DARIEN, Conn. Darien elementary schools will most likely have Spanish language programs and a social worker in the fall. Administrators adjusted the budget to keep those programs after the town cut $340,000 from its spending plan for next year.
Of the cuts, about $175,000 came from the schools pension program, leaving $165,000 to slash in other areas. The schools eliminated $44,000 from curriculum supervision, in which senior teachers coach younger ones.
The maintenance budget was set to increase by $90,000, but Superintendent Stephen Falcone said $9,000 was shaved off that increase. The board also cut back $20,000 from the technology fund, which he said would have been used for research and development.
Adjustments to the special education program allowed it to cut two paraprofessional positions, Falcone said. The board also cut some funds for cafeteria furniture.
It is still unclear whether more teachers will be needed at the elementary level. Holmes Elementary and Ox Ridge Elementary are projecting a few more students than initially expected, which may require an additional section at each school.
The district is monitoring the situation to see whether students leave over the summer and will decide in August whether the additional sections will be needed, Assistant Superintendent Judith Pandolfo said. Should the schools need to hire additional teachers, there will be enough space to accommodate them, she said.
Falcone said he intends to move forward with the foreign language and social worker programs. More budget adjustments may be needed if more sections are required in the elementary schools, board members Morgan Whittier and Elizabeth Hagerty-Ross said.
The approved budget for the 2012-13 school year is $79,984,182. Falcone said, We are going to meet that budget.
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