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The Sky is not Falling

The “Chicken Little” alarmist claims by First Selectman Mike Freda and Superintendent of Schools Dr. Robert Cronin that the sky is falling over North Haven due to state funding are false and misleading. Although in this fiscal year, we realized a $922,000 reduction in certain categories of state funding, we also gained an unexpected $1.4 million in Municipal Revenue Sharing Account (MRSA) funding. Therefore, the net gain in state aid is $500,000, though MRSA money can only be used for certain expenditures.

In past years, we included MRSA money as a regular line item in our revenue budget, and in doing so, MRSA helped to keep the mill rate in check. It’s deceptive for Mike Freda to say otherwise. Moreover, the $1.4 million in MRSA funding we’ll receive in June will be added to the $1.3 million MRSA balance, for a combined $2.7 million. If North Haven files for a waiver to use MRSA money to fund specific capital improvement projects, then dollars can be freed up from the Public Works Department budget to cover other costs included in either the town or Board of Education (BOE) budget.

Despite the $922,000 reduction in state aid to the North Haven General Fund, most of the reduction (95 percent) is on the town side. Superintendent Cronin has confirmed that the BOE expects to receive all of the money for the 2017-’18 fiscal year that was approved in the 2017 budget referendum (specifically $51,648,899). Consequently, the changes in state aid to North Haven had absolutely no effect on the BOE budget this fiscal year. While we have no definitive information about state funding for the 2018-’19 fiscal year, our stockpile of MRSA funds will either remain at $2.7 million or continue grow. Either way, the sky isn’t falling in North Haven.

Nancy E.V. Barrett

North Haven