[4:08] No, no. You want to everyone excited to be here for the budget. [laughter]

[4:17] » Thank you. Sorry to interrupt your conversations. I know it's nice to um

[4:21] see people socially too, not just at work. So, uh we're going to get the

[4:26] meeting started. I think it's like 9:03. And uh call the meeting to order. And

[4:32] we'll start with the pledge of allegiance.

[4:36] I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the

[4:41] republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and

[4:47] justice for all. >> I just do want to thank everyone for

[4:53] coming out on a Saturday morning. I know that uh everyone has things they might

[4:58] want to be doing other than this, but understands the super important stuff.

[5:02] So, thank you. Uh thank you for all the administrators and uh who've come out

[5:08] today to uh be part of this process. And I see Doug

[5:15] Harding from finance is here. I don't know if I'm missing anyone else. Oh, and

[5:18] Logan Johnson's walking in from finance. So, uh thank you go thank you all for

[5:23] being here. We look forward to partnering with you on this budget. I'm

[5:28] going to now turn the meeting over to Oliver Barton. Thank you.

[5:33] » Thank you, Carrie. And thanks board members, too. You've been putting in a

[5:36] lot of time on meetings. Um my wife said to me two days ago, you're having

[5:41] another budget meeting. Like I it's getting to the point where I'm not sure

[5:44] she believes it. That's why I want to make sure they're all posted on the

[5:47] website. She could check it there if she has any questions. So um but thank you

[5:53] for being here. Um it is a lot of meetings but it is very very important

[5:57] and um as we've mentioned in all our other budget meetings we recognize that

[6:02] this is a particularly challenging year um across the whole community

[6:06] financially and so we're very committed to um partnering uh with the town and

[6:13] spending very wisely. So, uh, today I'll do a very brief recap of Thursday's

[6:20] meeting and then Alicia will, uh, lead us through a dig a deeper dive digging a

[6:26] little deeper in the budget. Um, and we'll have plenty of time for questions

[6:31] and answers and we'll be done, um, even before our scheduled time. So, we're

[6:36] we're really focused on efficiency and moving along. But, um, thank you for

[6:39] being here and, um, we appreciate your participation and your questions when we

[6:44] get to that part.

[6:48] over here. [snorts]

[6:57] All right. Uh so that was today's schedule.

[7:04] Oops. Okay. So um the on Thursday uh we provided budget books for the board.

[7:10] They're posted online and uh we do have copies if you need one. Um the increase

[7:17] from last year to this year is 1.4 million. Um that looks like a really big

[7:22] number. I I reduced the font a little bit because it looked really really big,

[7:26] but um um those that Alicia will explain

[7:30] further, but that's driven mostly by contractual cost increases.

[7:35] uh and it's a 2.93% increase in the budget overall.

[7:43] So, uh recapping a little bit from Thursday's meeting, uh we're staying

[7:49] with the priorities that we've uh focused on for the last several years,

[7:53] and that's first off budgeting and spending carefully. So, [snorts] of

[7:57] course, that means keeping our increases as low as possible. Uh we're super

[8:02] committed to transparency. Uh, I'd like to say this budget is almost naked. Um,

[8:08] and I don't think it would pass the high school dress code because there's we've

[8:13] chipped away as much as possible. Um, and you'll be able to look at those

[8:17] numbers in great detail. But we want you to be able to see from the the public

[8:21] perspective and the board perspective exactly what's in the budget and and

[8:26] what it's for, what we're spending the money on, uh, and why increases do

[8:30] occur. And that transparency is very important.

[8:34] That's why everything is posted publicly and why we want to entertain questions

[8:38] at all of our meetings um now and going forward. Additionally, we're really

[8:43] focused on a high return on investment. And I don't mean that in the big picture

[8:47] sense uh as far as our overall performance as a district, our student

[8:53] performance uh and the incredible uh environment we create for student

[8:58] learning. but that each part of the budget is really designed carefully to

[9:03] provide the maximum value for the dollars that we spend. So that's what I

[9:08] mean by uh high return on investment and we're committed to doing that across all

[9:13] the different parts of the budget. So we also presented a little bit on

[9:18] context and trends. Uh there are no new positions in the budget other than a few

[9:25] positions that we determined were extremely important and that we're able

[9:29] to achieve uh by shifting resources. So, we're not adding positions in terms of

[9:34] additional positions in the budget um in the general operating budget, but we're

[9:39] looking for ways to repurpose a little bit inhouse and to use some state grant

[9:45] money um to meet some needs over the next few

[9:49] years. So, um we're also looking at the special revenue account, the money

[9:55] generated through the basis program, and we'll hear more about that. On Thursday,

[9:59] we looked at uh into how that provides for savings across the district and uh

[10:05] Dr. Leaport did some further calculations for us and um is able to

[10:10] demonstrate um over a million dollars in savings um actually more like $2 million

[10:16] and and we'll provide that number exactly um that we save by not

[10:21] outplacing students and uh also have the benefit of keeping those students close

[10:25] to home and in house. So, it's a and it's an educational benefit for those

[10:30] students. Uh, but we're also inviting students in from other districts and

[10:33] that tuition uh those tuition accounts are very helpful in our overall budget

[10:38] and for funding basis.

[10:42] Um we the part of the other other parts of the context of course are that we are

[10:47] in the lower 10 lowest um handful of districts in the state in terms of our

[10:53] overall spending and our increases have remained um fairly moderate over time.

[11:00] Um these are the last five years of uh

[11:04] proposed budgets and approved budgets and uh there were some obviously some uh

[11:11] needs for expanding a little bit in the middle to meet certain costs. Uh but

[11:15] we're carefully trimming uh and proposing budgets that we believe are

[11:19] super responsible as far as the the money we're spending and how we're

[11:23] spending it. And in terms of keeping our increases the increases as low as

[11:29] possible, um I like to think of it as the fact that in this budget, in this

[11:35] proposed budget, we've already done this part of it, right? We have chiseled away

[11:39] over and over to get to where we are. and Alicia will um provide some further

[11:44] detail on that. Uh so the last bar on the right is that

[11:48] 2.93% which is our superintendent's proposed

[11:52] budget for this year. Uh looking ahead a bit um a week from

[11:58] this Wednesday coming up there'll be a finance committee board of ed finance

[12:02] committee review of the budget again. So you have the detailed information to

[12:08] check through. Uh and at that meeting we can answer additional questions that

[12:12] come up and the board of finance will review and consider the budget or the

[12:17] committee will consider the budget uh at [snorts] that time further. Um after

[12:21] that a week after that on a Wednesday is the next board of ed meeting and that's

[12:25] when we would expect a vote on the budget by the board of education to

[12:29] adopt the budget. And uh following that, February 9th, the department budgets are

[12:36] due to the town. And on the 11th, soon after, the board of ed presents to the

[12:41] board of finance um at a budget hearing in April, midappril, uh there's a budget

[12:49] public hearing. So, uh that will be here in the high school auditorium so that

[12:53] there's plenty of room u for participation and questions.

[12:58] Uh and then I meanwhile we are you know we do hear further information from the

[13:04] state. These these items are actually um mostly predicted and decided at this

[13:09] point. The only variable really there is the excess cost grant um and we've heard

[13:15] on the other the other items on magnet tuition um ECS which is capped the state

[13:20] contribution is capped um flat the same as last year. So there won't really be

[13:27] any further information in that regard. Then uh May 12th on a Tuesday is the

[13:33] annual budget meeting for the town and they have the opportunity to vote on a

[13:38] budget then. That that is a possibility, but more likely two weeks out from that

[13:43] um there'd likely be a budget referendum. So um we look forward to

[13:47] that going smoothly and partnering with the town along the way. um and obviously

[13:52] always being available for questions uh and your continued involvement.

[13:59] So that's the quick recap and Alicia has a lot of detail and information to share

[14:03] with us uh and then we'll do questions.

[14:26] So, I'm taking off all the pages. He went through.

[14:35] All right. So, let's dig deeper into the budget.

[14:40] So, I wanted to start with some details on the increase and really break it down

[14:45] by pieces. you do this you do have this on page

[14:50] 10 within your budget book um but I wanted to take some time to talk about

[14:54] it a little bit right so we know that the increase is about 1.4 4 million and

[14:59] and as we know this piece the biggest piece is is always salaries. Um so we

[15:05] can see here the increase to those contractual salaries is 1341 954.

[15:11] Um our second biggest is here is the travel and transportation. Uh and a and

[15:16] a big piece of that is there is an increase to the outplacement

[15:20] transportation and we've accounted for that within the budgetary line. And I'll

[15:24] talk some more about where we started there and where we are a little bit

[15:27] later in the in the presentation with the other employee cost. Um that's

[15:33] 50,785 operational fairly small at 15252.

[15:38] But you can also see down here that we made some reductions to instructional

[15:43] services and supplies and also in the tuition line. So where you might see

[15:48] that outplacement um transportation go up for certain reasons, you're also

[15:52] seeing that tuition drop down because it depends on if there's private, public,

[15:56] and where that outplacement is being paid to.

[16:03] Here it is in the number form. So you can see it there. When you look at

[16:06] salaries, it's a 4.31% increase. Um and that really is our

[16:11] biggest offset. So what that shows me as well is we start with salaries. that's

[16:15] where we need to start. Um, but then we also look and where we can trim anywhere

[16:19] else to bring that percentage increase down.

[16:27] So when we start this submission proposed with no cuts, everyone comes

[16:32] in, what do you need? Let's talk about it. Where do we start? Um, the total was

[16:37] 50,2921 155. So, that would have been an

[16:41] increase of 2.3 million or 4.95%. And this number does not include any of

[16:47] those uh requested positions that were not approved for this budget cycle. Uh I

[16:52] believe that's about $350,000, but because we never move them over, I'm

[16:56] not including them within this number. So, we went ahead and we go through and

[17:01] we have meetings and we slice and dice and we go through the different lines

[17:03] and really look at the historical trends. We look at the needs. What's the

[17:07] highest priority? How do we get there? How do we get the students what they

[17:11] need? Um being as fiscally responsible as we can. Um and when you look at that,

[17:17] we ended up at at this point before we submitted it, it was a cut of 966404,

[17:23] which is 2.02% of that 495. So then once we we go through that, we

[17:30] sit down, we feel good about where we're at. Um, we feel like we've come in with

[17:34] the most fiscally responsible budget we can. And that left us with the number

[17:38] that you saw on the slide earlier, the 49, 325,751,

[17:43] and the increase of 1.4 million or 2.93%.

[17:47] And as Oliver noted, this includes no positions added to the general fund.

[17:56] And so, I wanted to talk about those presubmission cuts because this is

[17:59] something we don't typically talk about. we kind of do it and send it and so

[18:03] we're we're building in some transparency as to the work that gets

[18:06] done behind the scenes before we put it in the budget book in front of you. Um

[18:10] so at the Ellington High School um we went ahead and they had submitted like

[18:15] say for a kiln but the kiln isn't can't really be used. So I'm like well let's

[18:20] figure out a place to put it this year or let's use some choice funding or find

[18:23] alternative funding to buy that kiln. If we can do that, we can get it into the

[18:27] school because the need is there, but we also can take it out of next year's

[18:30] budget. I think when you're looking at things that you can do that with

[18:34] one-time cost is a good place to do that because, you know, you're not pulling it

[18:39] out and building a bubble where you've then got to try and replace that in the

[18:43] next year. Um, it was the same with some books they needed in that space. Um, at

[18:47] the Ellington Middle School, we sat down and went over some of the needs.

[18:52] something is the one of them was a table saw that I think is like 30 years old at

[18:57] this point. Um and that could break tomorrow. So when we sit and talk about

[19:01] that, it's like no, let's figure out how to get this now because the students

[19:04] need to have that and do we have capacity to get that through some

[19:08] alternative funding. And so we work on that and we figure out where we can do

[19:12] that and what we can pull out. Um, at the Windermir school and all the

[19:18] elementaryaries, we I always say, well, anyone come in and tell us what you

[19:22] need. Tell us what that really looks like so we know. Um, and when you look

[19:27] at that, we especially with the elementary schools, we sit down as a

[19:31] group and we talk about the spending between the three schools. We talk about

[19:34] what that per pupil like looks like. We talk about the needs and wants and then

[19:38] we realign and cut those numbers down. Um, so they may have wanted decodables

[19:45] for something or extracurricular stuff, but we say, "Well, what is the need and

[19:50] what is the want?" Um, and then we cut some of that stuff back. And that is the

[19:54] same as well with Crystal Lake School, the lines proposed by the business

[19:59] office. So, these are the lines that Stephanie and I sit and comb through and

[20:03] really look at the historical trends and the numbers and figure out what should

[20:07] be budgeted for the next year. And the reason you see the cut to this is so big

[20:13] um is because it includes a reduction of salaries. It includes not increasing

[20:19] medical and you'll see a lot of detail on this as we go through this as well.

[20:24] This is the same like with the maintenance budget. So the director of

[20:27] facilities submits this and he submits it with anything extra he needs to fix,

[20:33] increase and improve things throughout the district. This year we really went

[20:38] through and said, "Well, what do we need to sustain? What do we need um what is

[20:42] that base that we need to not cause higher costs later on?" Um and we came

[20:48] in really tight with that. Um and there's some notable accounts too with

[20:52] that where I'll explain why we kept some of those increases as well to try and

[20:56] plan for the future where bigger spending could happen.

[21:00] In the ED services budget, uh we made a significant reduction there. Um we

[21:06] looked through looked at the historical we saw what could happen. We know that

[21:11] there was some curriculum there in the past too. So saying well okay it was

[21:14] high this year why what do we really need? And we went ahead and made a

[21:19] reduction to that as well. Um and then you do see a a large cut from the

[21:24] special education. Um and we know that the special education needs are high but

[21:29] how can we do the best we can with the most responsible? And one thing that

[21:33] typically happens is they come in and they put in for an unanticipated

[21:36] outplacement because you don't really know what's going to happen. And really

[21:40] throughout the budget session, we usually cut that out because it is a

[21:43] significant cost, right? Hundreds of thousands of dollars. Um, and so we end

[21:48] up taking that out because it is a huge impact to the budget. Um, and I think

[21:54] there is a risk there, but we also have trust in the program that exists and the

[21:57] special education within the schools. Um, and so we gamble on the side that it

[22:03] may not be there. And we also have the unexpended fund account that we never

[22:07] want to use, but it allows us to evaluate that risk from a little bit of

[22:10] a of a narrower lens.

[22:22] So speaking of those cuts, I want to jump into the medical and dental claim

[22:25] trends. So, this is one um visual I really wanted to keep in here because I

[22:31] think that year three self- insurance can be really confusing. Um and so I

[22:37] wanted to look at our claim trends. And when you're looking at this at this

[22:42] graph in front of you, you can see the yellow is the total claims. So that's

[22:45] the claims that everyone on the plan they make. That's what we pay for those

[22:50] claims. The purple is the total premium. So ve like from that basic perspective

[22:56] you want that yellow line to be lower than the purple line. Um and as you can

[23:01] see some years that happens and some years it doesn't. Um and then that MLR

[23:08] that's the medical loss ratio. So you always want that to be below 100% and

[23:13] the lower it is below 100% the better. When it's over that means we are losing

[23:17] money within the medical fund. Um, and so if you look in some of these, we've

[23:24] had a few really good years within our medical fund, and we've been able to

[23:28] build it up to that target fund amount that they really want us to have in

[23:32] there for if that really bad year comes for safety. Um, and we've done some good

[23:38] work getting there with the help of you guys. And, uh, and I appreciate it so

[23:42] much. And actually on Tuesday, I'm working to have Chuck come in and talk

[23:45] about this as well. Um, but when we look at the medical fund in the way that it

[23:49] was budgeted within this budget, because we were trying to find ways to be as

[23:54] fiscally responsible as possible, I did no increase to the medical or dental for

[23:58] next year. And so what that means is when you're projecting out the medical,

[24:04] it says that we're going to we're estimated to land at about, you know,

[24:08] the 2 million that we started the year with at the end of this year, but with

[24:11] no increase to the medical fund, Brown and Brown is predicting that we'll take

[24:15] about a $400,000 cut to our medical fund. [clears throat] So I just wanted

[24:20] to make everyone aware of that. Uh it's an impact of about on the on the general

[24:24] fund side of about $183,000 that I didn't put in there and it does

[24:30] risk our a reduction to our medical fund.

[24:39] This is the salaries and benefits. Um and as I said before when you looked at

[24:45] the when you look at the salaries alone and we'll see that as well. you are

[24:47] going to see more of that increase because the contractual obligations. Um

[24:52] but because of that flat that flatting with the dental life and medical here,

[24:57] you're seeing a difference of 1.3 or 3.57.

[25:01] Um and that is that is is right on par, but if we had the medical the benefits

[25:06] increase, that would go up further than that.

[25:12] This slide breaks down the salaries by object code. Uh, and I really wanted to

[25:17] explain this because if this is your first time looking at it or if you're

[25:20] looking at it the once a year, it's it's easy to be like, well, what's going on

[25:24] here? Um, because you can see within that certifying line, you can see an

[25:29] increase uh that you would expect. But when you look at that non-certified

[25:33] substitutes and other compensation, it looks a little skewed. And the reason

[25:37] for that is because we have two contracts that are up for renegotiation

[25:40] right now. and that's the full-time pair of professionals and the maintenance

[25:44] custo and custodial contract. So when that happens, those lines get carried

[25:48] forward with the salaries and the pay they have for this year and then the the

[25:54] increase we think may happen goes into the other compensation line uh because

[25:58] it is not a it's not compensation that exists yet until the contract is

[26:02] negotiated. So it goes down into a bottom line of that salary to account

[26:07] for the expense for the next year. Um, and negotiation for those contracts will

[26:10] happen in the spring. So, we won't have what that really looks like until closer

[26:14] to the end of the school year.

[26:21] I also want to take a look at utilities um just so we can see what that

[26:25] year-over-year looks like. And when we went into um FY25 budget, we can we can

[26:31] see that there was a big increase there. And we know last year was a hard year

[26:35] for electric. we knew that we went over in that within the budget and you can

[26:39] see that here. And then we still made a you know a conservative increase for 26

[26:45] and I've done the same for the 27 budget. Um when you look down below for

[26:49] 27 it's only an increase of 6,095. Um so what I do with electric is when

[26:55] we're trying to really come in as fiscally responsible as possible.

[26:59] There's areas where we take risk. So I take the bills, I calculate, I do an

[27:04] average of what the cost is for the current year. I multiply that out to

[27:07] project out what the year current year would cost and I carry that into the

[27:11] next. So there is no increase in there for if utility cost goes up next year.

[27:17] It's it's making the assumption that utilities will cost the same. One change

[27:22] I did make is with the construction ongoing at Windier, the electric bills

[27:25] have been very very high. Um, but we will have a, you know, we've opened the

[27:30] new wings, they've been doing construction in them, we've had people

[27:33] in that space that aren't normally in that space. So, really, we've been

[27:36] running electric on a bigger school than typical. Um, and now we're going into

[27:41] that demo phase, and the school will be functioning as it should at the

[27:45] beginning of next year. So, I took a I took a decrease to the Windir to to help

[27:50] with that line as well.

[27:57] This slide is the out outside tuition and transportation and this speaks to

[28:01] the outplacements we have within the district. And so looking at this uh we

[28:05] went ahead and projected it the same um the same number of students for next

[28:10] year with what those costs would be and and what we know they would be. So we

[28:16] didn't put in an increase like a 3% increase for the assumption that there

[28:20] would be an increase to those costs. We did have that in and we went ahead and

[28:23] pulled that out. And then we also looked at and we pulled out the un the

[28:28] unassigned placement as well. So we marked that as zero for next year. So

[28:32] this is with the assumption that all things will carry forward as they are

[28:36] with the expenses that we know will exist with no increase to those numbers

[28:42] increase but no increase to the above that in case they went up.

[28:47] And when you're looking at this table here, what it goes ahead and ties to

[28:50] this slide, the special services and outside tuition. Um, transportation is

[28:55] is not in this because um that just lives in a different place, but this

[28:58] looks at your your private, your public, your DCF, your magnet, and your VOAG.

[29:04] Um, and this looks at those costs. And I did want to speak to that as well

[29:08] because I know that it's been asked in the past like what that looks like. And

[29:13] so we have um overall we have 41 magnet students. That's the crack, Eastcon, and

[29:19] Goodwin. Of the 41, five are special education uh and have IEP, which means

[29:24] we pay for their services, and that's that 52,500 that you see under magnet.

[29:29] So that's for the services for those students. [clears throat] Um we do not

[29:33] pay tuition for students with 504s. And then outside of this line, we also have

[29:38] the regular VOAG which you guys had always ask as ask about and I didn't

[29:42] include this because we're retaining the same amount of students and we budgeted

[29:46] that forward the same. But when you look at the VOAG here that is a services we

[29:51] pay for for special education and that's one VOAG student.

[29:59] I also wanted to go through and I'm sure that you'll have more question as well

[30:02] but I wanted to pull out some notable accounts um and just give reasons as to

[30:07] why we see some swings or changes or increases or decreases um and I wanted

[30:13] to start by looking at services for business EA EHS right we see a big

[30:17] increase here 13,500 um and this is for new software for

[30:21] early college experience for Yukon curriculum and this is a class that

[30:25] allows students to get college credit um and so this is what's needed for the

[30:28] students to be able take that class. Um, when we look at service accepted

[30:33] cleaning maintenance, uh, I had said before that we did go through the

[30:37] maintenance budget and we did trim back a lot, but we wanted to keep the things

[30:40] that we thought were going to be necessary because [clears throat] if

[30:42] we're going to go over, there's no point in taking it out because the money will

[30:45] get spent anyways. Um, and this is for the the the well and the water line at

[30:50] Crystal Lake Elementary School. Uh, it tends to be a little bit of a thorn in

[30:54] our side and it is the only place left where we still have a well. Uh, and the

[30:57] past couple years it's cost us more than we would like it to.

[31:01] » And I think Alicia too, sorry I didn't mean to interrupt you, but

[31:04] » yeah. >> Um, it's kind of a catch 22 with that,

[31:07] right? Because we put new equipment in so we can monitor issues and now the new

[31:13] equipment is finding issues. >> Yeah. And there's a and could probably

[31:17] [laughter]

[31:19] » So it's it's right. No good deed goes undone. But it's but at the same time

[31:24] it's catching things earlier on which is going to offer cost savings.

[31:30] » Yeah. And we've had a we had a leak in the line last year as well. Um so it

[31:33] tends to Yeah. tends to be >> just wanted to

[31:38] » Yeah. [laughter] >> Um and then also maintenance projects

[31:42] Crystal Lake. Um that was something we kept in as well. So at this point not

[31:47] much over but that project at Crystal Lake ended over 10 years ago. And so

[31:51] we're starting to see really that wear and the tear in the floor. Um, and Greg

[31:54] proposed this number because if we start with that maintenance and that upkeep of

[31:58] that floor, it's going to save us money in the long run where if we don't do

[32:01] this and we let it go, we're going to have to pay to replace that floor or

[32:05] we're going to have to replace pieces. So, we're trying to be proactive and get

[32:09] ahead of that as right a little over 10 years ago, we had a brand new space. So

[32:14] let's try and upkeep it without wondering why the floor has to be paced

[32:18] and how much that cost. Um the next one we look at is repairs

[32:23] and hardware a uh service agreements in the technology and this is continued

[32:28] improvements to our network functionality and security. Um this is

[32:33] really important because there is cost savings that comes from this right this

[32:36] is our cyber security. This is how safe is our data and all information related

[32:42] to that. And what happens too is especially now with the insurance world,

[32:46] not many people want to give you cyber security unless you pass a really good

[32:50] um cyber security audit and you're doing really well. And our IT department has

[32:55] always been really good at doing that. That our cyber our cyber insurance if it

[33:00] increases it's not a lot um because they we tend to get multiple quotes and we

[33:04] can choose from those when they come along.

[33:08] When you look at this repair audiovisisual equipment, um, so this was

[33:12] added because we have some speakers throughout the district that need to be

[33:15] replaced. We would like to get these mics replaced that are sitting in front

[33:18] of you. Um, and just for better meetings, better when we have the annual

[33:22] town meetings, um, and really replace some of those items throughout the

[33:26] district that we've talked about for a long time but have not been able to do.

[33:32] Here you see the transportation regular. That's an increase of 72120.

[33:37] That is for students. So that is a contractual increase. I do want to say

[33:41] that last year we ended up reducing that number because we know that right now

[33:46] and there has been a bus driver shortage and we do have issues with attrition

[33:51] within the bus driver world. Um but what happens with that is if a bus gets

[33:57] looped combined something happens we don't get build for the bus that didn't

[34:00] get used. So last year when I evaluated these numbers, I made a reduction based

[34:05] on how often that was happening and the savings we were seeing because of that.

[34:10] Now we continue to work on that and improve it the best that we can, but I

[34:13] also don't want to assume for cost that may not exist. Um, so I went ahead and

[34:18] built that contractual agreement percentage based off what was budgeted

[34:21] for this current school year. Um, and the transportation gasoline

[34:27] regular. So this is that gasoline um that goes with that. And when I looked

[34:31] at historically um it was always underspent to budget. So I went ahead

[34:35] and made a cut appropriately to that based on what I saw. Um when you look at

[34:40] technology subscriptions uh in this past year you guys saw it the new website got

[34:44] launched. So along with that new website launch there was a um a reduction to the

[34:49] cost for that website and that's why you see that reduction in that line

[34:52] specifically. Um technology subscriptions elementary.

[34:57] This was just the elimination of some subscriptions and we replaced Seesaw

[35:01] with parent square which was a savings as well. Um I do want to say like I keep

[35:05] saying this like we continuously look at things to see if we could find something

[35:09] that can save us some money. Uh like it's conversations we're having all the

[35:14] time and this just makes me makes me see it more. Um I also made a reduction here

[35:20] to travel administration conference and this was something I had looked at

[35:25] taking away from in the past. Um, but this year when I looked it is it is

[35:30] historically always underspent. So I cut it down to what's been spent in the

[35:34] past. And then this last notable count I have is technology equipment technology

[35:40] schoolwide. And this is to account for cost and replacement and breakage.

[35:44] Right? So this is another one of those things. If we spend less now, we won't

[35:48] have to spend the more later. Um, again we have a really good IT team that can

[35:53] fix computers and do certain things. Um, and also when you see this increase,

[35:58] there is going to be an increase to the cost of RAM due to the AI demand. Those

[36:02] words are from Arthur's mouth. [laughter]

[36:05] Um, so we're accounting for that as well. [clears throat]

[36:12] Two other notable accounts I wanted to bring up is textbooks and supplies

[36:16] English across the elementary schools. This is that consumables for C CKLA

[36:20] curriculum and the total increase for all three schools is 3691.

[36:26] Um we continue to move that through sections as the years go on and that is

[36:29] the same with that textbooks supplies and math. That is the illustrative math

[36:33] curriculum and consumables as we move those into the different sections

[36:37] throughout the different years. >> And Alicia, those are obligations

[36:42] through legislation. Correct. Like these are

[36:44] » those are Oliver, right? Um so uh the reading curriculum is it

[36:50] was required K through three but when our team reviewed uh that resource we

[36:54] found value in actually rolling it up through the grades as well. So uh we're

[36:59] using that all the way through grade six at this point. Another reason for the

[37:04] increase is uh in the first year of the new curriculum we were funding it out of

[37:08] the ed services account >> and then now we're we're kind of pushing

[37:13] those costs onto the school side of the budget. So school by school. Um so

[37:18] that's another reason for that shift. >> Thank you.

[37:25] » That's the total for all three schools. >> Yeah. Total for all three elementary

[37:28] schools. Yeah.

[37:32] » And what and the last thing I really wanted to talk about were our areas of

[37:35] risk. Um because we look right and we we measure the amount of risk that we think

[37:40] is safe to take. That's it's weird to put risk and safe into that same

[37:44] sentence, but um when you're budgeting, they they tend to go together. Um and so

[37:49] in this budget, there's a reduction of $100,000 to certified salaries, and

[37:54] there's some history to that. So two years ago, we made a reduction to

[37:58] salaries of 120,000. We did this for unanticipated

[38:03] retirements and turnover. Um because you typically you do see a savings there. um

[38:08] we exceeded that 120 that 120,000 two years ago. And so in this budget there's

[38:15] in this budget this current year there's also a reduction of 120,000 and that

[38:20] number was chosen based on looking where we were under historically and making an

[38:24] assumption that we could base that based on the information.

[38:28] In the current year we're projected to be about $19,000 over in certified

[38:33] salaries. So we missed that mark a little bit. Um, so what I did is I I

[38:39] still wanted to take that because I think it's a risk that we can take, but

[38:44] I didn't want to take 120, right? We missed the mark by 19,000. History told

[38:48] tells me we can usually hit the 120, but where's that where's that spot where we

[38:53] can take um the best that we can. Um, and so I went ahead and did a reduction

[38:57] of a 100,000 there. I think that goes to speak to what Oliver was saying the

[39:01] other day as well. Like we always look and we always pay attention to that, but

[39:05] sometimes when when teachers come in and apply, you want to hire the best for the

[39:11] stu the students, whether that be step two or step 10. Um, and also sometimes

[39:16] your pool doesn't always have lower steps in it. Um, and you have a really

[39:20] great teacher that that you have to hire. Um, so to say, we'll be looking at

[39:24] that as the year as the year goes on and into next year as well.

[39:28] Um, there's also a zero increase to medical and dental. I went over that a

[39:32] little bit within the medical slide. So, that will come at a risk of a $400,000

[39:36] reduction to our medical fund. Um, it hurts. But, we started at like 500,000

[39:42] and we're up to two 2 million. So, it's it was a place that I wanted to take to

[39:47] see if we could take that risk knowing we're trying to come in as as best as we

[39:51] can. Alicia, can you tell us where um the Brown and Brown would like us to be

[39:56] in that fund? >> 2 point it's

[40:01] » 30% of the >> It's like 2,100 or something close to

[40:05] that, right? >> Yeah.

[40:08] » Okay. Yeah. Thank you. >> Yeah.

[40:11] » Um I also as I explained earlier, I base utilities on current year cost. So if

[40:17] the cost of utilities goes up there there's a risk there and those amount

[40:21] those lines would go over budget. Um there's also that reduction to the

[40:25] windmir electric b with the hopes that once that building is done we're going

[40:29] to see that efficiency. We're [clears throat] going to see those costs

[40:32] drop because we're not going to have as big of a building being supported. We're

[40:35] not going to have people plugging things in that aren't usually there. So we're

[40:38] going to I'm hoping that we see a reduction in cost there. And I we also

[40:43] did the reduction of the uninticed outplacement. Um and so planning that we

[40:48] won't have another outplacement and we took a reduction based on that. Um so

[40:55] I just wanted to make sure that we were very open and honest about where we took

[40:58] the risk and what that risk looked like.

[41:03] And now I'm going to leave it for you guys to ask whatever questions you may

[41:07] have. Should I

[41:12] Yeah.

[41:18] Does anyone have any um questions for Alicia or um Oliver?

[41:26] » I was diving in the weeds with the stipens and those increased. Was that

[41:30] more than we did last year? >> The stipens. Page 44.

[41:38] » Did you say 84? >> 44.

[41:45] this. We talked about this. It's because when you're seeing that bottom number,

[41:49] you're seeing that severance adjustment support for the 134700. Is that what it

[41:53] is? Are you looking at a specific line, energy?

[41:56] » I was just thinking coaching activities, that's what we

[42:02] increased last year. Is it more than last year?

[42:05] » So, those go up. Those go up about 2.9% each year. Yeah. But you see that big

[42:10] bottom number because of that severance line. Yeah.

[42:15] » I'm gonna ask probably the an unpopular qu uh question.

[42:20] » Yes. >> I think First Student has a monopoly.

[42:24] Have we looked into other companies because

[42:30] we've had issues, but is there anything better out there?

[42:35] » We have one more year. >> Just a point of order. Um, I just just

[42:38] want to We really have to keep this tight because that's really outside of

[42:42] what the meeting is. >> Well, it's part of the budget.

[42:45] » It is, but now we're talking about like a busing changing busing contracts. I

[42:50] just don't want to go too far down that down that rabbit hole just because it's

[42:56] not on our on our agenda to talk about busing contracts, but you can certainly

[43:00] talk about as it relates to budget. Okay.

[43:03] » We have one more year on that contract. It'll and it'll go out to bid.

[43:07] » We'll we'll evaluate at that point. >> Okay.

[43:08] » Thank you.

[43:12] » Does anyone else on the board have any other questions as to what's been

[43:15] presented? >> Yes,

[43:18] » Alicia. In the past, we've gotten a sheet that tells us how the uh choice

[43:23] money has being spent. Um is it uh possible?

[43:30] I didn't see it in this year's budget. You can see that on page 85.

[43:39] And Miriam, if you want more details into what those lines entail, I can get

[43:42] that for you as well.

[43:52] Do you see?

[44:00] » I must have um had trouble with the room writing.

[44:04] » It's 118 pages and it's tiny. >> Thanks.

[44:08] » So, I have a couple of questions. Go ahead. Um so as we look at this budget

[44:14] and the summary that you gave us Oliver I guess um

[44:18] and it is it is um

[44:24] very minimal right in in the scheme of things. So, how do we

[44:31] maintain um or grow our um academic excellence with such a low

[44:40] budget if our number of students we're up 25 we're going to be up 25 students

[44:45] year-over-year. Um

[44:49] so, how do how do we where's our breaking point for that? like how do we

[44:54] maintain and still grow our student population?

[44:58] » Yeah, thanks. So, um there's a lot of work that's done on the professional

[45:04] learning side of improving uh improving instruction and refining practices and

[45:09] sharing best practices uh across the classrooms. So, we want to we guarantee

[45:16] a great educational experience in every classroom. Um but we know that over time

[45:21] through collaboration and new learning for teachers uh we can continue to uh

[45:26] improve the educational experience and the learning experience for students.

[45:31] We've been investing in the curriculum K through six and uh so we're we're seeing

[45:37] as we roll roll in illustrative math we're actually going down the grades as

[45:41] we uh to roll in that that program. uh it's really an excellent and challenging

[45:46] mathematics program and uh it's working really well for us to be moving it down

[45:52] through the grades. Along with that, there's a lot of teacher learning uh

[45:55] that's necessary because implementing that well and taking full advantage

[45:59] [clears throat and laughter] of that curriculum requires uh some shift in

[46:03] instructional practices and teachers are receiving training and um collaborating

[46:09] with each other to uh learn to implement that curriculum really well. That's true

[46:13] on the the reading side uh K through six as well. Uh this is the first year for

[46:18] example that we're using Amplify which is the uh core knowledge language arts

[46:23] vendor. First year we're using that in grade six. So um those are two of the

[46:30] largest areas where we're working on improving the program and improving

[46:34] instruction over time. There's work in collaboration across the entire district

[46:40] by teachers. So the middle school's been uh using inquiry groups and refining

[46:45] instructional practices, visiting each other's classrooms. So a lot of that the

[46:50] like the bread and butter of instruction is something that we are attending to uh

[46:55] very significantly and those small increases you saw on the curriculum side

[47:00] uh are around implementing those new programs and purchasing those uh

[47:05] consumables on a yearly basis. Um so we really are investing more in

[47:11] professional learning. Uh we're also doing that at the leadership level. Uh

[47:15] we're working with partners for educational uh leadership and doing some

[47:20] uh very uh I would say challenging uh work together on how we're going to

[47:27] lead for instructional improvement over time. So that that's really the core of

[47:32] it, the bread and butter of it. Um the challenges in the budget though are are

[47:36] definitely real and I don't think um it is necessarily sustainable

[47:43] year-over-year um to not continue to invest or to to need to invest a little

[47:49] further uh in the positions that we identified for example

[47:54] um on that side. So this year we were able to be very strategic and creative

[47:59] in um providing for four new positions. Uh one's a point4 but so it's it's not

[48:07] uh 4.0 FTEES um through some uh some adjusting and

[48:12] restructuring and use of grants for next year. But the reason that that's showing

[48:17] in the budget, the other positions that we're showing are because that we

[48:21] believe years out over time, we'll continue to need to look at um ways to

[48:27] um enhance our staffing a bit. >> Okay. Um, I would also say that list

[48:32] that you gave us of positions that um were not included in the budget, it

[48:38] would be helpful, I believe, um, to board members and to the public if there

[48:43] was a brief summary for each one as to what value it adds for student outcomes.

[48:51] Um, I think that that would be helpful. Um, and the other thing that I wanted to

[48:56] point out, um, that I didn't see in here, but I think is important of note

[49:02] is, um, a discussion around the basis program and the fact that, um, and we

[49:09] just were at a legislative breakfast discussing outplacements. Um, the cost

[49:15] savings that we see not only in in the district, but for the town. Um, you

[49:22] know, there are upwards of 22 students that we keep in district

[49:26] um that save us a a total cost of a little over $4 million. So, if we had to

[49:35] outplace those students, it would cost us an additional $4 million. Now, if we

[49:40] pull out excess costs that we get assistance for, that number drops to

[49:46] roughly 2.5 million, but that's an additional savings that we're seeing

[49:52] here. Um, and I think that that's of note. Um,

[49:57] » yeah, thank thank you for bringing that up. I did look that up. Um, as I

[50:00] mentioned, Dr. Leaport had generated some numbers for us based on the actual

[50:04] enrollment at basis. Um and that was 2,488,248.

[50:10] So that aligns with uh what you just said um the 2.5 million. So that comes

[50:16] from not needing to spend on outplacements because we provide an

[50:20] excellent opportunity for those students inhouse. They're closer to home. Uh the

[50:25] high school students can take classes at the high school. So they we're working

[50:29] towards transitioning some students um back to the high school. Uh but that's

[50:34] also very important in their educational experience that they when they need the

[50:38] challenge and the setting uh for some of their classes to be at the high school,

[50:43] we could do that. With an outplacement, we can't. They're in one they'd be in

[50:46] one very small school with more limited opportunities,

[50:49] » right? >> But the savings is is very significant

[50:52] there. >> Absolutely. Um the other question on

[50:55] page 27 um you said that um one of the concerns

[51:01] for Crystal Lake is um closing open state grants as an

[51:07] immediate concern. What can you explain that?

[51:12] I know you're looking at me funny. Um okay. So if we're looking at Crystal

[51:17] Lake Yeah. It says um immediate concern is housing preschool program closing

[51:23] open state grant. Can you explain? >> Oh, so that that has been closed at this

[51:27] point. That was a note that was left over from last year.

[51:30] » Jen always finds all our mistakes. >> No, it's okay.

[51:34] » Okay. Thank you. >> Um but yeah, that has been audited and

[51:36] and and when those funding that funding came back, um that's what actually

[51:41] allowed us to find a way to do the floor up there, uh which was done over the

[51:45] summer this year. Um

[51:51] the other question I have is on uh the NESDEC

[51:56] study. Um they're projecting that we are going to constantly decrease. Um so

[52:03] where is that 25 student increase that we're and and and do you feel the same?

[52:09] Do you feel like there's going to be a decrease yearover-year? I I don't

[52:15] » Right. honestly don't love that study. I don't feel that it's

[52:20] » completely accurate, but um so where are you seeing the increases where they're

[52:24] not? >> Just just in in way of context, I know

[52:27] it's being streamed. So this is a study that's done to project

[52:33] uh how many students we're going to either gain or lose in the future.

[52:40] Correct. >> Right. For

[52:41] » Right. I just want to make that clear cuz we use acronyms and then sorry. No,

[52:46] that's okay. Just want to break it down. >> Yeah, thanks. Um, yeah. So, NESD is a

[52:50] very it um it's a regional uh New England school uh development education

[52:57] consortium and uh they do a very intensive study of um not only our our

[53:04] they look at our current enrollment. So we do that also like rolling students

[53:08] up. Um but they even look at factors they they do predictions further into

[53:13] the future by looking at births in area hospitals, housing starts, changes in

[53:18] real estate. Um and so they put a lot of different factors in that and that shows

[53:24] approximately a 15 student decrease per year long term. And that's true across

[53:29] the entire Northeast. Uh if anything in Ellington we've slowed that down a

[53:34] little bit. Um and our number is our number here is from our specific

[53:40] students rolling up specific students. What we know about the choice program um

[53:45] the demand for prek is also factored in there and that we see locally and that's

[53:50] very high. Right? So from the birth to three uh programs we have um an

[53:57] increasing demand in prek for um for young kids. So that's a factor in that

[54:01] also. >> Okay. Thank you.

[54:07] I've got a couple if you're if you're done, Jen.

[54:09] » Sure, please. >> Um, so you've done a really good job of

[54:13] talking about all the cost savings that you've tracked down.

[54:18] I'd like to hear a little bit more about the sort of the other side of that. So,

[54:22] can you So, sort of two parts maybe like on the risk side, what's what what are

[54:29] you losing sleep over on the risk side? Right. and and on the

[54:33] » say the whole budget [laughter] >> and and and on the sort of on the other

[54:39] side, what are the what are the opportunities that we are passing up on

[54:43] educationally in order to exercise some of these savings?

[54:47] » So, I'm going to talk to the risk side and then I'll let you talk to the

[54:50] educational side. Um I think on the risk side and so I'm

[54:55] going to speak to my experience specifically is is is when I came in a

[55:00] few years ago uh we went into a budget freeze and then the next year we also

[55:05] went into a budget freeze. And so I feel like even though we saw the increase go

[55:09] down we've rightsized some things and got us in a good place where we don't

[55:13] need that. as we go into the risk. I I think what I lose probably sleep over is

[55:18] that we're coming in as tight as we can um with the hope that the risks play off

[55:22] in our in our favor. Um in that if we continue to chisel or come in as tight

[55:28] and chisel in future years, are we building an expectation that's going to

[55:32] put us in a place for a fiscal cliff? Um because if we put us in a place for a

[55:36] fiscal cliff, it's not going to be like we can risk or take. it's going to be

[55:40] that there's no choice to add this back in and it'll cause future cost. Um, so I

[55:45] know that's a really big picture answer. Um, if you were asking me or if I'm

[55:49] saying the one I wish we weren't taking, it would be the medical fund because

[55:52] we've worked really hard to build up that fund. And one bad year um can ruin

[55:58] that fund. And we save over a million dollars every year by being self by

[56:03] being self-funded. um and that would be the biggest risk.

[56:10] » Um so on the educational side and uh how we're investing in that I would say one

[56:16] of the challenges is around hiring. So we uh Alicia referenced that a little

[56:20] bit earlier but um for every position that we hire for every teaching position

[56:25] for example uh we're looking for trying to find teachers towards the lower end

[56:31] in cost. There are some positions where that's really not feasible. Um sometimes

[56:36] in the in the special ed um area uh we don't get applicants in the low lowest

[56:42] cost ranges um or that might very much limit uh how we're able to select the

[56:48] best possible candidate. So uh it's not uncommon for many for in some pools all

[56:55] the applicants to be on the higher end of the scale and that puts us in a very

[56:59] challenging position financially. So I would say that the hiring pressure is

[57:03] one uh one area where having more flexibility would be great. Uh another

[57:08] thing that we're uh tracking over time are the field trip experiences for

[57:13] elementary. Uh we asked parents to help contribute to those at times and uh

[57:19] we've dialed back a little bit. We were you know there was a Boston trip that

[57:22] we're now doing through Sturbridge Village. So providing the same um or

[57:27] kind of meeting the same content to a degree uh but trying to do that locally

[57:32] and closer to home. So there's some areas there where uh we're hoping not to

[57:37] have to cut back any further. Um there's a projectology trip that's really

[57:41] valuable on the science side. Um, but we're also looking for opportunities

[57:46] closer to home that are almost kind of self-created or created through through

[57:50] our teachers and our science lead so that we can find uh experiences

[57:56] exploring science in communities closer to home.

[58:00] Um, so those are those are a couple areas I

[58:03] know where there are costs that um we're being very very cautious about and

[58:09] sometimes there are benefits to um spending more money and and providing

[58:13] experiences for students that go beyond the regular classroom. Uh we will be

[58:18] investing in um new science curriculum over time and uh we've talked through

[58:23] that with curriculum committee. Um, and that is also a stretch, I would say, on

[58:28] teachers because they they've learned in the lower grades, they've learned new uh

[58:32] literacy curriculum, new math curriculum, and now we're rolling in

[58:36] more science. Um, and we'll also be revising the social studies curriculum

[58:42] over time. So that that is an area where we would like to be able to continue to

[58:48] invest in um summer planning time for teachers and professional learning that

[58:53] really supports them in doing the best with the curriculum resources we have.

[58:59] » Good. Thank you. I I just wanted to make sure that it was clear to folks that

[59:05] there are opportunities out there that we are we're we're passing by because

[59:08] we're trying to keep as lean as possible. And I think it's important to

[59:12] hear both sides of that of that balance. Um the other question I had was uh

[59:19] with respect to like one-time grants, are are there um are there resources

[59:26] that we dedicate to pursuing those or does that fall to individual

[59:34] teachers or administrators to take it take the initiative to track those down?

[59:40] We don't currently have resources um to be able to go out and search for those

[59:44] and apply for those type of grants. It does fall on the staff within the into

[59:48] the different schools and the teachers. Um for example, right now is the grant

[59:52] that they have here within the high school. Um it was a teacher that went

[59:55] and applied for that and got that grant. Um so I look sometimes when I can. Um

[1:00:01] but the time to really write and apply is very hard. Um, so the resources for

[1:00:05] that is teachers doing it on top of their duties to look for those monies.

[1:00:10] » I think also there was a sizable grant and I think Miriam, you may be able to

[1:00:14] uh speak more to that uh that uh was obtained recently.

[1:00:21] » Yeah. So I'll have you talk to that. >> Sure. Uh so uh Brandon Hubins and

[1:00:27] Leticia De Jagger um administrator and teacher at the high school uh

[1:00:34] uh pursued a grant through the choice program that provides opportunities not

[1:00:38] only for our choice students but other students. Uh and that's quite a

[1:00:42] significant grant. Um the private foundation grants tend to be super

[1:00:47] competitive. uh this is a grant that um we just had a great alignment between

[1:00:53] the work that they wanted to do that they envisioned and imagined uh in terms

[1:00:57] of student experiences that happened to align very well uh with

[1:01:02] the funding in place at the state level for that particular grant. So, I think

[1:01:06] we were very fortunate there. Um, and, uh, hiring someone either hourly or a

[1:01:14] part-time position or a full-time position for seeking grants, I don't

[1:01:18] think would really, um, on on the net really bring in resources for the

[1:01:24] district. I think that would be a substantial cost with a not a huge

[1:01:28] probability of big money coming in. I think we want to continue to leverage uh

[1:01:34] the grant for example in that choice area and the choice program as a whole

[1:01:38] in a sense provides some flexible funding that um does uh does allow for

[1:01:43] certain opportunities and and investments uh as noted here but that

[1:01:48] those will include curriculum um and some experiences for students. So that

[1:01:53] that particular grant is is amazing and very valuable, but I don't think we're

[1:01:58] going to be in a position to actually hire folk someone to uh pursue grants

[1:02:03] more aggressively.

[1:02:07] » Does anyone in the public have any questions that they would like to ask at

[1:02:11] this time?

[1:02:14] » Logan. >> Logan Johnson.

[1:02:18] [clears throat] >> Hi, Logan Johnson. Uh thank you uh very

[1:02:22] much for your hard work Alicia and Oliver in putting this stuff together

[1:02:25] and the board for uh you know all your work uh in going through it. Um couple

[1:02:32] of questions some of the things that have come up before. Um the first is for

[1:02:38] the electricity I know previously we had some sort of agreement for a fixed cost

[1:02:44] for the electricity sort of what's the situation with that?

[1:02:47] » That agreement is in place. We actually have a new agreement and we actually uh

[1:02:51] partnered with the town this time so we could get the lowest rate possible to

[1:02:55] make us the biggest piece that we could be and that is um taken into account

[1:02:59] with this with this budgeting numbers. >> Okay. And just as a quick followup so

[1:03:04] that really what that means is that when we see the increase in the electricity

[1:03:08] costs that's a really a function of increased usage. Um, no, not usage, but

[1:03:14] also when you look at the bills, when we lock in a rate, that's only locking at

[1:03:18] one piece, right? So, what we've seen over the years is they're adding more

[1:03:22] into that delivery fee or they're adding in other fees. Um, and a good example of

[1:03:27] that is we've seen the electric bill at the high school double some months and

[1:03:30] it's not it's not the actual kilowatts, it's the it's the delivery fees and

[1:03:34] other fees that get added below that. >> Oh, okay. All right. So, that's that's

[1:03:38] very helpful. Thank you. >> Welcome. Um

[1:03:41] uh another piece is just um there was um there was some discussion

[1:03:48] on grants and and I thought that was a a great question, Carl. Um

[1:03:55] the and I'm only asking this because I noticed that there was specific concerns

[1:04:01] about the central administration for technology and there was some discussion

[1:04:05] of cyber security. I know that there are state grants related specifically to

[1:04:10] cyber security and a lot of things can fall under uh school security. So

[1:04:17] there's a lot of grants that are available um that could address those

[1:04:21] concerns and just sort of a question about general direction for shared

[1:04:25] services in terms of sort of merging the technology more between the town and the

[1:04:31] school. Is there something is that something that we've looked at and is

[1:04:38] that something outside of this budget for this year?

[1:04:40] » Um, I believe that and and I'm pretty sure it's been like like a year now, but

[1:04:45] actually our last director of technology, Aaron Fiss, he did get he

[1:04:48] went out and wrote a grant and got a technology grant. Um, the grant applied

[1:04:52] to like past expenses and and then the year before this and he accounted for

[1:04:56] all of that. So, this is based on having that as well. um we do tend to look when

[1:05:02] we can because we also need a new generator for the high school. Um and so

[1:05:06] what will happen is is looking for opportunities and finding that it's

[1:05:09] finding the capacity to get those grants written and submitted. That's where we

[1:05:12] that's where we run into the struggle. >> Yep. Um

[1:05:15] » and I do think too Logan speaking um from shared services committee we have

[1:05:21] aligned town and schools as much as we can but keeping bearing in mind we have

[1:05:28] different systems. Yes. >> Right. So we have to sorry I didn't see

[1:05:32] » no no I yeah I >> so that we've we've aligned as much as

[1:05:35] we can um but we get to a certain point where town has a different system than

[1:05:40] we do so there's a cost difference there but the on the school side uh we have

[1:05:47] started taking over doing all of the um fixing right the the any technical

[1:05:53] issues that the town has the schools now handling that instead of them going out

[1:05:58] or contracting out for that. So there is some savings there.

[1:06:01] » Sure. >> Yeah. And I mean I I think some of the

[1:06:03] other recommendations are probably more long-term and outside of this budget,

[1:06:07] you know, like merging some of those systems and

[1:06:10] » Right. Right. Exactly. >> Yeah. Those that's outside of this

[1:06:13] budget, but I No problem. I just just was bringing it up.

[1:06:17] » No, it's great thought. It's great thought. Thank you.

[1:06:19] » Um the audience um one >> Yeah. I just um with the grants, I just

[1:06:24] want everybody to um understand that we actually do go and look for grants in

[1:06:28] every department. So, we're on our third year of uh the social work grant. So, it

[1:06:33] was not approved in the budget in the year three years ago. So, we went and

[1:06:37] looked um and the state had offered a grant. So, we ended up with $320,000

[1:06:42] for three years. Within that grant, we got a social worker and then we ended up

[1:06:46] being able to put in uh BCBA hours that were also not approved. So um every year

[1:06:53] we are looking all of us um and we do we do um you know allocate money to from

[1:06:59] the grants. So that's something important also with shared services. Um

[1:07:04] I have conversations all the time with area districts Vernon Summers um Summers

[1:07:08] approached us the other day and said hey have you thought about maybe us going

[1:07:11] together with a transition program. So, we are always looking for opportunities

[1:07:16] with our neighbors to be able to support and share um beyond the grants.

[1:07:23] » Fantastic. Um sorry, I I had a whole litany of questions just as I'm zipping

[1:07:28] through. Um uh back to the electricity, just a a

[1:07:32] quick question. Um I know normally when you have construction projects, you

[1:07:38] know, the cost of utilities are baked into the project costs. Is is there a

[1:07:44] chance that some of those electricity costs for Windmir can can move from the

[1:07:48] operational side and out of the general fund and into the project? So, as far as

[1:07:55] I know, they are not um because they are within the school building. I can talk

[1:08:00] to the professional that knows all of that state funding law and see what can

[1:08:06] be done. Like the trailers that are on site, they have their own meter. They

[1:08:09] pay their own electric bills. Um but the electricity in the school runs into the

[1:08:13] electric bill. I've broached the topic and it doesn't seem like it is a

[1:08:17] possibility, but I'll double check on that to be sure.

[1:08:20] » Okay. From a logistics perspective, obviously it's hugely challenging um

[1:08:26] operationally to be doing the renovation that we're doing uh and the rebuild at

[1:08:31] Windemir by living in the school while half of it's under demolition. Um but

[1:08:36] the spaces uh end up overlapping in terms of the the spaces that they're

[1:08:41] working on um are part of the building and not metered separately I think is

[1:08:46] what Alicia is referring to. >> Oh yes. No 100%. Um yeah I was just

[1:08:50] wondering if you know it's really ultimately if the state would accept

[1:08:54] some sort of allocation of you know or some sort of estimate but uh perfect.

[1:09:00] Now, for the excess cost grants, um I didn't see like a percentage. What are

[1:09:05] what are we estimating in the budget for a a percentage?

[1:09:09] » So, when we budget for the excess cost, we assume that we're going to get 70%

[1:09:13] reimbursement. And so, we budget for what's left um because it doesn't fall

[1:09:17] because of the way that it's built within the general fund, it doesn't fall

[1:09:20] on our revenue line because it's the fund accounting. So, we put it back

[1:09:23] against the expense and budget for what we believe is needed.

[1:09:25] » Okay, great. No, I was just because I know previously we had budgeted lower at

[1:09:30] times, but No, so we're going >> Yeah, last year I think we had assumed

[1:09:33] this year there'd be a 60% reimbursement and there was some uncertainty about

[1:09:37] that. Um, and so we did we did account for that, but we did uh assume the 70

[1:09:42] for next year. >> Okay, great. And yeah, one last

[1:09:46] question. Okay, just just so I understand, I know that under the

[1:09:51] summary by department, I see for athletics I see, you know, the 537,000.

[1:09:59] It's on page 39 if anybody's looking. Um, that 537 is that all in does that

[1:10:05] include the cost of the athletic director or where where might they be

[1:10:10] accounted for? >> Did you say page 39, Logan?

[1:10:12] » Page 39 of the budget book is the summary by department and

[1:10:16] » Oh, yes. My department includes salaries, right Stephanie? That I'm

[1:10:19] speaking correctly to that.

[1:10:25] » Yes.

[1:10:31] » Yes. That includes all the stipens. That includes all costs related to athletics,

[1:10:34] including salaries. >> Okay. So, that includes the athletic

[1:10:38] director. >> Yes.

[1:10:39] » Okay. >> Oh, yeah. No, I assumed he was. I just

[1:10:43] wasn't sure. >> Yeah. I and this might be a little

[1:10:47] controversial. It's just that when we see a $537,000

[1:10:51] line item and I and I know they're like 150,000 in salary before benefits, I

[1:10:58] mean almost half the cost of the athletics program ends up being for the

[1:11:02] cost of a person to run the program. >> I do want to say that he's the director

[1:11:06] of athletics and wellness. So, he also oversees the curriculum for the PE um

[1:11:10] the student wellness for the district as well. He is runs and is the chair of the

[1:11:14] wellness committee in the district. Um, so it is more than just the athletic

[1:11:19] director. >> So, okay. So, he's probably not in that

[1:11:22] athletics. >> He or he's probably or is he like

[1:11:27] » his salary is fully in there? >> Fully in there. Okay.

[1:11:30] » All right. But he's providing other services. Okay. Yeah. Um, and just on

[1:11:35] the programmatic side, I do want to point out that over 50% of our high

[1:11:38] school students participate in athletics through the course of the year. So we

[1:11:42] really do feel that we have a robust program that uh students and families

[1:11:46] really appreciate as >> for their own development but as part of

[1:11:50] the culture of the school. >> Oh, sure. Yeah. And I'm not I'm not

[1:11:54] suggesting that that's something we cut. I just wanted to make sure I understood

[1:11:58] and and I was just wondering how something like that compares to the

[1:12:02] other schools that are in our our I think there was a comparison the DRC,

[1:12:08] you know, do they do they have a similar profile in terms of using an athletic

[1:12:13] director in the same way and and that sort of thing?

[1:12:16] » Yeah, generally districts um of this size do. um that some try to get by with

[1:12:22] a part-time person, but we have found that that wasn't providing the quality

[1:12:26] of athletic experience that the community was looking for.

[1:12:31] » Okay. >> I would say South Windsor has both an

[1:12:36] athletic director and an assistant athletic director. Now, they're a little

[1:12:39] bigger than us, but they have two administrators just for athletics. So,

[1:12:44] um you know, definitely something good questions.

[1:12:48] I have two questions, Crystal Banville. Um, first, you mentioned that there is a

[1:12:53] huge demand for prek um in town and with a lot of centers clo, you know, the one

[1:12:58] in the center town closed down. Um, do we have a long-term plan to kind of

[1:13:02] leverage that need because it's a potential for an increase of revenue if

[1:13:06] we extend that program.

[1:13:11] » Our challenge for that is space. Um so we don't have the classroom space to

[1:13:16] expand that significantly at this time. Uh thinking long term, I think we do

[1:13:21] need to um cooperate with the town on long-term uh facility and strategic

[1:13:27] planning. And so we want to start those conversations uh in a way that would

[1:13:32] then be building the infrastructure. U the high school is overcrowded. Um and

[1:13:37] then you know there's a ripple effect through the other buildings as far as

[1:13:41] how our grades are configured. Um so long term I think we we need to think

[1:13:45] about that um with the board. >> Okay.

[1:13:48] » And the town. >> Y

[1:13:50] » yeah. So with the preschool program too Sarah's Sarah here

[1:13:54] » Christie I just want to do a point of order though here. I I do want to make

[1:13:57] sure that whatever the discussion we're having is as to this budget. Not that I

[1:14:02] don't want to have these discussions. I just want to make sure we're, you know,

[1:14:06] following the process. >> Thank you. Thank you for the reminder. I

[1:14:09] just want to let you know that this is something that we analyze every year.

[1:14:11] So, I appreciate the question. >> Um, and then again, I want to echo what

[1:14:16] Logan said. You guys did a great job. This is a very reasonable, conservative

[1:14:19] budget. I think taxpayers are going to be really happy. Um, as a parent, my

[1:14:23] concern is, um, are we investing in any technologies this year? um you know, how

[1:14:29] are we going to be competitive with districts that are offering STEM

[1:14:32] programming and robotics and um all those other sorts of programs that are

[1:14:37] really what kids are going to need in the future.

[1:14:41] Again, I I do just want to caution everyone to to make sure that we're

[1:14:45] staying on topic with this budget because we do have the agenda item. So,

[1:14:50] I don't want to go too far a field and it doesn't mean that we can't discuss it

[1:14:54] um in future meetings and put it on an agenda. So I don't want to

[1:14:59] » address what's thank you for the clarification.

[1:15:02] » What's in the budget this year for tech? >> Right. So um to be honest, our biggest

[1:15:06] investment on the science side is our U K12 science uh specialist and uh she has

[1:15:14] pursued grants. She's run robotics programs in other towns. Uh she uh

[1:15:20] received a grant to do a drones program at the middle school uh which is very

[1:15:25] popular. Uh we recently expanded to some uh the technology for gaming um some

[1:15:32] gaming computers at the middle school. So there's some uh enrichment programs

[1:15:36] uh related to that at the middle school level and she'll be expanding the uh

[1:15:42] science experiences. She's actually attending a conference soon. Um but our

[1:15:47] investment is in that position and and that's really our biggest strategy.

[1:15:52] » Thank you. I have a question on page 39

[1:15:57] on board of ed. Can you explain those

[1:16:01] figures?

[1:16:08] I So, right now, Lenora, I don't have like all that detail in front of me. Is

[1:16:12] it okay if I pull that and give you a call on that? Because I my assumption is

[1:16:16] going to be um

[1:16:23] you stumped you stumped me. [laughter]

[1:16:28] » If the question was on page 39 >> the department summary of department

[1:16:34] uh board of ed 42.

[1:16:43] We do have some costs that are applicable to specific board costs. So

[1:16:48] um in one year we purchased tablets I believe for the board. So there are some

[1:16:52] board specific costs. >> So each GL

[1:16:57] » Yeah. But >> each of our

[1:16:59] » it's going up 135,000. >> Each of our GL codes have these

[1:17:04] different department codes within them. So, anything that's spent within uh

[1:17:09] department code 42 would roll up into there. So, your question was what makes

[1:17:15] up the 477452? Is that the question?

[1:17:19] » Basically, yeah. >> Okay. We can dig back into the detail of

[1:17:22] that that we have all of those details, but to come up with that off the top of

[1:17:27] our heads would probably be impossible. >> Would that be part of salary? Is there

[1:17:31] any salary in that line item or no? Uh, I don't believe so.

[1:17:36] » Howard's not >> there. [laughter]

[1:17:39] » You didn't know you were getting a bonus for

[1:17:41] » I'm not saying salaries to the board of ed. I mean salary in that line. Not not

[1:17:47] for the board of ed members, but is there [laughter]

[1:17:50] any salary that's attributed to that that line item? No, Lenor, we're not

[1:17:55] getting a pay raise. [laughter] >> So, no. If you flip, but if you look

[1:18:00] » if you flip to page 41, when you roll down the codes, that department code 41,

[1:18:06] it's the third section. So like that very first line,

[1:18:10] 1001 01 is the department. I believe that's

[1:18:14] center school if I'm thinking off the top of my head. Um that's location

[1:18:19] department code for 1 2 3 4 5 in. Um, so there's no 42s

[1:18:27] within there. >> So, but if you look at um non-certified

[1:18:31] salaries on 112 on page 43, you're going to see the support um for the

[1:18:37] subcoordinator systemwide that that is included in that that number. Correct.

[1:18:42] So, >> there is salaries in there.

[1:18:45] » So, the support BOE would I bet it's probably the stipen for the minutes. So,

[1:18:49] it's probably the board meeting minutes stipen is in there. But but what I'll do

[1:18:55] is I'll go ahead and just pull all the detail of the different lines and send

[1:18:58] it out. Yeah, the sub coordinator. So I'll pull it and I can give an

[1:19:00] explanation as to why it's in there and I'll send it out. It's probably easier

[1:19:04] than you guys going through every page, >> but it's not the superintendent salary

[1:19:08] that's that's in there, but it could be costs that are associated with the

[1:19:11] board. We do have uh leg legal costs sometimes. Uh we have we're if we have

[1:19:18] an expulsion we have to you know pay for legal to come and and be part of that.

[1:19:22] Would that cost be part of the board of ed cost?

[1:19:25] » Yes. >> And so is severance and adjustments for

[1:19:28] teachers. >> So we can get an itemized

[1:19:31] list of that. >> Yes.

[1:19:33] » Okay. >> Yep.

[1:19:39] » Hi Charlotte Ward. Um, I was asked to ask for myself and for others if someone

[1:19:42] could just explain pages 17 through 19 of how our staff to our studentto staff

[1:19:48] ratios along with per pupil spending and return on investment comparative to

[1:19:54] comparable districts. So I understand like everyone compares ourselves to like

[1:19:57] from a parent standpoint to South Windsor or Vernon etc. But just when

[1:20:02] we're looking at the budget for general knowledge of parents who are not privy

[1:20:06] to any of this insider knowledge um and just want to know like are we investing

[1:20:10] in our students? I think that this is a great way for them to kind of get a

[1:20:14] quick view. If someone could quickly just kind of give us the the short and

[1:20:18] dirty on on that would be really appreciated.

[1:20:20] » Um yeah, unfortunately I So I will attempt to do that. kind of speak to it

[1:20:25] like how how it all relates to right >> how we're running cuz

[1:20:29] » the public hears often that we are running lean and that we have a very low

[1:20:33] cost per pupil and I think people worry does that mean that my kids are missing

[1:20:38] out >> and right

[1:20:39] » if if someone could just explain that related to the budget

[1:20:42] » I'll give you an example of it it's extremely nuanced and complex but I'll

[1:20:47] give you an example so um uh if you were to plan a community around cost savings

[1:20:54] things. You would design a middle school that had a perfect multiple of a 100

[1:21:00] students per grade level so that you would have four sections of 25 students.

[1:21:06] If you happen to have a community that is that size already, you have a huge

[1:21:11] efficiency because you have two sections or two groups uh of 100 students. So 200

[1:21:20] students per grade splits out across four core content areas very

[1:21:26] efficiently. If you had 130 students, you end up in a very strange

[1:21:32] configuration and your class sizes would either be super huge like in way into

[1:21:38] the 30s um or quite quite small in like 17 18 area. So there's some efficiencies

[1:21:46] that come with just having the luck of being a community that's a multiple of a

[1:21:52] 100 students per grade. That's one example of the variation across those

[1:21:56] different districts.

[1:22:00] » I think that's helpful. So thank you. I think it's very helpful for people that

[1:22:02] don't know that insight. They just look at the numbers are like south should I

[1:22:06] move to South or you know. Thank you. >> And I would also say Charlotte are there

[1:22:12] programs we're missing out on? Mhm. Absolutely, 100%. There's no there's no

[1:22:17] doubt about it. But what the what's the tradeoff, right? Um do we want to go

[1:22:23] through three referendums? I don't um >> I don't either.

[1:22:28] » So, but at the same time, are we providing an excellent education for our

[1:22:33] students? Absolutely. >> Yes. And I I want to say I don't I've

[1:22:36] not heard one negative comment any one negative. The only questions that

[1:22:41] have come are we are hearing, it is already out there. I've already heard

[1:22:45] from multiple people like we're getting no money. We're going to spend no money.

[1:22:49] That's what they're saying. And I I can understand that and I appreciate that.

[1:22:52] From being on boardman, hopefully we can make this all go smoother. But from a

[1:22:57] parent standpoint, it's concerning on are we missing out? And it's no fault of

[1:23:02] anyone here because you're being directed to do something. Y

[1:23:05] » but I parents want to be informed and empowered to have a voice and this is

[1:23:10] very overwhelming and they stop at page like 20

[1:23:14] » right so the only questions I've gotten so far are on the very beginning and

[1:23:17] they look at numbers that they don't quite understand right I I'm trying but

[1:23:21] I don't know all the details of it and they are they are frightened is I think

[1:23:25] is a good word they're frightened that we are not building our schools that

[1:23:29] we're not investing in them don't fault any of you at all that's not to say they

[1:23:33] are happy But our future generations of our preschool classrooms, are they going

[1:23:38] to be if we're not spending money, are we going to keep up with our peers

[1:23:42] towns, >> right? And

[1:23:43] » that's the concern. And I I hope that's voiced by more than just me to people to

[1:23:48] everyone that people want to spend money. They want to invest in our

[1:23:51] students. >> So appreciate what you're doing. But

[1:23:54] » and I think that kind of goes to my point of the question around where's our

[1:23:58] cliff, right? How long can we sustain this before our students aren't gaining?

[1:24:04] Um, and and that's that's a valid point and it's a valid point for parents and

[1:24:08] and honestly, are we missing out on some things? Yes, we absolutely are. That

[1:24:14] list starts some of that, but that's not even the program side of things. Um, so

[1:24:19] it's a it's a trade-off. Absolutely. But yes, yes, to speak to that, it's true.

[1:24:24] » I had a related I'm sorry. >> Hold on one second,

[1:24:27] » Charlotte. I think um if you can lead people to um our return on investment

[1:24:34] the ROI information and I don't know if that's in the budget

[1:24:38] » book as

[1:24:44] » well that tells if I'm correct that tells the public that we are doing quite

[1:24:51] well. we come in at number seven um on the return statewide on the return

[1:24:58] of our investment which should say to people that we are doing the best we can

[1:25:04] do um with the money we're spending we're

[1:25:08] getting a great return and I think that [clears throat] you need to

[1:25:12] tell people that >> so I do think that people hear that I do

[1:25:16] but when you look at this and you and they're looking again probably not

[1:25:19] knowing the whole details and South Windsor has reasonable spending that is

[1:25:23] less than ours and is number one they're asking should we be doing more no one's

[1:25:28] discounting anything that's being done they're saying should we be doing more

[1:25:31] does that make sense I'm not getting across

[1:25:33] » clear right so um the framework we use for that is really around continuous

[1:25:39] improvement so when I was speaking earlier to the way that we're investing

[1:25:43] in the capacity and collaboration of the faculty uh those are really really

[1:25:48] important investments and they're an investment of time so they don't show up

[1:25:52] in here as well um or as clearly. Uh but we are super committed to uh continuous

[1:25:59] continuous improvement in our instruction and instructional practices

[1:26:04] and the resources that go along with that are the curricular resources that

[1:26:08] we're purchasing and uh the teacher specialists who are supporting teachers

[1:26:14] um not only supporting students through direct intervention but supporting

[1:26:17] teachers in their planning and uh in their classrooms. So that that's a staff

[1:26:22] investment that we're super committed to and it's part of the the return on

[1:26:27] investment in terms of the educational outcomes we're able to get um without

[1:26:33] spending a lot of extra dollars beyond what's in this budget.

[1:26:36] » I also just I want to point out we didn't spend time um looking at this,

[1:26:43] but I know in the years past we have. I don't know that it's necessary, but

[1:26:47] there are plenty of school districts out there that spend a lot more money per

[1:26:52] student and do not get the test results we get, do not have the excellent

[1:26:57] programming or are able to keep students in district like we are. So,

[1:27:04] spending more money doesn't always mean you get better value. what our jobs here

[1:27:11] to what we're here to do as uh the board of education is to look at this budget

[1:27:17] and say and we thank you for the superintendent's proposed budget. Uh at

[1:27:22] the end of the meeting, it'll be our budget and we're going to look to say,

[1:27:26] are we using our resources as best we can uh at as efficiently as we can and

[1:27:32] get and and still giving every student the opportunity for educational

[1:27:40] excellence and that's our goal. So, we all are consumers. We all know that just

[1:27:47] because you spend more on something doesn't mean it lasts longer or is

[1:27:51] better. So, we always have to keep our our uh focus on that as well. It doesn't

[1:27:56] mean that hey, if we had some extra uh dollars, could we do more? We might, but

[1:28:03] we might not get any better results than what we're getting now. uh the balance

[1:28:08] this year uh that I am hearing from the town is they're going to have a big

[1:28:15] challenge and we also have to think of the people that live in our town that

[1:28:20] want to continue to live in our town and want to be able to afford to continue to

[1:28:23] live in our town. So that's the balance, right? like if we uh do not be

[1:28:31] responsible with our money, then there are folks that might have to leave a

[1:28:36] town that they love that they've continued to live in because their

[1:28:39] property taxes increase. So, we want to be very mindful of that, too, because we

[1:28:46] know that we're the biggest budget in this town. So, I I think that everyone

[1:28:51] wants to be able to everyone I know on this board wants to be able to give

[1:28:56] every child the best education we possibly can

[1:29:00] regardless of funds. Uh, and how can [clears throat] we do it in the most

[1:29:05] responsible way? So, that's our job to to do. It's not that we want to be cheap

[1:29:12] or just do the cheapest thing possible. It's

[1:29:17] ba balancing that always that concern. So, is there anyone else that has any

[1:29:22] questions on the board? Oh, yes. I just Oh. Oh, I'm sorry. Are you first,

[1:29:25] Lenora? >> Yeah. Oh,

[1:29:27] » go ahead, Lenora. Uh, two questions. Uh, we have uh student to staff ratios in

[1:29:33] the um budget book. Do we have teacher I mean, excuse me, studenttoteer ratios

[1:29:38] somewhere? And the second question, do do we anticipate that um uh we're going

[1:29:44] to have to make further cuts, make this budget more lean once it's submitted?

[1:29:51] » Um well, so [clears throat] on the teacher

[1:29:55] ratio, >> that's a question for us, [laughter]

[1:29:57] » right? Um yeah, I wanted to ask that myself. Um so

[1:30:04] on the um in in relation to your question on teacher to student ratios we

[1:30:09] do report class sizes um in the under the enrollment section. So I think

[1:30:14] that's would that would be the best place to look at look look at what class

[1:30:18] sizes look like. Um and so I think that would be the best indicator there. The

[1:30:23] um those ratios uh seem a little strange because um the there are full-time

[1:30:30] teachers who are doing intervention with flexible small groups of students or

[1:30:36] supporting um uh the the three teacher leaders for example who do the

[1:30:41] curriculum work K through 12. Uh certified staff also includes uh school

[1:30:47] psychologists. So that uh certified staffto student

[1:30:52] ratio often seems um a lot uh a lot higher staffto student

[1:30:59] ratio or lower like a lot smaller number of students to staff when you look at

[1:31:05] those ratios because that certified staff includes positions beyond those

[1:31:08] classroom teachers. So the best place to look at at class sizes on the enrollment

[1:31:12] part. Um and then obviously in in relation to further cuts, um we've

[1:31:19] looked very hard and and cut a lot. Um and the budget book includes a page of

[1:31:24] the cuts that have happened already and Alicia provided some summaries of that

[1:31:28] in the presentation. So there were massive cuts that got us to this point

[1:31:33] and from our perspective this is extremely lean and um further cuts would

[1:31:39] be uh definitely start would definitely impact programming. You

[1:31:44] » I'm the question mainly regarding you assuming we adopt this budget uh should

[1:31:52] we reasonably expect that the the town will come to us with the expectation

[1:31:57] that we cut further? Well, I don't know that that's an answer. That's a question

[1:32:01] he can answer. So, >> well, he can tell me whether or not he

[1:32:04] can answer. [laughter] Oh, >> right. So, that's not within my purview

[1:32:08] or control. Um, obviously, we'll collaborate and work with the town. Um,

[1:32:13] but um that becomes like the next the next step here is a week from Wednesday,

[1:32:19] the uh finance committee of our board uh will review the budget again and then a

[1:32:25] week after that is our standing board meeting. So, the board uh would have the

[1:32:29] opportunity to vote to adopt a budget uh at that time.

[1:32:34] » Megan, >> um yeah, I just wanted to say this is

[1:32:37] kind of goes on that, but also to what Charlotte was saying before. Um I'm I'm

[1:32:43] of the mind that I want to spend like I I want to put as much money as we can to

[1:32:49] our schools. Um, you know, and especially when I see that there's

[1:32:53] $550,000 going to athletics and about $40,000

[1:32:58] going to music, art, and theater arts. I am a theater kid. I'm like, give the

[1:33:02] theater kids more money, please. But I get it. This year is not the year for

[1:33:06] that. And I think it's our job as a board, as a board of selectmen, as board

[1:33:11] of finance to work together and make sure we communicate in ways that parents

[1:33:16] understand how important it is to pass this so that in future years when, you

[1:33:21] know, when we get through this rough year, maybe we can add services, you

[1:33:26] know, but let's explain it to them this year how this budget is the best budget

[1:33:30] for us. And let's do that in ways that they understand and get that

[1:33:34] communication out. And I think that's really important as us as parents um

[1:33:38] standing in those lines waiting for pickup and all of that to let people

[1:33:43] understand that this right now is, you know, the best for us and that we aren't

[1:33:51] skimping. They are get still getting a great education and that they have to go

[1:33:54] and vote. And I think that that's really important and up to us to make sure that

[1:33:59] we get everybody out and voting um the first time, not the second time.

[1:34:06] [laughter] I I just just briefly a comment. Um I I

[1:34:10] just want to caution folks out there when they are looking at the proposed

[1:34:14] budget and because you did mention how we spend a lot of uh you know a

[1:34:18] disproportionate uh number on athletics versus the arts.

[1:34:22] Um, I I've been on this board a long time and I I can tell you that uh this

[1:34:28] district is committed to the arts, but it you can't just look at that one

[1:34:32] number. You have to look at what the student participation is as well in

[1:34:36] different activities. Uh, and that's that's important to look at as well

[1:34:41] because you you could have something where you're spending a lot of money,

[1:34:46] but then we have a lot of students participating in it. So, it it it does

[1:34:50] matter in that regard, too. I just don't want folks to take that away because

[1:34:54] that's not that's not accurate in this in this district uh in terms of our arts

[1:35:00] and music programs. So, but I think it would also be helpful. Sorry, Oliver. Um

[1:35:06] if we had uh because I think the other piece of that too is there's ticket

[1:35:11] sales >> that are

[1:35:13] » That's true. >> around $60,000 that offset that. There's

[1:35:17] also paytoplay. So students are investing into that program. So if we

[1:35:22] had those amounts that offset that number, that would be helpful for people

[1:35:28] to have that information. >> Yeah. I just don't want everyone to take

[1:35:30] it at face value. Thanks, Jen, for adding that as well.

[1:35:34] » I mean, I still think it's okay to spend more on arts, [laughter]

[1:35:37] » you know, but I agree that's, you know, >> I'm not I'm not I'm not trying to oppose

[1:35:42] your opinion in any way. I just want to make sure for the public that they

[1:35:46] understand there's a lot more to just a number they see on a page.

[1:35:50] » Yeah. >> And I'm working to gather some of those

[1:35:52] numbers as well and I'll have them for our our finance committee meeting so we

[1:35:55] can look at >> Thank you.

[1:35:56] » Is there anyone else that has any other questions? Oh, Liz Nord, hello. I didn't

[1:36:01] acknowledge you. I didn't see you are hiding back there. Come on. Uh can you

[1:36:05] pass her the mic, please? >> On page six.

[1:36:10] On page 16, you have the additional uh positions. And I do realize it's a 0%

[1:36:18] increase. Um there is a particular grant I'm interested in knowing a little bit

[1:36:23] more about and that's the seed grant. Will that be um a one-year grant or will

[1:36:29] that be continued over the years? >> Because then the salaries have to be

[1:36:34] added to next year's budget. That's why I'm asking.

[1:36:37] » Right. Uh that is true. So >> Oh. Oh, hold on one second, Oliver.

[1:36:41] » No. >> So, so just in reading, initially we

[1:36:46] heard um Liz that it was 3 years that they were going to guarantee this is

[1:36:52] legislature we're talking about, right? So, at any given moment, and that's not

[1:36:56] a that's not a riff. I'm just saying it it it is what it is. Priorities shift

[1:37:00] and change. Um but initially they said three years but House Bill 50002

[1:37:06] um states that it's going to continue. So is that absolute? Nope. Um but um

[1:37:17] we're you know it's it's $117,000 the grant. So and and it's money we're

[1:37:24] going to Yes. Is there a potential for a fiscal cliff on those positions? Yes.

[1:37:29] But again, we're building risk in here to add value.

[1:37:34] » So the seed grant is supposedly guaranteed for three years.

[1:37:39] » According to the bill, it says it's it it's beyond that.

[1:37:42] » According according to the bill um and the other grants that are being used,

[1:37:50] » I'll defer to you on Oliver there. She's asking about the other grants being used

[1:37:55] in for the positions that are no cost to the district,

[1:38:00] » right? That that is it. It it is predominantly the seed grant in relation

[1:38:04] to those positions.

[1:38:08] » Um and then with the other ones, there is some movement and changes that we're

[1:38:12] analyzing um to absorb those costs where one will be absorbed through the basis

[1:38:17] program. >> Okay. Thank you. Any other questions?

[1:38:20] » Thank you.

[1:38:24] board.

[1:38:27] » Thank you for your excellent work. >> Yeah, thank you.

[1:38:32] » A great question. >> Yeah. Um so, so uh in in way of process,

[1:38:37] we are now accepting the superintendent's proposed budget. This

[1:38:40] will now become the board of ed's budget meeting. We have to vote on that at the

[1:38:45] board meetings. >> Yeah, we got to wait.

[1:38:47] » No, right. But now we're taking over. >> Not until we vote on it at those

[1:38:51] informational today, right? So, the um on on the 28th at the regular board

[1:38:57] meeting, the board will have the opportunity to adopt

[1:39:00] » a budget. >> Right. But now we're going to we're

[1:39:03] going to be working at at the finance the next meeting that we're going to be

[1:39:08] having is the uh finance committee to review the budget on on January 21st.

[1:39:14] » That's correct. and and we'll be looking to discuss this this your proposed

[1:39:18] budget to hopefully figure out what we're going what we're going to be

[1:39:22] adopting on the January 28th. >> That's correct.

[1:39:25] » Thank you. >> I just have a

[1:39:26] » sorry if I misspoke. >> Sorry, just a one quick question. Um

[1:39:32] feedback from the public. What is the best way that we, you know, for example,

[1:39:37] if I'm asking the public to to give some feedback on this on this budget to the

[1:39:42] board, what is the best way? And for anybody on YouTube watching or watches

[1:39:47] it, what is the best way to get feedback to the board, to the to the district?

[1:39:55] What what's the best way that you want to hear from people? Do you want them to

[1:39:58] show up on the 21st? Do you want them to email? Do you want them to call? What

[1:40:02] would you like? Um I would say if it's go ahead

[1:40:06] » if it's okay with you Carrie um that they can reach out to me um with any

[1:40:12] inquiries, questions um so that they have one central location to go to and I

[1:40:17] will get answers to them and I will take the feedback and respond. I think too if

[1:40:22] if the public wants to will we is there is there ability to uh stream the

[1:40:29] finance committee or do we not do that? We don't typically do that.

[1:40:33] » No, we don't. We will. >> But everyone's welcome to come to the

[1:40:36] finance uh committee uh meeting on January 21st at the board of ed,

[1:40:43] » right? And then there is public comment at the full board meeting if um I mean

[1:40:48] we appreciate direct communication uh through uh Jenzen as as our um

[1:40:54] » finance chair. >> Finance chair. Um, so I, you know, that

[1:40:59] that's a way to to start right now, but um, public comment could be at the board

[1:41:04] meeting as well. >> And there's also a public hearing on

[1:41:06] April 14th as well at the auditorium.

[1:41:13] » Yeah. The only reason I I mention is because I know like in a you know, when

[1:41:17] we have the public meeting in April, there have been complaints. People feel

[1:41:21] like, you know, we didn't know this process was going on, so on so forth.

[1:41:25] And I mean as as you know representatives the public we obviously

[1:41:30] want that to not we don't want people to feel that way. And so, you know, at

[1:41:36] least for my part, you know, we all want the budget to go through the first time

[1:41:41] it, you know, and part of that is making sure that the public's aware and and

[1:41:45] present. And uh and so anything we can do to get people in the door in January

[1:41:50] to be aware, you know, because they're going to they're going to hear 2.93 or

[1:41:55] or whatever it is. And that's, you know, that's always the immediate and visceral

[1:42:00] reaction. and we always have that uphill fight. Um, so that's why I just wanted

[1:42:06] to ask, you know, what is the best way? And so emailing,

[1:42:10] » you can always send an email, but I think the chair from communications, Jen

[1:42:15] Mullen, does an excellent job of of getting the information out in

[1:42:19] conjunction with uh Tracy who helps out with the communications. Uh there all

[1:42:24] the meetings are posted, Logan, and we do our best. We have

[1:42:30] tons of communication that goes out now. You get like text messages and

[1:42:34] everything else. >> This is not a criticism. I'm I'm not and

[1:42:38] I don't want any >> I just don't know how else we could what

[1:42:41] more we could do to be communicating that if folks have questions or concerns

[1:42:47] there certainly we have several meetings. So even if somebody has has a

[1:42:52] conflict, this is our third meeting on the budget for opportunities for folks

[1:42:58] to come and to ask questions. I think it's always been a known issue. I've

[1:43:04] served on the rec commission and other committees in town and

[1:43:08] there's always going to be somebody saying, "Oh, I didn't know. How come I

[1:43:12] didn't know?" I I we've tried so many different things

[1:43:17] to get the communication out there, whether it's through social media or

[1:43:21] newspaper ads or anything like that. There's always going to be a group of

[1:43:25] people that don't see it and don't know. So, Logan, if you can solve that,

[1:43:31] » do we send out individual emails to all of the parents regarding uh that

[1:43:37] » that each parent gets an email? >> Everybody gets an email. It's on the

[1:43:41] front page of the website. The webs, the new updated website's got all the

[1:43:46] information out there. Every parent gets an email as far as what's going on. They

[1:43:51] get multiple emails because they also get emails. I know um Mr. Mitchell sent

[1:43:56] one out from the high school talking about the issue. The individual um

[1:44:01] schools all send out their Friday emails and note that as well. So there's

[1:44:08] maybe it's an overcommunication I which I don't think is possible but

[1:44:12] » No, it is possible to be in I know there are also people that don't look at the

[1:44:17] communications corner. They don't look at the emails from the principles on

[1:44:21] Friday. I don't know how to make that any better because if we were to stop

[1:44:25] that communication, somebody would say, "Well, I didn't know." Um,

[1:44:30] » sure. >> I think if people want to know and get

[1:44:34] involved, they they certainly can. >> I think you're also going to have the

[1:44:39] set group of people that feel like blinders is the way to go and they don't

[1:44:44] what they don't know they isn't going to hurt them, but then they're the ones

[1:44:48] that say, "Well, I didn't know." >> So, I don't hear criticism in that. I

[1:44:53] think I think we're just looking to see make sure that the public is aware that

[1:44:58] we do want to hear from them and I think we're just looking to see what the best

[1:45:03] avenue for providing that kind of feedback should be.

[1:45:07] » Right. So, Logan, if you want to have, you know, and and everybody if anyone

[1:45:11] has any questions um or if they have any comments or something they want to add,

[1:45:16] I welcome their email and I will answer them within 24 hours. Tracy, is that

[1:45:22] something we can put out on the website >> and and perhaps send an email blast

[1:45:30] » just saying, you know, this is out there and if you have any questions, I mean,

[1:45:35] sorry, Jen. >> No, it's all it's all good. I I

[1:45:38] [laughter] I get very excited about the numbers.

[1:45:41] Everybody knows that. >> Everybody knows that. So, I I don't have

[1:45:44] a problem with that. But to to go back to Charlotte's point too and and

[1:45:48] somewhat to yours Logan, um I think we did this last year and we need to do it

[1:45:52] again this year is that one pager that kind of summarizes everything um and get

[1:45:58] that out to people too because that was very helpful I think last year for

[1:46:03] people to say okay if you don't want to if you don't want to sit down a cozy

[1:46:07] fire and go through 119 pages you can read this one pager that kind of gives

[1:46:11] you the summary of everything. So I think that would be a good idea.

[1:46:15] Thank you, Logan. >> That was my last comment. People really

[1:46:18] like that. I got great feedback on that. So, Charlotte, again, that I think that

[1:46:22] was very helpful because I do, to Jen's point, I mean, on the board selecting,

[1:46:25] we have the same thing. People come and they say, you know, we didn't know. We

[1:46:28] can only engage those that want to be engaged, right? Like we we can't make

[1:46:31] friends with people that don't want to be our friends. We can try. I love to

[1:46:34] talk. Um, but to that point, I think putting it out that one pager was so

[1:46:39] helpful to get those people that were kind of like on the fence of being

[1:46:42] involved. it was easy to digest and helpful and it stopped a lot of

[1:46:46] questions of of being unknown. Um so it just puts into his perspective for

[1:46:51] everyone. So I appreciate that. Thank you.

[1:46:53] » Uh so we will put into that communication the process what's

[1:46:58] happened to date the main like takeaways big points from the uh three meetings

[1:47:03] we've had so far. Uh and then look forward including the dates for uh the

[1:47:09] additional dates coming up on the school side. Uh and then those larger town

[1:47:13] meetings where the board of ed has a presence. So we will definitely get that

[1:47:16] out. >> Um I think that if anybody wants to at

[1:47:21] any time, not even just during the budget season, but at any time contact

[1:47:26] uh the board of education, there's many ways to do it. One is just to send the

[1:47:31] email. All of our email addresses are are on the website. And also too, we do

[1:47:37] have public comment at every single board of ed meeting where people are

[1:47:41] allowed to get up and talk to the board about anything that they want to talk to

[1:47:46] the board about. So, um that that communication remains open regardless

[1:47:52] whether there's budget budget or not. In addition to that, if folks do want to

[1:47:57] attend our committee meetings, our committee meetings are public as well.

[1:48:01] you're welcome to come and sit in a committee meeting if that's um if

[1:48:05] there's a certain particular interest that you have. So I welcome that. Does

[1:48:10] anyone else have any other questions? >> Great. I would entertain a motion.

[1:48:14] » I move to >> Oh,

[1:48:17] okay. Miam. And then a second >> is is uh Lenora

[1:48:25] uh to adjurnn. All in favor? >> I.

[1:48:28] » All opposed. Uh, anyone abstaining? >> Wait, no, I oppose. Let's [laughter] say

[1:48:35] » all abstaining. Motion passes. Our meeting is adjourned. Thank you very

[1:48:38] much. >> Thank you.

BoE Special Budget Meeting @ EHS 1/10/2026

Transcript