With a unanimous vote on Feb. 22, Branford's Board of Education (BOE) is sending the school superintendent's proposed $55.3 million 2017-18 schools budget on to the Board of Finance (BOF) for review later this month. The entire amount, $55,314,698 equals a 1.96 increase over the current school year's operating expenses. The district budget generally comprises over 50 percent of the town's annual budget.

With news of Governor Dannel P. Malloy's proposed state cuts in mind, the BOE worked to keep increases at a minimum and also voted to alert the town to the potential need for contingency funding, above and beyond the approved proposed school budget, should certain reductions come to pass.  See the story here

Highlights From the Proposed $55.3M Operating Budget:

The proposed 2017-18 Branford Public Schools (BPS) operating budget was first outlined by Superintendent of Schools Hamlet Hernandez in early February. The budget includes a requested annual spending increase of $1,640,799; or 1.96 percent.

Taking into consideration Branford's continuing trend of diminishing school population, this budget slices out the equivalent of 4.8 certified staff positions. Part of the certified staff reduction will come from cutting teachers from the middle school "split" team for grade 7-8, which will not be in place next year. Eight staff retirements are also calculated into the budget.

"Where that lands in the district [is] a function of re-assignments, personnel and administration; but our head count will be reduced from what we have currently to next year," said Hernandez, speaking to the full BOE on Feb. 22.

Reallocations will include more math support at Walsh Intermediate School (WIS) as well as possible art and physical education support. Other reallocations will help the district to increase the level of interventionists working with the town's younger students.

Between 2015 and 2017, student population in the town's school buildings fell from 3,113 to 2,959. During a February BOE budget workshop, Hernandez said cutting away at full-time equivalent (FTE) staffing is always difficult, but it is the right thing to do this year.

"There is a decline in the enrollment and that is why we are making the adjustment on the FTE's," Hernandez said. "That's not an easy thing for a superintendent to say, but it's also not easy to say our enrollment is down and we're keeping the same number of staff."

On another note, the district's broadening ability to serve students with particular special education needs has increased to the point where budgeted tuition expenses for outside services will drop by 18.5 percent for the 2016-2017 school year. The town is required to pay tuition for any special education student needing education beyond what is available in the district.

Of the proposed $55.3 million 2017-18 schools budget, a total of $50,178,440 in operating expenses is tied to budget "drivers" said Hernandez, noting those drivers also have the most impact on the 1.96 percent increase.

"The drivers are comprised of salaries, benefits, transportation, tuition and utilities...those five categories are comprising 90.7 percent of our budget for 2017-18," said Hernandez.

For the 2017-18 school year, the district will see an approximate 2.1 percent increase in the overall salary bottom line (certified and non-certified staff).  As pointed out by both BOE chairman Michael Krause and Hernandez on Feb. 22, that number could have been higher, especially taking into the consideration next year's 3.4 percent raise in the teachers' contract, the town's largest union with approximately 300 members.

But attrition and hiring in new staff throughout the life of the contract has led to paying out at lower levels than those which existed at the start of the contract, and other savings are being realized by implementing high-deductible health plans with health savings accounts (HSA), Hernandez explained.

"The contractual increase for teachers for next year is 3.4 percent [but] certified salaries for 2017 -18 [are] only going up 1.6 percent. The reason there's a difference there is that we negotiated a general wage increase in such a way we were able to move all the teachers into the high deductible health savings plan," said Hernandez. "We landed at 3.4 [percent salary increase] in the last year of the contract; however, the number of teachers we have being less, as well as the experience of those teachers being different, you see the actual effect of the salary change is only a 1.6 percent increase. That's a good story."

High-deductible health plans tied to HSA's have lower premiums and higher deductibles. System-wide, district benefit costs are tagged to increase by 5.4 percent in the 2017-18 fiscal year. 

To date, the majority of unions affiliated with district staff are on high-deductible health plans, including those reprsenting the town's teachers, administrators, support staff and paraprofessionals. Contract negotiations are coming up in the district this year for two remaining unions without fully implemented high-deductible health plans, the custodial/maintenance workers' union and nurses' union.

With a 1.96 percent increase, the 2017-18 proposed schools budget comes in with the lowest annual percentage bump yet (last year, the BOE approved a proposed budget in which Hernandez sought a 1.98 percentage increase). Hernandez said one strategy, over the course of several years of budgeting, has been to "carve out money from the drivers" to help find some savings and keep the percentage increase in check.

"It doesn't seem like much, but about every tenth of a percentage point is about $50,000; so you can do the simple math," said Hernandez.

Proposed $400K Capital Budget Also Approved By BOE:

Also on Feb. 22, the BOE approved a proposed 2017-18 capital budget of $400,620. With the town in the midst of bonding the $88.2 million WIS next-generation expansion (approved in 2016), this year's proposed schools capital budget seeks "new dollars" (no bonding) to fund facility improvements and infrastructure expenses, Hernandez said.

The total capital request is approximately $68,000 less than what the district requested in last year's capital budget.

One big ticket item is $103,000 to replenish technology devices which have reached end of life. In addition, the maintenance fleet is seeking to replace two older vehicles with one new vehicle. A new sound system for the Branford High School (BHS) commons is also on the list. The district also requests $15,000 for roof repairs to the high school; $20,000 for infrastructure code compliance/upgrades system wide and $10,000 for sidewalk/curb repair where needed at school buildings.  In addition, funds are requested for some building brick repointing where needed; miscellaneous asbestos preparation/painting repairs at Sliney Elementary School; a dugout and press box for the high school girls' softball field (a Title VIX requirement) and elevator upgrade at Sliney and in the BHS gym.

Branford's Board of Finance will review proposed budgets from the Board of Education and all town government departments during four workshops to be held at 7 p.m. at Branford Fire Headquarters, 45 North Main St. on Mon. March 20, Tues. March 21, Thurs. March 23 and Mon. March 27.