Gilbert announces layoffs

WINSTED — With state budget constraints looming and all towns looking to save money, The Gilbert School has announced it will cut at least five positions from its 2009-10 budget, but that might not be enough to avoid a fiscal confrontation with the Winchester Board of Education.

In a press release dated March 19, Superintendent of Schools David Cressy said Gilbert will lay off its dean of academic affairs, one science teacher, one English teacher, a special education teacher and one full-time paraprofessional. The W.L. Gilbert School Trust Corporation decided to make the cuts at its March 18 regular meeting.

In an interview Tuesday, Winchester Superintendent of Schools Blaise Salerno said the cuts are a step in the right direction, but they may not be enough.

"The per-pupil tuition at Gilbert is $15,634," Salerno noted. "That’s too high. Even though there has been an effort to reduce their budget, and I appreciate it, we are going to have to meet and talk about the budget." Despite a reduced overall budget, the per-pupil cost is a significant increase from this year’s figure of approximately $13,900.

Members of both the Winchester and Gilbert boards have agreed to hold a joint meeting on Monday, April 6, to discuss their forthcoming budgets. By contract, the town’s school board is obligated to pay the bill for tuition at Gilbert, but that contract is subject to mediation and arbitration as requested by the two parties. The Winchester school board has already requested mediation.

"We have requested mediation, but we have indicated we would like to have substantive discussions," Salerno noted. "Both parties have agreed to delay the timeline that would force us to name a mediator. I think both of us are saying, ‘Lets see if we can’t sit down and talk about this.’"

Cressy noted in last week’s statement that Gilbert’s proposed budget will be $208,000 less than the current year, reflecting a 3.5-percent decrease in the semi-private school’s contracted tuition rate for the town’s high school population.

The superintendent also noted that the staffing cuts are in line with a drop in enrollment during the past several years.

"In 2002-03, Gilbert had 53 instructional certified positions," Cressy wrote. "In 2008-09, that number has dropped to 41. With the cuts approved by the school corporation, the instructional staff will number 38 members in 2009-10, a reduction of 15 teachers or just under 30 percent of the staff. In the same time period, student enrollment has dropped from approximately 503 students to 367 students, or approximately 27 percent.

"It is important to reiterate that all cuts of personnel come before any further reductions that might be necessitated by the request for mediation/arbitration that has been initiated by the Winchester Board of Education," Cressy noted, adding that Gilbert is hoping to avoid that hurdle. "The Gilbert School Corporation voted unanimously to offer to meet with the Winchester Board of Education on April 6 to attempt to resolve the budget differences and to determine if the parties might be able to avoid expensive and time-consuming mediation and arbitration."

Salerno said he has hope for a positive outcome, but he did not rule out mediation.

"We’re facing the same kind of decline in enrollment as Gilbert," he said. "We are both facing the same kinds of differences in student population, and we have many more high needs. The costs are increasing despite our efforts."

Still, avoiding mediation is something Salerno said will ultimately save time and money.

"I believe the people on the corporation board and my board are reasonable," he said. "My hope is always that reasonable people may disagree, but if they try real hard, they can come to a point where they can find common ground."