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01/21/2020 11:00 PMWith budget season getting into full swing, Superintendent of Schools Erica Forti presented her 2020-’21 budget proposal, the first step in the budget process, on Jan. 14. Forti’s proposal was scheduled for a vote by the Board of Education (BOE) on Jan. 21 (after press time).
The total budget requested is $49,784,416, an increase of 3.73 percent over the 2019-’20 adjusted approved budget of $47,994,271. For the 2019-’20 budget, the BOE had requested a 3.7 percent increase and was given an increase of 0.10 percent increase by the previous administration of Mayor Joseph Maturo; previous years saw similar trimming.
While BOE Chair Michele DeLucia was unable to attend the meeting in which Forti presented her proposal, DeLucia is hoping that a change in strategy, as well as a change in town administration, will help in getting the funding requested.
“We have a new strategy we’re going in with, which is to show justification for every amount requested and show where it’s going,” said DeLucia. “I do hope the new administration will make a difference. I’m uncertain where they stand financially, but I believe that was one of Mayor [Joseph] Carfora’s goals—to help education in the Town of East Haven.”
The biggest increase dollar-wise comes with salaries with a requested bump of $1,975,080 (7.72 percent) from $25,571,560 to $27,546,640. Of the total request, there are increases of 2.19 percent for total administrative salaries, 7.91 percent for total certified salaries, 6.66 percent for total non-certified salaries, and 16.66 percent for total instructional assistants totaling $1,943,180. There are decreases to substitute salaries totaling $61,850. There is also the addition of $100,000 for school resource officers, up from $0 in 2019-’20.
The proposed budget for equipment and software for 2020-’21 was $577,813, an increase of $171,237 (42.12 percent) from 2019-’20. Other purchased services makes up $8,111,359 of the proposed budget, a 1.54 percent increase.
Other areas that saw increases include property services going up .5 percent from $1,995,057 to $2,006,088; supplies going up 2.65 percent from $1,457,473 to $1,496,047; and equipment and software going up 19.43 percent from $406,576 to $577,813.
Two categories that saw decreases to the budget are total employee benefits (funding decreased by $388,618, 3.91 percent) and total purchased professional services (funding decreased by $155,675, 27.96 percent). The proposed request for total employee benefits is $9,538,160 and the proposed request for total purchased professional services is $8,117,359.
Once voted on by the BOE, the budget proposal goes to the Board of Finance for further review, then to the Mayor’s Office before heading to the Town Council for a final vote.