Ellington superintendent offers 5.38% budget increase

Jan. 27—ELLINGTON — Superintendent Scott V. Nicol has proposed a budget of $45.3 million for 2023-24, which represents an increase of $2.3 million, or 5.38%, over the current year.

The proposed budget varies somewhat from past ones because the district is seeing outsized increases in operations and technology, tuition, and instructional expenses, which are outpacing increases in other categories, Nicol told members of the Board of Education during a special meeting on Jan. 18.

Nicol and Finance and Operations Director Brian Greenleaf outlined some areas that are of major concern for the upcoming year, including the cost of electricity, up by 14.49%, or $58,100, and the cost of natural gas, up by 40.56% or $94,500.

Utility accounts have been under budgeted, on average, by $45,700 since 2017-18, Nicol said.

Maintenance and custodial supplies, which he said have also been historically under budgeted, are up by $136,500 in total. During a budget workshop on Jan. 4, the board learned that state mandates on custodial supplies account for $30,000 of the overall increase for the category.

Overall, Nicol said, the number of students who are being educated outside of the district has been down since 2016-17 but there's an increase of $193,290 for tuition and transportation in 2023-24.

The proposed $45,319,597 budget doesn't cut programming and adds a social worker or school psychologist for the entire district by restructuring to reduce a position.

Major drivers in the town's school budgets that are beyond the district's control, Nicol said, are always benefits, salaries, and transportation. The overall change in accounts not related to those categories from 2017-18 to 2022-23 was a decrease of $141,609, or 2.95%, Nicol said.

"We're walking a tightrope and it's getting harder to balance the needs of students with reductions in accounts," he said.

The schools work with the town to ensure its departments have enough funding to provide services to the community, Nicol said.

He said the district has worked to be a good partner with the town year after year, which has allowed Ellington to remain in the bottom 10 districts in the state for per pupil spending.

There are 2,609 students in the public schools. School officials predict that enrollment to remain level for the 2023-24 school year.

According to the state's Accountability Index, which compares spending per pupil with standardized test scores, Ellington in 2021-22 had the third highest return on investment in the state with its $16,162 spent per pupil.

"We re fiscally responsible," Nicol said. "We spend less (than other school districts) and get better test scores."

The school's operating, capital, and debt expenditures have not outpaced that of town departments, he said. "Overall, the Board of Education represents 1.8% less of the total town expenditures since my first budget proposal for 2016-2017."

Board members are reviewing the proposed budget and are also considering information they received at a Jan. 21 workshop, including on paraeducator staffing, which special education supervisors Melissa Haberern and Sara Spak said is nearing the point of being overstretched.

Ellington High School Principal John Guidry spoke during the workshop on the need to maintain programs and staff at his school.

Assistant Superintendent Oliver Barton and Center School Principal Michael Verderame spoke about a proposal to restructure staff time to provide more special services, including for technology integration and gifted and talented students.

The board is scheduled to vote on Nicol's proposed budget during a special meeting on Tuesday. The Board of Finance will consider the budget during a March 8 meeting.

Residents will have an opportunity to comment on the school budget during a public hearing on April 11.

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