Mary Johnson Photo
The Branford School District’s proposed $51.6 million budget addresses a major statewide concern — implementing the new state-mandated teacher evaluation program.
But the budget may need to be amended to address another dilemma schools are grappling with — - security upgrades.
There is currently no money in the proposed budget for improving security at the district’s five school buildings. Superintendent Hamlet Hernandez is expected to make a report on security issues at a board meeting later this month. Board chair Frank Carrano said any major expenses for the upgrades would be an addendum to the capital budget.
“I’m taking security very seriously, but I don’t want to have a knee-jerk reaction,” Hernandez said during a recent budget workshop.
NEW SECURITY FOR SCHOOLS?
Schools across the state are upgrading security following the tragedy in Newton that claimed the lives of 20 elementary students and six staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
One measure discussed at the Jan. 31 budget workshop calls for the police department to place a School Resource Officer (SRO) at Walsh Intermediate School, and perhaps another at the high school. An SRO is a uniformed and armed police officer who is permanently stationed at a school to assist students through education, mentoring and counseling.
Diana Stricker Photo
“Their function is multifaceted,” Hernandez said, adding that the principal at Walsh suggested a School Resource Officer last year. Hernandez said he has discussed the issue with the police chief and may make a formal request.
“I like the idea of a resource officer…they work with students,” Carrano said. “They provide mentors for students.”
Carrano later told the Eagle that a school resource officer (SRO) would be paid by the police department and would not come out of the school district budget. But top police officials say they, too, will need additional funding for this position.
In addition, placing a resource officer is not a simple matter.
In an interview with the Eagle, Police Chief Kevin Halloran said the department currently has no one trained as an SRO, and they have no officers they can spare. He said the department’s budget has already been approved by the Police Commission and will be sent soon to the Board of Finance (BOF) for their consideration. Halloran said a new position would have to be created for an SRO and that would translate to an increase in the police budget.
“The concept of a school resource officer is good, but there are a lot of factors to consider,” Halloran said. “It’s still in the exploratory phase right now.”
Halloran said manpower is already stretched in Branford. He said the department currently has nine officers who cannot be on patrol. Two were injured and seven are new recruits who are training at the police academy.
“We are experiencing an extremely high turn-over rate at this time,” he said. Nine recruits were recently hired, and only two were already trained. In addition, there are up to 10 officers who are eligible for retirement in the next year or so.
Halloran said if the community and the BOF are willing to back the added expense, a School Resource Officer could be a very positive program. “They work closely with the kids and build relationships,” he said. The officers work to prevent bullying, violence and drug abuse among students. “It’s a preventative measure to try to direct them from problematic behavior and to try to foster good citizenship.”
At the current time, Detective Ronald Washington serves as a youth division officer and liaison for all the Branford schools. He visits the school, offers educational programs and investigates incidents but he is not stationed in the schools. Halloran said Washington will be retiring in June.
Police have been assisting with lock-down drills and looking at security measures already in place. “We have already made some recommendations,” Halloran said. “We should look into the lessons learned from Sandy Hook.”
SCHOOL BUDGET APPROVED
The Board of Education (BOE) unanimously approved a $51.6 million budget last week and approved the $860,570 capital budget in January. Both budgets are subject to scrutiny and potential cuts by the BOF and the Representative Town Meeting (RTM).
The original proposal presented by Hernandez on Jan. 30 called for a $51.8 million budget, which was an increase of 2.95 percent over last year’s request. After cutting one new administrator and taking retirements into account, the budget approved by the BOE during a Feb. 6 workshop was $51.6 million, or an increase of 2.62 percent over last year‘s request.
Hernandez originally asked for three new administrative positions to help deal with the state’s mandated new teacher evaluation program, which was slated for implementation in the Fall of 2013. The new positions included an associate superintendent and two new curriculum coordinators. The plan also calls for cutting five teachers at Walsh due to declining enrollment there; adding two math specialists; creating two additional pre-kindergarten classes; and implementing a new elementary summer literacy program. Click here to read a story about the budget presentation.
During the first budget workshop, Hernandez said the three new administrators would enable the district to comply with the new state requirements for teacher evaluations.
“I think of anything in our budget, those three positions are critically important to what we intend to do,” Hernandez said. He said the current administrator to teacher ratio is 1 to 30, and with the three new administrators it would be 1 to 23.
The new evaluation program is part of the educational initiatives approved by the state legislature last year. However, there is no state funding for the program, which left many districts in a quandary.
Mary Anne Amore, who chairs the RTM’s education committee, told the school board the RTM may be skeptical about the need for additional curriculum coordinators. “I can almost guarantee you there will be questions about adding administrators,” she said.
However, by the time the second budget workshop was held last Wednesday, news out of Hartford indicated the state Department of Education may be willing to phase-in the new evaluation program over two years, instead of starting in September.
Carrano said Wednesday that the district can eliminate one of the new curriculum coordinators from the budget request, which would equate to a savings of about $88,000.
After the board approved the budget, several parents who attended the workshop complained that the board voted before they had a chance to comment. Carrano said he asked for comments, but didn’t realize that people couldn’t hear him since the sound system wasn’t working properly.
Parent Nichole Cipriano then asked how staff cuts at Walsh will affect class size. “We’re taking away teachers instead of adding resources,” she said. Cipriano said that standardized test scores at Walsh are low and “something needs to be done.”
Hernandez said the district hopes to add two math specialists, and that the cuts at Walsh won’t adversely affect class size because overall enrollment is dropping. He previously told the board there are 996 students at Walsh, the lowest enrollment in six years. The highest enrollment in recent years was 1,101 in June 2010. Hernandez estimates there will be 946 students at Walsh next year, a drop of 50 students from the current year.
Walsh principal Robin Goeler said that the average class size at Wash is about 23 or 24 students. He said determining class size “depends on scheduling and what the students’ needs are.”
The positions being eliminated at Walsh include one teacher each in social studies, science, math, English and special education.
CAPITAL BUDGET
The capital budget approved in January is a projection of expenses for repairs and maintenance for the next five years, which comes to a grand total of over $8 million. The amount requested for 2013 – 14 totals $860,570. It does not include any funding requests for major renovations at either Walsh or the Sliney Elementary School.
The fate of both Walsh and Sliney schools are up in the air. A facilities committee, which began meeting in July, looked at options for the two schools, including renovating or constructing new buildings.
In November, Carrano and the committee decided it was time to hire an architectural firm to do a cost analysis of the options. Carrano said the architects would look at a complete renovation of Walsh, with a separate wing for fifth grade students. They would also look at the feasibility of renovating and expanding the former Branford Hills Elementary School, which would then take the place of the aging Sliney School.
Major school renovation projects would be financed through bond issues, and typically qualify for partial state reimbursement. According to the state’s sliding scale, Branford would most likely qualify for 37.14 percent reimbursement for major renovation projects.
The BOE in December agreed to seek proposals for an architectural firm to do preliminary sketches and initial cost estimates. Carrano said costs for the initial architectural analysis will be covered by the district without requesting additional funds from the BOF.
At Walsh, the five-year capital budget request totals $1,124,410. In each of the five years, there is $10,000 allocated for sprinkler valve and fire system upgrades. Other work proposed for next year includes $$33,500 for softball field renovations.
At Sliney, the capital budget includes requests for carpet replacement and painting and asbestos removal.
At the former Branford Hills School, the capital budget requests include $250,000 for roof replacement in the 2013 – 14 school year, and $12,000 in each of the next four yeas for window replacement. The BOE requested money last year for roof replacement at Branford Hills, but the RTM denied it, saying that the future of the school was still uncertain.
Walsh was built in 1971 as an open-space concept with few interior walls. Since then, some classrooms have been enclosed and makeshift partitions have been added to others. Parents have been rallying for walls and sound-proofing in the school, particularly in the fifth grade classrooms.
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