The Chester Board of Education (BOE) approved a proposed $5,150,022 budget for the 2021–’22 (’22) school year at its March 25 meeting. The budget now moves to a public presentation before the town’s Board of Finance (BOF) and Board of Selectmen (BOS) on April 7.

The proposed budget represents a $185,576, or 3.74 percent, increase from current year. It was publicly discussed at budgeting workshops on Feb. 4 and 23 and March 23.

The school district’s costs for shared services in Supervision District are included in the budget proposal, which is driving a large portion of the overall increase, according to Superintendent of Schools Brian White.

“Chester’s contribution to supervision district in each of the object codes is ultimately the significant driver of your budget this year in terms of increased cost,” White said at the Feb. 4 workshop. “There are some incremental cost increases for Chester Elementary School specifically, but you’ll see by comparison the majority of the increase you are looking at is driven by supervision ADM (Average Daily Membership).”

Salaries, which account for most of the proposed spending at 63 percent of the total budget, will increase by $159,639 or 5.18 percent from current year, for a total of $3,241,125. Of that total, $1,109,250 is Chester’s share of salaries in Supervision District. It increases by $99,669 or 9.87 percent from current year.

In addition to fulfilling the contractual obligations of the district, this budget category saw reductions due to attrition in food services staff and staff turnover in special education.

There was also an addition of a new paraprofessional in special education and pay increases for substitute teachers. The increased rate of pay for substitutes was based on state minimum wage increases and to maintain consistency with the rates paid in surrounding towns.

The category of employee benefits, which is the second-largest portion of the budget at 22 percent, will increase by a proposed $6,315, or .56 percent to $1,130,464 from current year. Like other school budgets in the Regional 4 School District, health insurance and an appropriation to the Health Insurance Reserve Fund are flat-funded for the ’22 school year.

The cost of health insurance in the proposed budget is $688,664 and the appropriation to the reserve fund is $19,401, which is no change from current year. The contribution to the reserve fund is being made to help maintain an adequate level of funding to pay claims as they arise, according to White.

Overall, in the category of employee benefits, the district maintains its contractual obligations and has several proposed reductions due to changes in staffing. The district’s proposed contribution to Supervision District under employee benefits is $304,153, a $14,622 or 5.05 percent increase from current year.

The Building Study

A $10,000 building study, the necessity for which was discussed extensively by board members in the budgeting workshops, is a new proposal for the ’22 school year. Similar proposals were made in each of the other school board’s budgets, with cost based on the square footage of each school building.

The purpose of the study is primarily to assess the quality of each school’s heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems in consideration of the COVID-19 pandemic, and to help with planning for large-scale capital projects, according to White.

Another reason is to help the district understand “the total costs of running our five schools over the next 5 to 10 years from the facilities standpoint,” White said at the March 25 meeting.

White also responded, on March 25, to board members’ questions about whether the district could potentially cover the costs of the study with federal grant monies, through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Funds (ESSER II).

If the state approves the plan submitted by the district, Chester Elementary School could potentially receive $103,776 in ESSER II funds, according to White.

After highlighting several categories of funding under ESSER II, White said, “We could, in theory, utilize grant dollars to support that study and I do believe we could make a case to the state.

“However, based on what we feel is the greater need of the elementary school and understanding that the needs of our students coming back to us will be heightened, it would not be our recommendation…We think all of those dollars should really be focused and targeted on supporting student need in the fall,” he continued.

Consensus was reached among board members to keep the building study in the proposed budget, with one board member expressing disagreement, saying that it could be delayed for a year to help the town limit spending increases in the overall budget development process.

“I think we’ll be in a different place and a delay of a year is not, (it) would show some effort of us to bring the budget down to help the town…even if it’s more in spirit than bottom line,” said Chester BOE member Kris Pollock.

The building study is proposed under the category of purchased and technical services, which covers the costs of outside services in legal, consulting, and professional development. A $9,871 or 9.86 percent increase from current year to $109,959 is proposed for this category after a needs-based reduction for physical therapy and the district’s contribution to Supervision District.

The category of supplies, for items such as textbooks and utilities such as heating fuel, saw a proposed $12,741, or 6.59 percent, increase from current year to $206,205 while the remaining categories of the proposed budget saw modest increases or reductions based on usage and need.

Capital Requests

The Chester school board will request $35,000 in capital items from the town of Chester. This includes $15,000 to replace a Project Adventure outdoor ropes course, $10,000 for paving and sidewalks and $10,000 for building rehabilitation that covers improvements to entranceways, bathrooms, gaskets and windows. If any of these projects are approved, they would be rolled into the town’s operating budget under capital.

Timeline

Pending adoption or modification by the town on April 7, the BOE budget will join the proposed town budget at a public hearing scheduled for Thursday, April 29 followed by the annual town budget vote on Wednesday, May 19.

A copy of the proposed budget is available on the district’s website www.reg4.k12.ct.us under District, Budget Information.