WALLINGFORD — The school board held its third budget meeting Monday night to detail why the ongoing budget request is proposing a 5.91% increase from the current budget.
Prices for items such as teacher salaries, benefits, transportation and new curriculum increased, pushing overall sustainable services budget from just under $109.9 million this year to just under $116.4 million next year Decreased.
Superintendent Daniel Bellizzi said, “There are so many things that have risen that are out of control and non-negotiable.” , you can’t say, ‘Were these? Can you go back and look at these different object codes?’ And I think that’s the hard part.”
School Board Chair Tammy Rassio said she was pleased with the budget increase, noting that uncontrollable costs had created sustained service budget increases.
“I’m happy with the 5.91. Not saying everyone has to, but I can’t find anything that cuts them. They’re pretty fixed on me,” says Raccio said.
Wallingford Public Schools business manager Dominic Barone said the district received an oil bid, but it was less than expected.
“We saved a little bit there, so it helped a little bit,” says Barone.
“We monitor utilities,” he added. “I can’t wait to see what happens to our gas bill in January.
Barone also noted that the textbook budget includes a new “Right to Read” program that the school district has budgeted for $300,000. The law requires school districts across the state to implement state-mandated reading programs from kindergarten through her third grade.
The normal budget for textbooks is $24,302, but the school district’s plans for a new reading program demanded $421,489 in this category.
“This is not a normal increase,” Barone said.
Board member Maureen Reed said other school districts are also increasing their budgets for the coming school year.
“They want the same type of percent, if not more, so we’re in the same boat with inflation and everything going on,” Reid said.
Headquarters managers also presented the rest of the overall strategic plan, including food services, special education, and technology.
Amy Turner, Associate Superintendent of Special Education, said the department is planning alternative schools to serve high school students who exhibit behaviors such as aggression and social maladjustment. This is likely due for the 2024-25 school year.
High schools already have programs called Alternate Routes to Success (ARTS) for students with emotional problems such as depression and anxiety.
“What we are seeing now is that there are two very different student populations, and students with behavioral problems are underserved in the ARTS program because Because we didn’t create it for students with profiles, we created it more for emotionally distressed students,” Turner said.
The program will be conducted off-site, and Turner now estimates that about 10 to 15 students will participate in the program. They are currently looking for a place and solidifying the program’s curriculum.
In addition to tablet and computer maintenance, director of information technology Karen Bayou said some intercom systems in the district need to be updated.
“It looks dated in our district. Most of the time, as in any district, it was installed when the building was built, so parts are hard to find and one builder serviced it. We have a five-year contract, so their rate has almost doubled from last year. We are about to start upgrading them so that we can have some spare parts.”
Veilleux says the intercom can be too big or too small, making it difficult to fine-tune.
“We had a few days down last year,” says Veilleux.
In such situations, management uses other methods of communicating with staff members, Bellizzi said.
“Via walkie-talkies or other means they have, everyone hears the announcement and makes sure it’s very clear if there’s an emergency or something needs to be done,” Bellizzi said. I got
The Strategic Planning Budget for the 2023-24 school year is $327,668, an increase of 0.3% from this year. The budget includes the addition of a suite of instructional coaches for elementary schools, and a building and grounds assistant to assist Mark Deptura, building and grounds supervisor, with maintaining school grounds and updating cybersecurity software. Includes priorities, such as employment.
The school board will have another budget meeting on Wednesday at 6:00 pm via Google Meet. The public can watch this conference on YouTube. You can also join Google Meet first to solicit public comment.
At this meeting, Bellizzi will list the capital items that districts are looking to prioritize for cohesion, as well as strategic planning items to see if there are other items that board members would like to prioritize.
“There are also a lot of very important items,” Bellizzi said. “We can certainly go back and put together that top 10 if you want, or at least go from there.”
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