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12/12/2018 07:30 AMBudget season is here again. On Dec. 4, the Madison Board of Education (BOE) approved its fiscal year 2019-’20 budget assumptions, a document that helps guide budget priorities as hard numbers fall into place in the coming weeks. While assumptions are used and approved each year, this year’s document includes some big items like recognizing savings following the closure of Island Avenue Elementary School.
The assumptions are used as guidelines for the upcoming operating budget and include things like priorities in the curriculum cycle, professional development, facilities, and specific programs. The assumptions, as published now, don’t have dollar figures attached, but certain items will have a significant financial affect on the overall operating budget.
In June 2019, the district is set to contract from five schools to six schools in response to declining enrollment. The budget assumptions include items related to redistricting, but one of the top operating budget objectives listed is for the district to recognize savings associated with the closing of Island Avenue.
The size of the savings associated with closing Island Avenue are not yet set in stone, but earlier discussions have suggested that the savings could be in the range of $800,000 to $1 million. Superintendent of Schools Tom Scarice told the board that the Island savings will greatly affect the overall operating increase for the upcoming budget.
“We expect to bring a budget, including the assumptions here as drafted right now, that has the overall budget be below the budget we have this year,” he said.
In this current fiscal year, The BOE budget is $58,103,711, representing a $1,184,506 or 2.08 percent increase in spending over the prior fiscal year.
Other Assumptions
In addition to the Island Avenue savings, the assumptions list also includes another item that was a topic of significant discussion among various boards in the last budget cycle: the shared cost of the second school resource officer (SRO).
In Madison there are currently two SROs assigned to the BOE. These are certified officers who receive additional training for working in the schools. As of now, the town and the BOE split the cost of the first officer 30/70 with the BOE taking the large portion for the school year and the town taking the smaller portion and the benefits coverage as the officer returns to normal patrol when school is not in session. The town currently pays the full cost of the second SRO.
There were discussions last year to try to move the second SRO to the same payment split as the first, but the change didn’t make it into the final budget. The understanding was the BOE would adopt the split for the second officer in this upcoming budget, and the assumptions indicate the BOE does plan to honor that understanding.
“They [the police] provide the second officer under a school safety initiative that was started after Sandy Hook where they have an officer on patrol assigned to our schools every day and [Madison Police Chief] Jack [Drumm] had asked us if we would pick up the salary of that second officer,” said Scarice. “We said that we would definitely put it in the budget for 2019-’20 so it’s that second officer.”
In addition, the budget assumptions include adding staff to support curriculum and counseling services with the addition of another literacy coach as well as an elementary school counselor to be shared between Jeffrey and Ryerson Elementary schools.
School facilities have been a big discussion for the board and community as of late. As the town works through how to approach the proposed 10-plus year $100 million capital maintenance program, the BOE budget assumptions still includes the need to respond to planned and cycled maintenance needs.