Salerno proposes $22.5 million budget

WINSTED — Community members and town officials met Tuesday night at Pearson Middle School to hear a summary of a proposed budget of $22.5 million for the 2010-11 school year.

Superintendent of Schools Blaise Salerno invited parents and community member to participate in the discussion, which was billed as the first of three rounds of the 2010-11 Citizen Budget Advisory Workshop.

“This is an opportunity for you to comment and let us know what you would like to see enhanced or reduced,� Salerno told the group. “They are all taken into consideration.�

The proposed budget of $22,585,590.12 is more than $1.2 million greater than the current year’s amended budget of $21,362,983, reflecting a 5.7-percent increase. But that is before the Board of Education, Board of Selectmen and voters of the town each get a crack at making reductions.

The school system’s business manager, Ed Evanouskas, gave a summary of the current fiscal year, which ends June 30, and said he believes the Board of Education is on target to finish the year in the black. “The bills are paid,� he said.

Evanouskas presented a list of significant increases and decreases to the operating budget that have occurred this fiscal year, primarily due to the hiring of new staff with grant money obtained by the school system. These increases were reflected in the amended budget of $21,362,983 for the current year.

Marsha Sterling, a former member of the town’s School Building Committee, questioned some of the numbers in Evanouskas’ report, including figures that suggest the school system’s budget is off by nearly $90,000. Evanouskas said a discrepancy exists because he has not yet accounted for additional expected revenue, but did not have an exact answer for Sterling’s query.

Both Evanouskas and Salerno noted that the current budget is still evolving as revenues come in and that the 2010-11 proposal is only in draft form at this point. “I think we’re trying to be as transparent as we can possibly be,� Evanouskas said.

But Sterling also questioned the fact that the school system’s budgeted maintenance projects list has remained essentially the same for the past three years, with the Board of Education ultimately putting aside the projects each year to cover shortfalls. “The maintenance budget has been the piggy bank,� Sterling said. “Now we’re asking people to once again fill up the piggy bank.�

Sterling said she sees a credibility problem with the school’s business office and suggested that clearer and more accurate numbers should be presented. “It’s difficult when you have one piece of paper that says one thing and another that says something else,� she said.

Several attendees also wondered aloud what the town and school system are going to do in future years, when state and federal funding are expected to decrease. For the current year, the federal government has stepped in to help local school districts pay for a reduction in Education Cost Sharing (ECS) funding from the state. But town leaders have noted that the federal bailout is considered a one-time deal.

“You have to be careful about building a system that requires additional support when the feds walk away,� Sterling said. “If you keep building the system with a bigger platform and temporary supports, when the supports go away, it could be catastrophic.�

Board of Education Chairman Kathleen O’Brien said all towns in Connecticut are facing the same problem. “The state of Connecticut is going to have to figure something out because if they cut everyone [by 14 percent], there will be a real problem. I don’t think we’re going to lose that amount of money. I really doubt it.�