BOE Chairman Bray Issues Response to Likly's Missive

*Editor's Note: The following is a missive distributed by Board of Education Chairman Gilmore Bray in response to an .  It is being reprinted with his permission:

Dear Town Leaders,

Last week an email was circulated that contained inaccurate information. As Chairman of the Wilton BOE I would like to respectfully provide factual information to clarify any misunderstandings. I have numbered the points from this email below, added a subject title and a quote from the email. My response is then noted on each point.

1. Subject of the email:

Email: Subject: YOUR BOE is going to gut YOUR schools TONIGHT 7PM (High
School Library)

Response: I don't think this is a constructive way to discuss an important
town issue.

2. Recommended budget cuts to 4.9% and 4.3%.

Email: The proposed school budget cuts, outlined in the attached spreadsheet
which I received this morning, will be presented and voted on at tonight's
BOE meeting (and most likely approved by 4 of the 6 members of the BOE -
thus passing it and sending it to the BOF). I'm powerless to change it
unless the citizens of our town get the facts and get outraged.

Response: This information was distributed via this email to individuals
outside of the BOE members prior to the BOE evening discussion, showing a
lack of ethical judgment.

3. Under funding educational components:

Email: The proposed budget is not only too high but it also significantly
underfunds important educational components.

Response: Significant reduction in the BOE's budget in recent years has
demonstrated a responsible effort to protect class size and our program of
instruction. The "important educational components" listed include the K-5
Enrichment Program, equipping the schools with Smartboards, and developing
wireless networks.

4. Email: Why can't we do a better job of providing for our children;
promoting and developing higher quality school programming while keeping an
eye on our budget?

Response: At each point in the development of the budget, we have paid close
consideration to the impact that higher quality programming would have on
our budget but our primary consideration has been to make cuts away from
regular classroom staffing. We have done this to make sure we protect one
of the most important determinants of quality - class sizes that are
appropriate.

5. Email: Did you know:

a. We killed enrichment in K-5 last year to "save" less than $100K

Response:

• This reduction "saved" approximately1.5 teaching positions.
• By keeping class sizes at a reasonable level, we are better able to differentiate instruction in the classroom for all students.
• The program served 54 students at Miller-Driscoll, 150 at Cider Mill and 83 at Middlebrook. This program served 6.7% of our total student body.

b. We eliminated the science Para-professional at Cider Mill last year to
"save" $40K - which reduced the "River Walk" program.

Response:

• This reduction saved approximately .5 teaching positions
• The River Walk program was cut back by one station (from 4 - 3). The Cider Mill Principal is looking at ways we can restore the lost station next year without spending additional money.

c. We aren't implementing wireless networking in the schools to "save" $60K
(total cost to the district for all 4 schools).

Response:

• I am unclear where this number came from.
• Pervasive wireless networking in the schools has never been proposed nor been a budget item presented to the board.
• We have removed wireless projects from previous budget proposals over the course of the past three years, but have never approached $60k even if you added them all together ($28,575 over the past three years)
• The wireless that remains in our budget aligns with our strategic plan to provide wireless access hubs at Wilton High School.

d. We aren't completing the smart board implementation to save ~$600K (we
still need an additional 133 smart boards - most of our neighboring towns
have completed their implementations already and are moving on to providing
students and staff with laptops in some cases).

Response: These towns incorporated Smart Board purchases as part of a
building project, through corporate donations or through their town's
technology foundations.

• This number is incorrect. If we make a large scale investment in Smart Boards, say 133 classrooms at conservative prices of $3,000 per room without sound fields, or $4,000 per room with sound fields, the cost would be in the range of $399,000 to $532,000. 
• The administration has stated its position on some of the disadvantages of laptops. This is something that can be revisited with the Tech Advisory Committee and with the Board of Education.

e. This budget will pay our computer staff ~$400K a year.

Response:

• Wilton has a technology staff of 7:
  • 1 Network Engineer
  • 1 Administrative Applications Analyst
  • 1 Lead Computer Technician
  • 4 Building based Computer Technicians (1 per building)
• Wilton has a smaller technology staff than our comparison schools, except Weston. (Weston has only 2,578 students.) The difference is not proportional to size. Weston has a 21% smaller technical staff but has a 41% smaller student population.
• If we argue for the importance of adding and maintaining technology, especially more laptops and wireless, we should not argue that we reduce the workforce for technology.
• Every member of the technical staff and the technology director took a salary freeze for the current budget year, which should be noted as it was not recognized in this email communication.
• This figure does not include computer lab aides, who were reduced last year and may be reduced if the budget is cut any further.
• Reducing lab aids puts even more pressure on our technical staff.
• Five of the technical staff members represent some of the most senior members of the discretionary staff

f. Pay our janitorial staff ~$2.2M a year.

Response:

• This number is correct. Our custodial staff covers 760,000+ sf of building space everyday over two shifts and on weekends. They also provide maintenance, painting, plumbing, carpentry and snow removal services for all of our buildings. Based on industry standards, we are two FTE's below appropriate staffing levels for the size and age of our physical plant. They also provide maintenance services to the town whenever possible.
•  In the most recent contract negotiations with this bargaining unit, we achieved two years of no salary increases, the introduction of a defined contribution retirement plan, and increased insurance premium contributions. For this the bargaining unit received an agreement of no layoffs for the two years of zero increases.

g. Pay to keep 41 secretaries on the payroll each year for a total cost of

$2.3M a year (the TOTAL interscholastic athletic budget is only ~$1.1M/yr
BTW).

Response:

• This is most misleading on several levels. First, many of the 41 included in this number are in positions that are not what the general public thinks of as secretarial. For example, the Transportation Coordinator, the Senior Accountant, the Payroll Bookkeeper, Bookkeeper, the Benefits/Payroll Assistant, the High School Registrar are all included in the 41 support staff positions.
• There are actually 26 secretaries in the district at a budget of $1.1M. Nearly half of the secretarial staff mentioned does provide assistance to multiple staff members. Senior Administrators (Principals, the Supervisor of Custodial and Maintenance Services, and the Technology Director) do have an Executive Secretary.
• The Cabinet (The Superintendent, Asst. Superintendent, Director of Finance, Director of Human Resources, and the Director of Special Services) have Administrative Assistants (six) at a budget of $437,000.

h. Pay our law firm over $400K a year when there are other law firms in CT,
who also specialize in education law and cost up to $100 per hour less than
ours, who have achieved more favorable union contracts for their towns than
our firm has.

Response: 

• In 2009-10 our legal counsel was actually paid $147,000. Figures for the last five years were :
  • 05-06 $125,826
  • 06-07 $167,679
  • 07-08 $167,781
  • 08-09 $224,698 (Contract negotiations/ major due process proceedings in SPED)
  • 09-10 $147,042
• The total legal expenditures for the past five years were $833,026 or an average of $166,605 per year.  
• I are not sure how a judgment could be made relative to the success of various law firms in negotiating "more favorable union contracts." 
• The settlement reached with the WEA was a matter of timing as it was negotiated prior to the current economic realities becoming clear.

i. The significant increasing-expense drivers affecting our school budget
for next year are the following contractual obligations which were
negotiated several years ago by our current law firm and your current
Chairman, Vice Chairman and Secretary of your BOE (who are advocating for a
higher budget and higher taxes now):

• $685K increase in teacher salaries
• $549K increase in "certified" staff salaries (people holding teaching certificates who are not designated as classroom teachers)
• $445K in med/life insurance benefits
• $361K increase in contributions to fully fund the municipal pension plan required by the town

Response:

• Without explanation, the amount spent on salary increases for non-classroom teaching personnel paints a picture of bloat and waste. All certified staff members provide direct instructional support to students. Among those included in this category are all of our Special Education teachers, Library Media specialists, Speech Language therapists Reading Specialists, Resource teachers, English Language Learner teachers, Counselors, Psychologists, Social Workers, and certified Administrators.
• The $361,000 figure was determined by the Town's actuary and represents the Board of Education's share that will be go to fully funding the Town's Municipal Pension Fund. As such it does not represent an increase in retirement benefits.

j. We have many spectacular teachers. I am not advocating that we harm
them. They are what make our district great but even they might not have
all of the facts because they aren't told everything their union leadership
is.

Response:

• As a matter of fact, the Principals shared the budget reductions with the full faculty in each of their buildings. We did not provide the union leadership with special information. 
• Further, the Superintendent, Director of Human Resources, and Director of Finance were given the opportunity to speak directly with the full WAESCA membership. They did so, and the members voted not to grant concessions.
• By law, we cannot force the union to convene their membership or require them to vote on concessions.

6. Email: Some other "fun facts":

a. Our current law firm, administration and BOE Chairman do not want to
formally request the teachers union consider opening their contract early or
consider concessions to help us address our economic issues.

Response: The administration recommended on February 1, 2011 that the Board
meet, in executive session, to discuss its strategy for addressing the
question of concessions or a re-opening of the collective bargaining
agreement with the Wilton Education Association that will expire June 30,
2012.

b. Implementation of activity fees for after school programs are projected
(by some) to potentially generate between $250-600K in funds that could
assist the district in maintaining and improve programming in these
difficult economic times.

Response: The administration has indicated that an athletic participation
fee would generate approximately $200,000 - $250,000. Depending on the
budget that is recommended by the Board of Finance to the voters, this would
not come close to solving the budget shortfall.

c. The 4 members of the BOE who make up the voting majority don't have kids
in the schools anymore, flatly refuse to consider participation fees and
will vote through reductions in programming that will hurt our kids.

Response:

• The suggestion here is that because our children are no longer in the schools the 4 of us are "out of touch" and therefore somehow less capable of making thoughtful decisions about the policies for the WPS.
• We four Board members who no longer have students in our schools bhave a well-documented and distinguished track record of service to the schools and to this community. In a variety of ways, through work with the PTA's, Building Committees, Strategic Planning, student based programs like ABC, etc. we are in regular contact with students and staff. As an added note we have twelve children that are graduates of the Wilton Public Schools.
• You don't have to have your own kids in school to have the best interest of all students at heart. 

d. We have 274 designated class room teachers on the payroll (out of 588 total district employees). We have 4290 students. That's a ratio of one
classroom teacher for every 15 students yet we don't have a single primary
classroom with less than 18 students in it but we have electives with less
than 10.

Response: As of the October 1 Class Size Report:

• There are actually NO elective classes with less than 10 students enrolled.
• There are only three ACADEMIC classes with less than 10 students. Some of these classes have less than 10 students as a result of the complexities of scheduling and/or are singletons that honor students' sequencing. Reading classes typically have low enrollments in order to provide more direct instruction as mandated by SRBI and also as per IEP (Individualized Educational Program) recommendations. An analysis of departmental class size is undertaken each year and this year the Departmental Class size average increased in every department except social studies.

e. Of our $70M budget only $23.4 million of it goes to payroll for employees
designated as classroom teachers. We have an additional 314 employees on the
payroll who are not designated as classroom teachers.

Response:

• Operating a school system is a complex, labor-intensive process. Each year we have justified the staffing we have needed to meet our responsibilities, and to do so in a manner which serves the needs of students, the parents, the staff and the community we serve.

f. Hopefully you've seen from the above, we don't necessarily need a larger
school budget to provide a better educational experience but we do need more
insight into the decisions being made and an opportunity to publically weigh
the consequences of the decisions being made by your BOE on your behalf.

Response:

Throughout this fall and the budget preparation season there have been
numerous opportunities to gain insight and understand the decisions and
recommendations being made regarding the budget.

• October 25, 2010 - Meeting with the Board of Finance to talk about budget issues.
• Presentations given to the PTAs, Cider Mill PTA, WHS PTSA (11/9), M-D PTA (11/12), 11/15 evening), Middlebrook PTA (11/18), M-D PTA (1/10), Middlebrook PTA (1/20) 
• Presentation to the League of Women Voters, Wilton Youth Council 
• Public BOE Study Sessions on the budget on December 16, 2010, January 6, 2011, and January 27, 2011.
• January 20, 2011 Superintendent's Public Hearing on the Budget and the Board's discussions at the meeting that night. 
• Responses to questions to the administration from the BOE published on the website.
• Public presentations at Board of Education meetings beginning with the discussions on enrollment projections in October and including extensive presentations on class size, technology planning and facilities planning.

g. Your town and your schools need your help and insistence to drive greater
transparency, accountability, efficiency and quality improvement in our
schools.

Response: The Board's Strategic Plan for the Wilton Public Schools addresses
each of these objectives.

h. Finally, I understand there is a fear of retribution for "standing up" on
these issues and fear that your views may adversely affect your kids
educational experience in our schools. I sit on the BOE and have the same
fears.

Response: There is absolutely no evidence that any employee of the Wilton
Public Schools has retaliated against a child because of views expressed by
their parents. To do so would constitute a serious breach of professional
ethics and this would be addressed by the administration.

7. Email: My question is what's worse: Do nothing and let the system
crumble while your child is in it or do something and know you did all you
could while risking potential retribution from people who can be fired if it
happens?

Response: I am not sure I understand this point.

I regret having to write this email but I can not let the issues raised in
the previous email go unchallenged.

Regards,

Gil Bray

Chairman Wilton BOE