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Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Council Sets Budget Cap: No Increase for BOE

The Norwalk Common Council voted last night for a $281 million budget cap--a 1% increase-- that will result in the BOE looking for millions in savings next school year.

The word went out in January from City Hall that departments were expected to submit zero increase budgets. However the BOE under former interim Superintendent Bill Papallo submitted a budget of $155 million – a 3.4% increase from last year’s expenditure.  The bulk of the additional money in the BOE’s proposal was to meet contractual obligations with teachers and administrators for benefits, pensions, and increased pay. No additional programming or staff were included in the "status quo" budget.

Many school administrators and union officials were present at the council meeting and spoke during the public comments section in support of the BOE’s proposed budget, but to no avail.

“There’s no way that a cut in spending will not have an impact on student achievement,” said current interim Superintendent Michael Nast. “There is a lot of anxiety in our schools right now.”

(Mr. Nast also said that the BOE was in the process of interviewing a finalist for superintendent as the meeting was going on.  Refreshing candor from our new interim!)

Bruce Mellion, President of the NFT, called zero increase on the school budget "unconscionable, unnecessary and irresponsible."

"We have always done our part," said Mr. Mellion referring to the the changes in healthcare plans and minor raise negotiated as part of the coming year's teacher contract.

Council member Laurel Lindstrom (D) said, "Our children only go through the school system once. Eliminating a school program is not the same as holding off on other things."

Council Member Nora King asked why the city was being given a 1% increase but not the schools.  Tom Hamilton, the City's Director of Finance, replied that much of the increase was related to benefits and pension contribution of which non union BOE members were a part.

Democrats on the Common Council made a motion, initiated by Council Member Calvin Hilliard (D) to meet the BOE half-way by proposing a $3 million increase to the city’s budget in order to accommodate the BOE’s needs, but the Republican majority, 9-5, shot them down.

"Let me remind you that the BOE budget is not being cut," said Council Member Nick Kydes (R).  "It is a zero increase, just like all the other city departments. This is the prudent thing to do."

“ Nobody wants to take anything away from the classroom, but there are areas to cut,” said  Council Member Joanne T. Romano (R). “You have to find a way to do it.”

Fred Wilms, Chair of the Board of Estimation and Taxation (BET), said in an interview during the break  that the BOE should start to work with its unions immediately on renegotiating contracts awarded last year. “It’s unprofessional to wait until June to look wage freezes, early retirements and furlough days,” he said.

Over the next couple of months, the BET will work with the Superintendent's office to set a formal limit on the BOE budget, due in May. A public hearing on the budget is set for March 24th.  The BOE makes up 60 percent of the city's operating budget.  
Posted by Moina Noor

22 comments:

  1. So let me get this straight. The NFT, who seems to be against anything that requires their teachers to actually "perform" their jobs like the rest of the world does, is against charter schools and against anything that doesn't include a raise for teachers whose students aren't even meeting minimal standards of success. It's time to stop listening to these guys and start running our schools like the rest of the world's businesses are managed.
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  2. It's the unions. How about this. Lets take the poor performing teachers from Norwalk and switch them with the excellent teachers from Wilton. What will happen to Norwalk's test scores there Anonymous? Nothing! Now go back to your business and keep it out of public education.
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  3. I am not sure what your point is, 4:56. It is easy to teach well prepared middle class students from Wilton, or New Canaan, or Westport, or even Norwalk. I'd love to see them work with our poor kids, kids who don't speak English, transient English language learners coming in every week, kids who've got spotty school history, and kids with language deprivation and no books in their homes. These children CAN learn and succeed, and a couple of our schools have proved it. But it sure isn't easy.

    As a long time Norwalk resident, parent, and administrator, I would challenge bringing the 'excellent' teachers from Wilton you tout into our schools. They wouldn't know where to begin. Are we perfect? Absolutely not. But you are making a ridiculous comparison.
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  4. 'a couple of our schools have proved it' says 6:54. The success stories in Norwalk are schools with the same funding as other schools who are not success stories. Is funding the problem or is the problem what happens in each particular school? Are All the adults in that school pulling their weight?
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  5. To my way of thinking, what the Common Council did is like throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
    Maybe, if the Board of Ed had actually allowed the budget to go to the finance committee where it could have been reviewed a little, the people responsible for passing a tax hike onto us would have had a little faith that the BOE would do the right thing with the extra money.
    The BOE certainly didn't do that last year-- then, they cut lots of clerks and secretaries at midnight, rather than figure out where all the waste is.
    As long as there are only two votes on the board of ed for transparency and some fiscal sanity, I think we're in for more of the same.
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  6. 4:56 You couldn't be more wrong. Instead of blaming the children and their families lets look at schools that HAVE achieved such goals of excellence and improvement in Norwalk, with very similar demographic representation of ALL of the minority groups. Nathan Hale and Side by Side Charter School to name a few. Don't pull the best teachers from the best schools, instead get better teachers, more training and bring our "need of improvement" school up to THEIR level, not them down to ours. It can work. Like any organization, it takes commitment, it takes support and it takes time and discipline, but it is possible.
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  7. Nathan Hale does NOT have the same minority population as the other middle schools. It is an unfair comparison. I am sure the teachers there are doing a wonderful job, but let's compare schools with the same demographics to Nathan Hale. Also let's look at the long term CMT scores. Compare five years of test scores. Don't jump to conclusions based on a 'little' evidence.

    The Norwalk teachers, for the most part, are quite good. Yes, there are those that need to find another career. Unions need to stop protecting these people. That's something that does need to be changed.
    Just don't assume all teachers are terrible in low performing schools, though. Parents do need to take their share of the blame. Parents who do not emphasize the importance of education and who do not follow through are just as much to blame as a poor teacher.
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  8. Side by Side? What scores are you looking at? Certainly not CMT scores....
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  9. Once again, we're all pitting one Norwalk school against another and bashing the teaching staff. This does not help solve the problems! I'm not denying that there should be accountability (for teachers) and transparency (NPS). I don't know how the BOE could have put that budget through without having the Finance committee go over it with a fine tooth comb? Now the hard work begins and the fighting erupts. Once again, pitting school against school. We need to break this cycle and make some real changes... And so the saga continues...
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  10. The BOE needed to put that budget through because it made a statement. The BOE is only looking for zero growth. Education should be of primary importance.

    BTW, where does one find the CMT test scores for Side by Side Charter Schools? Last time I looked, they were abysmal.
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  11. HELLO! Is anyone asking about leadership from the department of instruction? Even if the principals don't have to answer to the instructional specialists in this department, they do have to answer to the immediate superior of the instructional specialists, namely, the assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction. Note carefully the last word in the previous sentence. The ASI is responsible for more than curriculum documents; he is responsible for overseeing instruction as well. Is anyone asking what his plan is for improving instruction in the district? I hope it goes beyond CALI training, which is a program created and run by the State Department of Education. Tell us what the NPS will be doing.

    The typical weak-kneed comment people will make is that schools are site-based, and so the principals are responsible for all of the above. That being the case, who needs the central office department of curriculum and instruction?
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  12. 10:33 a.m. misses the point because the budget submitted by Papaload and blindly approved by a 7-2 vote was not a "zero growth" budget. There were increases for some departments.
    10:33 a.m. is right that the Board of Ed made a statement-- that statement was, with two exceptions, it's more of the same-- can't wait to see this year's scare tactic.
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  13. Calling all Parents! We need to step up and fight for our kids education - the energy we use here should be used in front of the Board of Ed, Finance Committee, and more importantly the Board of Estimates and Taxation. There is an aprx $5M that Central Office has to cut – yet a ‘Status – Quo’- budget was presented – which means, that the increase added to the budget mainly supports the increase of pension/health and salaries of the teachers & admin. The city’s taxes will increase aprx 4% to support just that – the union’s demands. This is unacceptable in many ways. If other city unions can place a hold on salary increases and look into other options then why can’t our educational unions do the same? If unions don’t play their part – schools will start facing drastic cuts – Stand UP Parents – pay attention, these cuts will affect us all.
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  14. Why not set the example by having the superintendent, the assistant superintendent, the director of human resources, and the director of human relations take voluntary pay and benefit cuts? Better yet, have the first three give back and eliminate the job of the fourth.

    It will be a challenge to get those in the bargaining units to give back, but I can't see why they would even consider give-backs if the people in the superintendent's cabinet haven't shared the pain? The top two salaried people won't suffer at all because they get paid huge salaries, and I'm sure that Human Resources won't suffer either. The director of Human Relations does nothing that I consider helpful in the school district.
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  15. Can we have some HEROIC LEADERSHIP!
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  16. A Status Quo Budget, unfortunately, still may contain numerous questions -- questions that should have been thoroughly discussed before sending the budget to the BET and Council. To name just a few:

    1. The organization of our Special Education Department, the last time I looked, had five assistant administrators. From the discussions that took place last year regarding Spectrum Learning, it seemed to a lot of people that we could live without all or most of these positions. Has this been discussed?

    2. The proposed budget has a total of seven reserve teachers. I understand the rationale for these positions; however, I have worked on 12 city budgets -- from both the city side and from the BOE side -- and I do not recall ever having this many reserve positions (in case of late enrollment spikes).

    3. Our Legal Services costs, and perhaps other Consultant costs, may indeed be the same as last year. However, why has there been no detailed discussion of these costs? I would hope that they would be drastically curtailed in these tough times.

    4. A few years ago I spent roughly one hour going over all the Central Office object codes in the budget, making small cuts here and there -- for a total of over %500,000. Closely following the many budget transfers that are approved throughout the year indicates that many of these object codes are basically small contingency funds that are moved around as deficits arise. This issue also needs to be discussed.

    5. Last year, there was some discussion about a possible reorganization of the school system's custodial services during the budget process. Has this been looked at?

    6. Lastly, currently, Norwalk's Parks and Recreation Department, the Public Works Department, and the BOE are responsible for school grounds. Some type of rationalization of this odd division of labor would probably generate savings. Has the Board discussed this?

    Another point that needs to be made is that cutting positions does not mean people lose jobs. Generally, after normal attrition and retirements are factored in, nobody actually loses their job -- they are just moved to other areas of the system.
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  17. In the interest of equity, the board of education needs to look at the staffing of all of the schools. I just looked at the high schools' proposed budgets, and I saw that Norwalk High School's enrollment has decreased very significantly over the past few years, and yet, it has not lost teaching staff. I know they have a different schedule there, but it's time to decide if that schedule can be justified. If it can, then McMahon ought to do the same. How can it be equitable for these two high schools to have very different teacher to student ratios? Also, how can a high school with under 1,500 students projected for next year still have the same size administration as it did when the school had hundreds more students? I think the number of counselors is the same, too. I know it's comfortable to have the same structure in each of the houses of the school, but it's time to think out of the box and to reorganize in a way that is more responsible to the taxpayers.

    I haven't had time yet to look at the middle and elementary schools, but I hope to do so soon.
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  18. Several years ago, some members of the Board, as well as the public, had a number of questions about Norwalk High's schedule. Our concerns were more about its educational value than its budgetary consequences. I agree that it should be addressed.

    To achieve major savings in the proposed budget I would examine closely the section that begins on page 72 -- object codes by administrative departments (this is basically how the various central office departments are organized) and the section that begins on page 111 -- object code summaries for the district.

    Regarding the administrative organization of the district, remember that this is a district of 10,000 students, not a million. Also, even though the state Strategic School Profile for Norwalk might indicate that our administrative structure is consistent with other Connecticut districts, so what? Just because everyone does it, does not make it right, or even efficient?

    Regarding the object code summaries: Although it offers reasons for the various amounts under many of the hundreds of codes, it begs many, many questions that should have been examined by the BOE before voting on the budget.

    Instead of accepting the reasons provided for these expenses, the real questions should concern the "whys." Why not reduce or eliminate certain expenses entirely? I believe that's a fair question.

    Spending the same amount in the coming year on, let's say, traveling to professional conferences I suppose could be construed as maintaining a certain level of spending, i.e., the status quo. But, considering the economic circumstances, perhaps it might be better to suspend travel to conferences altogether?
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  19. Great Questions Bruce - please be a speaker on Tuesday, March 2nd at the BOE - and break it all down. The same should happen at the Finance Committee which is Thursday, 3/4, if you can make it. Parents need to be vocal to prevent any reductions in our classes.
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  20. If I were a McMahon staff member, parent or student, I would be very angry at the staffing discrepancy. I don't fit any of those groups, but I am a taxpayer, and Norwalk taxpayers need to know that their dollars are being spent responsibly. They also need to know that students are given equal opportunities to succeed.
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  21. The cuts to the BOE budget will require PROGRAM cuts. How else are you going to save that kind of money? Let's get real here. Norwalk parents, students will lose programs! Don't be surprised when you hear that. It will NOT be a move to shock everyone. It's the only way to make that deep a cut.

    One consideration is to look at grants, however. There are millions of dollars in state grants that might save some programs if creatively thought out. Why does the BOE never look that way? Check out the state grants and what Norwalk is allowed to fund through those grants. There is a Priority School Grant, I believe, that will fund almost anything.
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  22. The Priority School District Grant (PSDG) is an entitlement grant that Norwalk has had for many years. Since it is an entitlement, Norwalk receives it because the district meets certain criteria, but there is no way that the school system can get more PSDG money.
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