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Fairfield Superintendent of Schools David Title may have fewer new teachers than he expected next year. The Board of Selectmen voted to trim the Board of Education's funding request by $2 million for 2011-12. First Selectman Kenneth Flatto said the district does not need to add new staff in this economic climate.
Theres always wonderful new programs that can be considered, Flatto said. But in this environment, to request new programs is not fair to the rest of the town departments, [or] to the rest of the town citizens.
The Board of Education initially asked for a 4.9 percent increase in its funding for 2011-12, but only 4.4 percent of that would be new spending. The rest would be covered by state grants that previously went directly to the school system but now go into the towns coffers first.
Flatto initially suggested reducing the amount of the increase to 3.75 percent, taking off about $1.6 million from the request. The board took off another $400,000 on Tuesday. Selectman Sherri Steeneck proposed cutting even more to make up for the $1.5 million the Board of Education used from the towns health-care contingency to cover cuts in last years budget. Selectman James Walsh, however, suggested the smaller cut.
I think cutting it that much in any given year would severely affect the program, Walsh said. In essence, wed be mad at the Board of Education but punishing the children.
The Board of Selectmen, along with the two town boards that still have to approve the budget (the Board of Finance and the Representative Town Meeting), cannot outline specific cuts for the school district to make. They can only adjust the total funding amount, forcing the Board of Education to make the cuts. But Title said in hearings that the only real place to make cuts would be staffing.
My chances of being able to recommend a budget cut that does not affect personnel is remote, he said. There may be some relatively small areas that are nonpersonnel-related that we could get to.
The selectmen also agreed to increase town-side spending by 4.34 percent. The biggest spending increases outside the school system will be in Public Works (up 9.69 percent), Culture and Recreation (up 4.89 percent), and Public Safety (up 3.47 percent).
Overall, the mill rate in Fairfield could jump to 22.36 mills in 2011-12, up from the current 19.35. But because most properties saw a decrease in value in the 2010 revaluation, the actual tax bills for most Fairfielders will go down next year.
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