Printer Friendly Version - Clinton Residents Stand in Support of Education Budget

Town Council Adds Money to Education Budget; Forwards Budgets to Referendum

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Council member Dennis Donovan pushes back on points raised durng the hearing

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Residents tand to show aupport of the BOE bu

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Following a contentious public hearing over the proposed budget, the Clinton Town Council agreed to add money back to the proposed Board of Education (BOE) budget and then finalized a proposed budget that will not increase taxes, but will increase spending by 4%. The budgets now go to a referendum scheduled for Wednesday, May 10.

The Town Council unanimously voted on April 5 to send a proposed combined budget of $62,148,955, a $2,483,084 or 4.16% increase, to referendum.

The proposed education budget is $38,772,877, a $983,641 or a 2.6% increase. The proposed town budget is $23,376,078, a $1,499,443 or 6.85% increase.

During the meeting following the public hearing, the council made several adjustments to the budgets.

Heading into the night, the proposed education budget was $200,000 less, but after getting an earful from the public, the Town Council added $200,000 to the education budget.

The council also passed a motion from council member Chris Passante to appropriate $283,000 to go toward some capital improvement projects from the undesignated fund in order to get to a flat mill rate.

Under the proposed budget, the mill rate would remain flat at 29.83. According to Town Manager Karl Kilduff, it was originally projected to raise 0.55 percent.

During the discussion about the appropriation, some council members said they were nervous about using undesignated fund balance to keep taxes low out of fear that looming capital projects could require a big tax jump in the future.

“You’re going to get to a point where that zero could be a 5% increase. You have to weigh that option,” council Chairman Chris Aniskovich said.

That motion passed with council members Passante, Dennis Donovan, Carrie Allen, and Hank Teskey in favor, while council members Carol Walter and Tom Hollinger voted against the motion.

“This is the third time in four years that the rate of taxation has remained flat. The mill rate dropped in 2021-’22 with property revaluation,” Kilduff said.

The town budget was $60,000 higher headed into the meeting, but Kilduff recommended cuts, which the council passed unanimously.

“The cuts made by the council to the town portion of the budget totaled $62,000. $10,000 came from a reduction in workers’ compensation insurance premiums, and $52,000 came in a reduction to healthcare premiums which were projected higher earlier in the year,” Kilduff explained. “The Board of Education participates in the same insurance programs as the town. In their case, the savings in workers’ compensation insurance premiums needed to be applied toward an unanticipated increase in pension payments, so their savings was not part of any budget adjustment. The healthcare premium reduction for the Board of Education totaled $150,000. This is why the council only restored $200,000 of the earlier reduction.”

Before the council held its meeting to vote on final changes to the budget, residents crowded into the auditorium at Town Hall for a public hearing where citizens made their thoughts on the budget known. Over the course of nearly 90 minutes of emotional and sometimes heated testimony, 22 separate speakers gave their opinion on the proposed education budget. No members of the public spoke about the proposed town budget.

The fiery emotions were sparked last month when the Town Council approved the proposed budgets at a March 8 meeting. At that time, the proposed education budget was originally $350,000 higher.

A motion to reduce the initially proposed BOE operating budget by $350,000 passed with Republican council members Hollinger, Donovan, and Walter, as well as Democratic member Teskey voting for the cut, while Democrats Allen and Passante voted against the motion.

Proponents of the move had argued that the motion was to reduce the requested increase of the education budget and should not be viewed as a cut since the education budget still had an increase even with the $350,000 reduction.

Members of the public that attended the meeting overwhelmingly disagreed with that message.

By cutting the $350,000, speakers argued that the council wasn’t taking into account the effect of drivers of change like inflation or contractual obligations the BOE can’t restructure. Most attendees at the hearing were worried that a cut of $350,000 would be unsustainable for the district.

BOE chairperson Erica Gelven said during the hearing that the proposed BOE budget was “the result of many months of difficult work” and pointed out that the BOE had unanimously endorsed the originally proposed budget.

“Members were disappointed by the action to cut $350,000,” Gelven continued before adding. “I respectfully request you add $350,000.”

Several speakers said they believed the education budget in Clinton is already funded at a lower level per student than surrounding districts even without the cut by the council and feared further cuts would severely impact student programming or jobs.

“This had to stop,” Karin Gosselink said during her address. “This is a good, fiscally conservative budget.”

Meanwhile, BOE member Catherine Staunton said, “Any more cuts will impact students.”

Many of those who spoke mentioned that the BOE had already made cuts to its proposed budget, such as BOE member Peter Nye, who spoke of the board already having to cut multiple jobs.

“What I’m asking is you trust us to get through this brutal work,” Nye said.

There had been intense debate over the proposed education budget on social media leading up to the public hearing, especially over the role of administrators and their pay in the district. Heather Moore was one of the speakers who defended the role of administrators during the public hearing, particularly Superintendent of Schools Maryann O’Donnell.

“I can tell you the work that Maryann O’Donnell and her team did during COVID would make your head spin,” Moore said.

Every speaker in favor of adding money to the education budget received applause after they were done speaking. However, the loudest cheers of the night came after Cinzia Lettieri reminded the audience and Town Council members the public could make elected officials pay the price at the ballot box in November should they decline to modify the budget.

“If you come after our children’s future, we will come after your seats. Hank Teskey fund our kids, Dennis Donovan fund our kids, Tom Hollinger fund our kids, Karl Kilduff fund our kids, Carol Walter fund our kids,” Lettieri exclaimed.

As a last show of support, PTA president Monique Hunter asked that all those in attendance in favor of adding money back to the BOE budget stand up, at which point the vast majority of people in attendance at the auditorium stood up.

Following the public hearing, two Town Council members took umbrage with the tone of some of the speakers.

Donovan said he felt “personally attacked” by some of the speakers’ rhetoric and that he felt like the council members were “persecuted for doing our job.”

“I was coming in here tonight thinking that I was going to come right in and give you back your $200,000. But I got so aggravated by all you people just persecuting this crew for doing our job. We don’t like it either, you know, sitting up here and having to worry about individual losing their jobs,” Donovan said.

“You know once in a while I’d like to see somebody say once it’s all over say, ‘Hey, nice job, Town Council. You did good job.’ All you hear is we’re the bad guys,” he continued.

Donovan further pushed back on some speakers who compared Clinton to other towns, such as Old Saybrook, by pointing out that Old Saybrook’s education budget is $28 million, while Clinton’s is $38 million.

Meanwhile, council member Carol Walter argued that some of the complaints about the education budget were out of the council’s purview. Throughout the public hearing, multiple speakers spoke of a need to increase the pay rate for paraprofessionals and teachers, which the council does not have a say in.

“For you to stand there and berate us, thinking that is the case, is absolutely wrong,” Walter said.

Walter also took issue with an observation from some speakers who argued the town budget was increasing by around 7%, while the education budget was being held to only a 2.5% increase.

“To compare that $38 million budget to what the town gets is just a laughable argument. The town budget provides you with this building, your roads, your police department, your fire department, everything that you enjoy here-public works, the beach, the woods, everything comes from that other half of the budget,” said Walter.

Walter stated that town departments are strictly structured with small staffs compared to the education budget.

“You don’t have a clue what goes on on the town side of the budget. You want to talk about strictly monitored?” Walter said to the audience.

Aniskovich thanked those who spoke for coming out to attend the meeting and reasoned that maybe next year, people getting involved in the budget process earlier would alleviate misinformation on social media.

“I wish we could have gotten everyone out to the budget workshops. I think that adds a lot of information and cuts down on social media crap,” Aniskovich said to applause from the attendees.

After the meeting, Gelven told the Harbor News she was happy the council added money to the education budget.

“I feel excited by the engagement. This was not done in a solitary way. We had buy-in from the board members, and we made a decision as a community, and it reflects the community’s interest,” Gelven said. “I love the process of democracy. I like people getting involved and sharing ideas.”

With the public hearing out of the way and the proposed budget finalized, the approval process is now in the voter’s hands.

In about one month, residents will go to Town Hall for the annual referendum, which is scheduled for May 10. Though both the town and education budgets comprise the total budget, voters will vote on the town and education budgets separately at the referendum.

Since voters cast their vote for each budget separately, it is possible for voters to pass one budget and reject the other in the same referendum.

If one or both of the budgets fail, the Town Council will revise it immediately following the vote. Another public hearing is held the following week, and another referendum is held the week after the public hearing.

Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Town Hall on 54 East Main Street in Clinton on Wednesday, May 10.