School Board Finds More Cuts, Budget Re-vote Set for May 18
by Nancy Wood,
May 6, 2010, page 1.....

The School Board is listening. At the May 4 meeting they found an additional $60,000 to cut, and voted to warn a revised budget of $7,002,271. The date of the vote is Tuesday, May 18, with the polls open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the multi-purpose room at CCS. The board will hold a public hearing on the new proposal on Thursday, May 13, at 7 p.m. in the CCS library.

The additional $60,000 in savings includes not hiring a third kindergarten teacher (only 31 kindergarten students have registered so far for fall 2010), deferring maintenance (redoing the floor of the stage), removing $10,000 for food service and finding alternative funding for energy efficient lighting. Money will be added for a para-educator to help in the kindergarten classes.

Another program discussed, but in the end not included in the cuts, is the $118,000 budgeted for the Early Learning Program (ELP) that funds a portion of pre-school expenses of a limited number of 3- and 4-year-old children in eligible private facilities such as the Charlotte Children's Center. The cost is in the CCS budget, and the return comes in the next two years when the number of pre-schoolers in the program is added to count of students (ADM) used in calculating the state residential education tax. More students translates into an increase in the amount of state education funds that come to the school, and a lower tax rate.

The cost per pupil in Charlotte, according to CSSU chief operations officer Bob Mason, is “neither the highest nor the lowest” in the district. At the special budget meeting the night before, on May 3, he explained how the ELP works, and indicated that with the increased ADM, the return over time will be greater than this first year expense.

The additional $60,000 in cuts was a compromise proposed by Sue Thibault, supported by Kristin Wright and Dan Luce. Lynne Jaunich had advocated for $70,000 in cuts. In the end, the board unanimously approved warning the $7,002,2271 budget for a town vote on May 18. Clyde Baldwin made it clear that his vote to warn the budget was not the same as approving the budget. He was looking for additional savings in the foreign language program and the ELP.

At the May 3 meeting, board chair Lynne Jaunich acknowledged the differing opinions in the community about the school budget. The public raised more questions and made suggestions, and the board went to work seeking new cuts with the caveat that the quality of education would not be sacrificed.

Kim Servin cautioned the board about restricting kindergarten to two teachers based on May enrollment and expressed concerns about deferred maintnance.
Several speakers said they believed the budget would fail again if the board did not make further concessions. Others praised the board for the effort already made.
With a PowerPoint presentation, Jaunich attempted to dispel misconceptions about the budget.
Points made were:
• The board has listened to the community with a budget process that has included 13 warned meetings since September.
• The hiring of co-principals will cost only $3,000 more than current spending on administrators (including the special educator being reduced from full- to half-time), and will improve the educational leadership of the school.
• The differences in salaries are based on experience, not gender. Greg Marino, the K-4th grade co-principal, has six years more of education experience and more graduate credits than 5th-8th grade co-principal Audrey Boutaugh. Marino’s salary is $107,000, and Boutaugh’s is $95,000.
• The proposed budget is a significant decrease in spending. The board has cut $750,000 in staffing, transportation and supplies to offset increases totalling $600,000 for instructional and support services and the first of 17 annual payments on the school construction bond.
• A budget has to be passed by the voters. The board can borrow money to open the school, but must keep bringing budgets back to the voters until one is passed in order to raise tax revenues to pay off the debt and interest. Money borrowed can be invested.

The current (fiscal year 2010) budget of $7,239,180 was level-funded compared to the prior year. The revised budget voted down on April 6 was $176,909 (2.44%) less than the current budget. The new revised budget of $7,002,271 is $236,909 (3.27%) less than the current budget.

The education tax impact of the new proposed $7,002,271 budget will depend on the residential tax rate set by the Legislature, possibly this week. The range will be $0.92 to $0.94 (increases of 2.85% to 5.24%). Total residential tax increase would be slightly less when blended with the CVU rate (2.6% to 5% increase, depending on what the Legislature does with the rate).
The budget does not affect non-residential education taxes which are expected to increase for Charlotte .73% to 22%, depending on the nonresidential rate set by the Legislature. The 45% of Charlotte residents who are eligible for income sensitivity will have their property tax bills adjusted based on income.