Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Bridgeport board restores kindergarten paraprofessionals; authorizes internal fund as backup
Summary
At a special Oct. 2 meeting, the Bridgeport School District board voted to restore paraprofessionals cut from kindergarten classrooms this year and authorized use of the district Internal Service Fund as a contingency, citing student needs and a $32 million budget shortfall.
The Bridgeport School District Board of Education voted Oct. 2 to restore paraprofessionals who were eliminated from kindergarten classrooms earlier in the district’s budget reductions and authorized use of the district’s Internal Service Fund as a contingency if projected savings do not materialize.
Dr. Avery, a district administrator, told the board the cuts were part of steps taken to reduce a $32,000,000 deficit and that classroom visits after the school year began showed “we needed to be able to provide some additional support for kindergarten classrooms” because of students entering with more and different needs. “One of the things that has happened since school started ... we had a couple of weeks at least the first week of school it was brought to my attention that we needed to be able to provide some additional support for kindergarten classrooms throughout the district,” Dr. Avery said.
Board members said the restoration was urgent. Board member Joseph Sikalovic said he supported…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
