Board of Ed Passes Budget With Reservations

If votes were equivalent to correct answers, the Board of Education's proposed 2010-11 budget would receive a solid "B."

At Thursday night's meeting, and following a lively Jan. 21 public hearing, board members approved their budget proposal, which features a 2.85 percent increase, 5 to 1. Bruce Likly accounted for the one opposing vote, citing concerns both with the areas of the budget that were cut, as well as its potential overall effect on the town.

"I think we've all shown an unwavering effort to focus on the students, class size, sports, co-curriculuars," Likly said. "But at the same time, I don't think I can vote in favor of this budget...I believe we've cut too deeply...and I don't think this budget goes far enough to address the pain that the citizens are feeling and that puts us between a rock and a hard spot."

Likly was particularly concerned with decreases in funding to curriculum mapping, professional development, enrichment, maintenance and technology. But it was the overall $2 million proposed increased, and its subsequent tax on already financially strained Wiltonians, that precipitated his vote against the proposal.

"We have to ask ourselves: 'can we do more with less?'" he asked. "It's frustrating to me that the largest drivers in this budget are out of our control...we've asked for assistance on this and we've gotten none...I would ask that the organizations involved in holding back those discussions consider coming forth because it's all of our district."

Though ultimately voting in favor of it, other board members voiced their reservations about the proposal, too. James Saxe, for instance, echoed Likly's concerns about deep cuts in the technology arena, and believed the 2.85 percent increase was "too high," stating that he would prefer to see it around two percent to lessen the impact on the general public.

"A lot of people out there don't want to see taxes go the way of inflation," he said. "I wish we had explored a little deeper into revenue-generated operations, like a pay-to-play model...but with all that said, I will vote and approve the budget."

Meanwhile, Saxe had some serious concerns about the budget process as a whole. He pointed out that the school's budget, at some $71 million, makes up about 70 percent of the town's expenses, but its budget process is only around six weeks long. Town officials, by comparison, spend months ironing out their own budgets, which are often less than half that size, a discrepancy Saxe believed merited consideration. He also pointed to the slow but steady decrease in enrollment in Wilton schools over the last few years and said that is something that must be factored into the school budget process going forward.

"In two or three years, we're going to have 4,000 students and we're built to teach 4,400," he said. "I think we ought to address that as the number one priority after the budget process is over...we really need to plan where we're going to be in the future."

At the other end of collective opinion, some board members said that they understood the pains the community is going through economically, but had never heard many residents express such resounding support and willingness to take on extra financial responsibility if it meant not decreasing the quality of a Wilton education. Their sentiments seemed, at least to a degree, to echo many of those expressed at the public hearing last month, when many residents said they believed a 2.85 percent proposed increase was not nearly high enough.

"I'm ready to support a 2.85 percent increase and, if anything, I believe it is too low," said Richard Dubow. He added that he was worried that the path the school system is currently on will "invariably diminish the quality of the programs we offer our students."

"I think that sometimes in this town we have to use assumptions about what people think and it's very nice to hear when people actually speak for themselves," Barbara Myers said in commendation of January's public hearing. "This year, I heard people say: 'I'm afraid. I moved to Wilton for the schools. I want the best for my children, I'm willing to pay higher taxes.' It was different from what I'd heard in the last couple years, it was really from-the-heart fear and many people wanted to know what they could do to help...I understand the reality of the situation, but I really make an impassioned plea this evening...that we preserve the values we voted were priorities- that we maintain the academic strength this community deserves and demands."

To put Wilton's budget proposal into a regional perspective, Chairman Gilmore Bray included other area towns' proposed school budget increases, which he gleaned from a recent meeting. They were:

• Westport: 2.6 percent
• Darien: 5.82 percent
• Trumbul: 3.5 percent
• New Canaan: 1.42 percent
• Greenwich: 4.39 percent
• Fairfield: 3.59 percent

The numbers suggest Wilton's school budget proposal as one of the more fiscally conservative in the region. It will now head to the Boards of Finance and Selectmen for further review before being brought before a public vote later this year.