Selectmen stew over school budget mess

WINSTED — Members of the Winchester Board of Selectmen gave strong hints Tuesday night that they will be asking for the resignation of Superintendent of Schools Blaise Salerno if an audit of the school system’s 2009-10 budget confirms their worst fears.

Mayor Candy Perez told Salerno that board members are extremely frustrated that the school budget is still showing an overspend of at least $350,000 and that the worst-case scenario, presented by town Finance Director Henry Centrella, would put the overspend at more than $600,000.

Town Manager Wayne Dove reported to selectmen that he had met with Salerno on Friday, July 2, and that the superintendent indicated the overspend was significantly more than had been reported in recent weeks. Salerno had previously estimated the overspend at approximately $120,000.

Dove said an accountant from the Hartford firm Blum Shapiro would be in Winsted Wednesday to perform an operational audit of the 2009-10 school budget and that selectmen should wait until after the audit is completed to make comments, but board members made it clear they were not happy with the situation.

“This is completely unacceptable,� said Selectman Ken Fracasso, who had been warning townspeople for weeks that he believed the school system’s overspend was more than school officials were acknowledging. Selectmen Lisa Smith and Michael Renzullo added that they have lost trust in the superintendent and the Board of Education because of the budget issue.

Salerno noted in a written analysis of the 2009-10 budget that the primary reason for overspending for the fiscal year came from increased tuition costs for out-of-district placements and an influx of special education students.

Looking beyond Wednesday’s audit, Salerno noted that the town’s fund balance is approximately $400,000 and could grow to as much as $600,000 in the coming weeks. But under the worst-case scenario, that money could get eaten up by the school budget problem.

Selectman Karen Beadle said she has no intention of using any of the fund balance to pay school-budget debts. Fracasso echoed that sentiment. “I won’t touch it,� he said. “I’ll put a million dollars into it, but I won’t take one red cent out of it.�

The next likely option for selectmen would be to issue a supplemental tax bill to the community.

“I think the frustration that’s actually being held back right now, is that we have been asking for these numbers for so, so long,� Mayor Perez told Salerno. “If the audit confirms what’s before us, I think the board is going to have a very strong statement.�

Selectman Fracasso added a thinly veiled hint that the board’s statement could come in the form of a request for Salerno’s resignation. “We’ll see what happens at the audit and then we’ll see who’s still here on July 12,� he said, referring to the board’s next meeting.

Perez said she agreed with Fracasso’s statement, adding that the board will hold two special meetings July 12. The first, at 6 p.m., will be to discuss the 2009-10 school budget, followed by a 7 p.m. meeting with the town’s new education task force.