Savage: Town catching up with school district bills

WINSTED — Winchester Public Schools Business Manager Nadine Savage reviewed the district’s current financial situation with the Board of Education at its meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 12, at Town Hall.The district’s budget for the 2012-2013 school year, as set by residents at a town referendum in October, is $19,958,149.According to Savage, as of Jan. 31 the district has spent $11,090,687 so far this school year.Savage said earlier in the school year the town did not make adequate payments to the district in order to pay its bills.According to a finance report issued by Savage for the period of July 1 to Dec. 31, 2012, the town paid the school district $7,740,908.However, during the month of January, the town paid the school district an extra $3,349,779, which allowed for the district to pay various overdue bills.“The town is now making efforts to release funds for the school district,” Savage said. “Because of that, we are no longer in shutoff status with Yankee Gas, Connecticut Light and Power, the phone company and our health insurance provider.”Savage spoke to the board about how former town Finance Director Henry Centrella handled town funds in relation to the school district.“Beginning back in October, Henry would tell [school district Assistant Business Manager Mara Gieseking] to not spend too much money in the course of a week,” Savage said. “He told her to pay what you absolutely have to pay if someone is calling you. This is why we went into payment arrangements with several companies because they were making phone calls three or four times a day threatening Mara or me. It got to the point where we couldn’t get any work done.”In a review of the school district’s current financial status, Savage said the wages line item for the school year is currently underspent by $205,337.She said the amount is due to position vacancies which were filled after the school year started, overtime funds which have not yet been expended, retroactive contractual increases which have not been paid and a balance for paying substitute teachers for the remainder of the school year.However, Savage noted several line items in the school district’s budget she projects will be overspent by the end of the year.She said the Other Professional Services line item, which was originally budgeted for $84,500, will be overspent by $38,209.The Other Contracted Services line item, which was not even budgeted for according to the district’s financial report for January, will cost the district $39,000.The Out of District Tuition line item, which was originally budgeted for $2,295,199, will be overspent by $373,647.The Special Education Transportation line item, originally budgeted for $629,000, will be overspent by $165,770.Finally, the Extended School Year Tuition line item, originally budgeted at $12,000, will be overspent by $89,445.“We have limited control over these expenditures,” Savage said. “We have recently purchased a van to help with transportation expenses. Due to the cash flow problems with the town, we were unable to purchase the van until recently. This year, it will result in a smaller than anticipated savings in the Special Education Transportation line item.”Savage said because of the van purchase, the district should see substantial savings in transportation costs in the next school year.“We are diligently working to limit expenditures in other areas to account for this,” she said. “In addition, we are trying to find alternative ways to cut costs to this area without jeopardizing the required services to the students.”Savage said because costs to the district are much higher than originally anticipated, the district is set to receive a cost reimbursement of $238,000 from the state.“There are indicators that we may receive more reimbursements than originally anticipated, but it is not concrete at this point,” Savage said.