Chairperson Tara Ochman is looking up at the same image projected on a different screen — she isn’t rolling her eyes.)
Board of Finance Chairman Jon Zagrodzky attended the meeting.
Asked what he thought of the budget proposal sketched out by Addley, Zagrodzky said:
“I think it’s pretty positive. When you take out the health rise, the overall budget is up 1.66% which is pretty favorable, given the costs of the teachers contract and just running the schools. So far: great job for his first budget.”
A total of 75% of the education budget is made up of personnel costs, including salaries, health insurance and some retirement benefits. The rest is made up of costs for utilities, transportation and property insurance (8%); operating expenses, including textbooks, resource materials and ongoing teacher training (16%); and equipment (1%).
Enrollment in the school district is predicted to decline by 34 students in the next school year and by 3% in 10 years, Addley said.
On Saturday, the Board of Education is scheduled to meet all day to go through most of the budget.
Addley announced the budget proposal at a special, 30-minute meeting of the Board of Education on Thursday night. He began the meeting by saying Dr. Susie Da Silva, assistant superintendent of schools for curriculum and instruction, would be leaving the district on April 1 to become the superintendent of Ridgefield schools.
Excerpts from the ‘Superintendent’s Message’
Addley gave a spoken presentation with slides on Thursday night (the slides will be up on the school district website Friday morning, he said). The superintendent also provided a written message near the beginning of the printed-up budget proposal. Here are excerpts from that “Superintendent’s Message”:
The budget is a spending plan that is responsive to the economic climate, Board of Education goals, strategic priorities, enrollment projections and contractual obligations. […]
Realizing a budget increase of 3.46% has only been possible through line-item savings, efficiencies realized from the newly negotiated teachers’ contrract and the net reduction of 7.89 FTE staff positions.
The budget process required each Responsibility Center [areas of the budget such as the high school, health, libraries, music and art] to defend all new requests, zero budget some line items and justify all expenditures.
Despite the challenges, this budget reflects a spending plan that continues to support district initiatives as well as maintaining the excellent programs that our students deserve and the community has come to expect.
Any additional reductions to the budget would compromise the quality of the education program and the implementation of strategic priorities.
Optimal class sizes are maintained across all schools through the addition of a class section of kindergarten at Tokeneke Elementary School.
Other modest educational and program improvements include
—the continued support of the 1:1 technology initiative with digital devices for students in Grades 3, 4, 5 and 9;
—the exploration of an improved network and wireless technology infrastructure for student learning; the feasibility study to implement a new student management system;
—instructional materials for the new math program in Grades 6 to 8, and
—the addition of four assistant coaching positions to support increased student participation. […]
The capital budget is also included for your consideration. This past year, the district budgeted for the replacement of the roof and windows at Hindley Elementary School.
The major projects planned for the 2020-2021 school year are the rebuilding of the high school tennis courts, replacement carpet in the library [libraries] of the high school and middle school, repaving the access road around the rear of the middle school, sidewalk repair at Hindley Elementary [School], design work for a new HVAC system at Holmes Elementary School and upgrades to security at all of the schools.
The budget includes funding for the school district\’s top priority projects.
A study addressing the removal of the portables [portable classrooms] throughout the district is presently underway, as is the design process of Ox Ridge Elementary School. […]
The Darien community has long supported and invested in its schools and takes pride in the school system and the achievements of its students. Darien’s commitment to quality education resonates through the strong community support for past town budgets.
It is critical that the town continue to protect its educational program and investment. A premier school system directly benefits our taxpayers by maintaining property values and making Darien a desirable town for families and students.