Minutes of the Meeting of the Education Subcommittee of the Legislative Council
Held in Conference Room #3 in the Newtown Municipal Center,
3 Primrose Street, Newtown, Connecticut
Monday, November 29th, 2010
Council Chairman Kathy Fetchik called the meeting to order at 7:31 pm.
PRESENT: George Ferguson, Kathy Fetchick, Kevin Fitzgerald and Benjamin Spragg
ALSO PRESENT: Two members of the press
PUBLI PARTICIPATION: None
ACCEPTANCE OF THE MINUTES:
George Ferguson made the motion to table approval of the minutes of the September 15TH meeting until the minutes of the June meeting can be reviewed. Ben Spragg seconded and the motion was approved unanimously.
Mr. Spragg submitted a recommended change to the minutes of the September 15th meeting for review at the next meeting.
COMMUNICATIONS: None
UNFINISHED BUSINESS:
- Review previous charge to the Education committee and discuss any necessary adjustments.
Kathy Fetchik asked Committee members for their thoughts on what the most appropriate charge or role of the Education Subcommittee should be.
Kevin Fitzgerald suggested the Education Committee remain focused on its primary role of providing analysis of the education budget on behalf of the full council.
Ben Spragg agreed that the Education Committee should focus on the budget review and get engaged now to tackle some of the issues that we know will be major topics during the budget season.
Kevin Fitzgerald added that the Education Committee should use the opportunity to also address any misinformation related to the education budget, focus on which numbers have been properly vetted and who owns them.
Kathy Fetchik said that we should also make sure that where we need it, an appropriate amount of budget detail should be provided to ensure thorough analysis. She added that we should look to the administration to help us understand how areas such as curriculum and teacher development may impact the budget for the year.
Kevin Fitzgerald suggested that we use this opportunity to engage Superintendent Janet Robinson and BOE Chair Bill Hart early to ask them what they expect will be the big budget issues and most controversial budget issues will be and how can we work together to understand them.
George Ferguson raised for discussion the anticipated revenue shortfall and related impact on the budget planning process. One item in particular is the reduction in American Recovery & Reinvestment Act funds of approximately $626,000.
The committee then discussed this and some of the categories that are likely to have an impact on the upcoming budget discussions including contractual obligations, possible full day kindergarten, the economy, and continued self-insurance, which right now appears to be at or below budgeted spending for the current budget.
Kathy Fetchik pointed out that some of the reduction in funding may be offset by approximately $250,000 in funding from the Federal Jobs Bill, which is used for teacher salaries.
Ben Spragg pointed to the forecasted reduction in enrollment as a way to off-set some of the expected reduction in funding and Kevin Fitzgerald suggested we have the Superintendent and Chair of the BOE share with this committee any strategies they have developed to off-set any increases or reduced funding. He said we should expect that they will have some in mind already, even if their analysis isn’t complete.
Kathy Fetchik explained that she will be participating in the Education Space Needs Study and will update this committee as the study progresses.
Kevin Fitzgerald said he supports closing a school only if due diligence confirms that the short term and long term savings and overall benefit to the town is substantial enough to justify any changes and if such a change does not harm the quality of education. He said this committee can certainly help the budget process by clarifying if the option of closing a school will be on the table for the 2011-2012 budget. The sooner this committee can confirm for the public and for the full council if closing a school is, or is not, an option for this upcoming budget year, the better prepared everyone will be and the less misinformation will be out there.
Ben Spragg suggested that the town-owned portables should be part of the space discussion as well. If not, we should sell them if that will help offset some of the lost revenue. Kathy Fetchik agreed and pointed out that there has been some interest in portables in general by some groups.
George Ferguson pointed out that higher education has been moving away from using buildings and is considering more creative alternatives to the more costly the brick & mortar-based programs.
Ben Spragg raised the issue of the contingency funds and recommended that this should also be part of our discussion.
Kathy confirmed that she will share with the full council at the next Legislative Council meeting this committee’s recommendations on our charge and our intention to tackle the larger and more controversial issues early and that we plan to meet with Superintendent Janet Robinson and BOE Chair Bill Hart.
NEW BUSINESS:
- Set schedule of meetings (December – June)
The committee reviewed dates and agreed to schedule meeting(s) with Superintendent Janet Robinson and BOE Chair Bill Hart as soon as schedules allow and to a tentative meeting date of Monday, January 17th 2011, not to be posted until the Chair confirms. The committee also agreed to use the 3rd Monday of each month through June, 2011 as a placeholder for future meetings. These dates will not be posted until the Chair confirms. This is subject to change depending on member availability and other pressing needs. Additional meetings may be added as needed and will be noticed properly.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION: None
ADJOURNMENT:
Having no further business, Kevin Fitzgerald moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:51 pm. Ben Spragg seconded and the motion was unanimously approved.
Respectfully Submitted,
Kevin Fitzgerald
*Minutes are not finalized until approved at the next regularly scheduled meeting.
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