Schools

Town Exploring Options With Capital Account for Education

The discussion is in the preliminary stages.

The town is considering the formation of a capital non-recurring account for educational purposes.

Town Manager Steven Werbner said it is currently being studied by the town attorney. Werbner said the legal questions include:

• How it is established.

• How funds already deposited are appropriated back to the Board of Education.

• Any potential limitations placed on the use of the funds.

The accounts are generally used for big-ticket equipment repair or replacement issues. Longtime resident Robert Rubino has been asking the council to look into such a fund.

Werbner said state legislation allows for up to 1 percent of the Board of Education budget that is not expended in any fiscal year to be placed in a reserve account and spent in subsequent years for educational purposes.

"This presupposes that at the end of the fiscal year there is a balance within in BOE accounts which is under the control of the Board of Education," Werbner said.

Werbner had not mentioned any timetable for potential implementation. He said the fund is just conceptual right now. No potential start-up amont has been mentioned.

Board of Education Chairman Andy Powell said it is always good to have a plan like that in case something goes wrong.

"We see this as a possible way to deal with a very conservative budgeting methodology - the type that gives us some room in case things go bad," Powell said. "I'm not saying that there is fat in the budget ... we could always do more for the students in Tolland if we had more resources. But, if we had a reserve, we could directly allocate dollars to specific programs."


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here