Superintendent Proposes Lower Pay-to-Play Rates

Superintendent William Guzman presented a budget adjustment recommendation list at the Board of Education meeting on Wednesday night, which included a proposed decrease in pay-to-play athletic fees.

According to the list handed out at the meeting, Guzman recommends fees of $125 per student per sport at and $175 at with a $700 family cap. 

Currently, Tolland has some of the highest athletic fees in the state, with $125 at TMS and $275 at THS without a family cap, according to an OLR research report.

The pay-to-play rate change was one of many budget recommendations that Guzman presented to the board to help bridge the gap between the school board's and the .

A total of $568,617 was needed to make up the difference between the two budgets. According to meeting documents, the school district has a balance of $531,684, as of June 6, 2012. 

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According to the expenditures layout available in the board agenda, large savings came from several accounts, such as $169,452 in utilities, due to this year's mild weather, and $140,842 in Staff Services-Health Insurance.

Guzman said 17 employees transferred to HSA insurance plans this year. The school district and town also recently joined a .

The recommended budget adjustments also include the addition of a full-time computer education teacher at , and the creation of a full-time athletic director. The position was previously part-time.

Guzman recommends that the excess budget balance be adjusted through $38,617 in personnel and program changes and a payment of $530,000 to the Eastern CT Health Insurance Program, according to meeting handouts.

However, the superintendent and board members stressed that the district's budget may change for better or worse between now and the June 27 meeting, when the board will adopt the final budget adjustments.

The superintendent's recommended budget adjustments will be posted on the BOE website sometime Thursday.