School Board Postpones Budget Vote

The school board postponed the budget vote to the board's next meeting on Feb. 8, citing a call for more information and more time for some members to analyze the proposed .

The decision was reached after Superintendent William Guzman recommended several amendments to the original budget.

After analyzing past insurance and retirement trends, he suggested that the board adjust the currently projected 13.46 percent insurance premium increase to a 10 percent increase.

The decrease would cut $148,888 from the current budget.

He added that the district has seen an average of seven teacher retirements per year, although the district has traditionally budgeted for only five. Therefore, Guzman suggested that the district could increase the anticipated retiree level to reflect the trend, which would result in a net cost reduction of $22,570.

Altogether, his recommendations would cut $185,593 from the proposed $36,736,187 budget.

Chairperson Andy Powell noted that the district had drafted conservative budgets in the past that often saw significant cuts after actual insurance and retirement rates were nailed down in June.

"You know based upon trending where you're going to land," he said. "I think in the past we've been extremely conservative."

The board also asked Guzman to come up with a prioritized list of items that could be cut if the current budget was not passed. Although Vice-Chairperson Robert Pagoni acknowledged that past lists have been misinterpreted as "threats," he said that the information would be helpful for the council and Tolland residents to illustrate what the district may lose.

The school board also modified the school calendar. Wednesday, March 28 and Wednesday, May 9 will now be half days for students, so teachers can complete mandatory in-service training that was missed due to earlier make up school days.

The board is scheduled to meet on Wednesday, Feb. 8 at 7:30 p.m.