Branford's Superintendent of Schools is proposing a 1.96 percent annual budget increase that's equal to a spending  hike of $1,064,799 for a 2017-18 school budget of $55.3 million.

Superintendent Hamlet Hernandez told Zip06/The Sound that the historically low percentage increase will still, "...continue to support our teachers and provide quality programming opportunities for all students."

Hernandez unveiled his proposed budget, themed "Sustainability" on Feb. 1. Next, the Board of Education (BOE) will review the proposed budget at workshops set for Monday, Feb. 13, 7 p.m. at Branford High School, and Wednesday Feb. 15 at 7 p.m. at a location to be announced.

"We worked very hard, and we have been working very hard -- if you look at the historicals, you can see that the request has been consistently moderated," said Hernandez.

An overview of the proposed budget can be viewed here

Last year, Hernandez proposed what was, at the time, his lowest historic increase request, seeking a 2.25 percentage increase. Over the course of budget workshops and approvals by the Board of Finance and Representative Town Meeting, that number was whittled down to a final 1.92 percent increase for the 2016-17 school year.

Hernandez said the 2017-18 proposed budget's moderation has to do with a couple of factors.

"We've been taking measures for cost savings and utilities, we have negotiated very fair and reasonable contracts with our labor unions; we have made staffing adjustments as enrollment has trended downward; and also developed capacity in the district to educate kids appropriately in our district," said Hernandez.

Having that capacity allows the district to avoid paying high tuition costs for students with certain special educational needs by meeting their needs in-district. But, Hernandez added, creating capacity is not about the dollars saved.

"To me that's very important, because money is not the driver, and that could swing the other way if we suddenly have students that have disabilities (where) we would want to place them in the most appropriate way."

With school population numbers continuing to decline (the district has 2,959 this year, down from 3,113 in 2015) the budget strategy includes compressing, reallocating or otherwise reducing staffing, ostensibly reducing by what could be the equivalent of one to two full-time teachers. The budget continues to support instructional coaching for teachers, and also continues the district's technology integration goals. It also supports the planned transition of the town's 5 – 8 grade students from the current Walsh Intermediate School learning configuration to the planned next-generation model that is being implemented as part of the school expansion project, proposed to be completed by 2019-20.

Hernandez said the budget will also continue to focus on the district's emerging needs, including reallocating resources to support the teacher model for the district's expanding English Language Learner (ELL) population.  Branford now has 27 percent of students who qualify for free and reduced meals. The number has been growing from the 23 percent eligible when Hernandez undertook his duties at the start of the 2010-2011 school year.

"When I arrived here, that number was significantly lower," said Hernandez, adding the district also needs to support it's "...prevalent number of ELL" students. The district is serving 159 ELL students this year.

To that end, a few years ago, Hernandez was part of an envoy from Branford joining BOE Chair Mike Krause, State Senator Ted Kennedy Jr. and BOE member John Prins in traveling to Hartford to shed light on Branford's diversity of family incomes, and to request a more equitable share of state Educational Cost Sharing (ECS) grant dollars.

"We were one of the few communities not even receiving 50 percent of the dollar amount total of ECS," said Hernandez. "Following that, in (2015-) 2016, we had a 10.4 percent that was very attributable to that advocacy on behalf of what we were experiencing."

And, even though the state is now eyeing to cut $203,010 from Branford's intended 2016-17 ECS grant of $2,414,858, a proactive effort by Branford's town leaders to prepare for just such possible state cuts; by making additional adjustments and reductions in May 2016, just ahead of setting the new town budget, proved to be on the money, said Hernandez. See the story here

"We are not relying on that (ECS) money. It's a great credit to the Finance Department of the town, as well as the leadership of the town," said Hernandez. "The town's leadership put us in good position. One of my budgetary goals is to respond to the community's fiscal posture; and this community is very fiscally well-managed."