Board weighs costs of security, technology

LAKEVILLE — The Board of Education (BOE) made adjustments to its proposed 2013-14 budget at the regular monthly meeting Monday, March 25, prior to presenting a final version to the Board of Finance (BOF) on Thursday, June 4.The net result was a decrease in proposed spending at Salisbury Central School (SCS), from a proposed 2.86 increase ($139,532) at the March 7 meeting, to 2.59 percent ($125,532). The total proposed spending for SCS is now $4,965,017.Resident trooper planOne new idea was floated: an additional $25,000 for a second resident state trooper assigned to the town of Salisbury. Salisbury Central School Principal Lisa Carter said the item was a placeholder and the result of what she called “very preliminary” discussions with the towns three private schools and Camp Sloane about the town and the private organizations chipping in to pay for a second resident trooper.Carter said the main concern — in the aftermath of the Newtown school shooting — is response time in the event of an emergency.Carter said she did not have enough information to have a strong feeling one way or the other about the idea, but thought it prudent to add the money to the budget proposal.She said she would talk with representatives of the other organizations prior to the meeting with the Board of Finance.Board member Beth Vernali said that at a time when the school board is trying to create “fiscally responsible” budget proposals, she wondered about the wisdom of spending an extra $25,000 and suggested sounding out other private organizations in town to see if they were interested. “Maybe cast a wider net.”Board member Amy Lake suggested the cost of a second trooper be determined by percentage of services used by SCS as opposed to the private schools and Camp Sloane.Carter said she was able to reduce the line for computer technology by $11,000 because of a windfall in the form of an unusually successful Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) fundraiser, the Spell-a-Thon, which raised about $12,000 last month.Claude Rolo asked if the PTO was expecting that the money raised would be used for technology “above and beyond” the budgeted amount, not to supplant it, and Carter and Stephanie Thomas both said yes.Ultimately, on board member Jeff Lloyd’s motion, the board removed the extra $25,000 for a second trooper and added $11,000 back to the computer hardware line.Carter said after some discussion it was determined that a request for a $10,000 water cannon to water the athletic fields could be deferred and the lawn maintenance company could handle the task for the 2013-14 school year.On the request for a $30,000 Gator, a utility vehicle to be financed at $5,000 per year, Carter tried to be flexible.She said, “We have a crackerjack custodial staff. They never complain about anything.”But staff members often use their own vehicles for tasks such as spreading salt and sand in the winter.“We do need some kind of utility vehicle,” she said, adding that it didn’t necessarily have to be a Gator (made by John Deere).Several board members suggested subtituting the phrase “utility vehicle” for “Gator” as a way of making the request more palatable to the finance board. “It’s still $30,000” said Carter.Regional, municipal spendingRegion One Board of Education representative Scooter Tedder reported that the regional board’s proposed budget includes four teacher layoffs at Housatonic Valley Regional High School (plus a retirement). “It was a tough decision because it’s a people thing,” he said.Tedder said he was initially against any reductions in faculty until he took a look at the number of students.In the face of declining enrollment, “sooner or later we have to make a cut. The question is when.”The finance board met with the selectmen on their final municipal budget proposal Tuesday, April 2. The school board also met again on April 2, to go over their budget proposal one more time. On Thursday, April 4, the Board of Finance will receive the final school budget proposal and vote on sending the two budget proposals to a public hearing, scheduled for Monday, April 22, 7:30 p.m. at Town Hall.Note: The school board also approved two requests from SCS teachers Rebecca Gaschel-Clark (pre-K) and Rob Nellson (music) to allow their children to attend SCS in 2013-14.