Windsor Locks school chief seeks 10% budget increase

Matthew Knox, Journal Inquirer, Manchester, Conn.
·2 min read

Jan. 6—WINDSOR LOCKS — School Superintendent Shawn Parkhurst is recommending a 10 percent increase to the budget for the next school year to offset years of under-funding.

The recommended budget would total $35,455,577, an increase of nearly $3.3 million from the current year's spending, Parkhurst told the Board of Education on Thursday night.

Parkhurst said the school system has been stuck in a cycle of under-funding for years, resulting in staffing issues, decreased programming, and low student achievement.

"I encourage you as board members to break the cycle," Parkhurst said.

He continued by explaining how the school system has been using grant funding in recent years to cover operating costs, when its real intention is to fuel innovation and increase achievement.

He said 63.5 percent of the grant funding received in the past five years, nearly $14 million out of $22 million, has been used "just to survive."

He noted also that many of the school budgets dating back to the 2014-15 school year have had increases at or close to zero.

Salaries for certified instructional staff, such as teachers and interventionists, is proposed to increase by $384,398, or 2.62%, to about $15 million.

The budget for non-certified staff is proposed to increase $366,016, to about $2.6 million. That includes the addition of three school resource officers at a cost of $186,000.

Other additions to staffing include an assistant superintendent, a coordinator for alternative programming, and a custodian for the special services department.

Almost 25% of the overall budget increase would come from rising costs for tuition and contracts, such as special education outplacements and magnet schools. That part of the budget would increase by nearly $800,000, to about $1.95 million.

Approximately 96% of the proposed budget is made up of fixed costs and contractual and salary obligations, Parkhurst said. That means an increase of 6% is required, and there are a limited number of places to reduce spending.

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