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Board hears budget-development briefing; paraeducators urge pay consideration, district updates solar research and cell-phone pilot
Summary
The board received a budget-development presentation focusing on sustainment costs (wages, transportation, health insurance and special education), heard public comments from paraeducators about pay, and discussed a signed letter of intent for solar research, Yondr cell-phone pouches at the middle school and possible arbitration dates.
Superintendent Mary Anne Butler and Alisha Stripling, director of finance and personnel, led a budget-development briefing at the Jan. 16 Stonington Board of Education meeting that outlined the district's stepwise approach to building next year's budget and highlighted several cost pressures.
Stripling walked through the district's budget-development process and a multi-iteration approach. Iteration One (maintaining current services) listed major cost drivers: wage and bargaining impacts estimated at $1,251,317; the need for an extra bus estimated at $147,208; historically underfunded health insurance at $413,016; and special-education line items (excluding salary and fringe) of $798,060. The presentation then moved to Iteration Two (improvement requests), which totaled $156,055 and included a $6,000 SHS promotional video, $4,830 athletics software, $37,189 for SMS (.4 interventionist, PBIS supplies, portable/new-space furniture), $1,036 for DMS after-school stipend, $47,000 for facilities (summer painters, security updates), and $60,000 for curriculum professional development and world-language books.
During public comment, Suzanne Johns, a middle-school paraeducator, described personal financial struggles and "asked the Board to do their best to consider the paras when settling the debate." Michele Malia raised concerns about administrative salaries in comparison with paraeducator pay. Board members acknowledged the comments and discussed next steps for compensation planning.
Board members also sought additional detail on transportation and enrollment projections, and Chair Farouk Rajab asked about the number of students transported to magnet schools. Dan Kelley asked for a formal report or press release on the middle-school Yondr pouch cell-phone pilot; SMS Principal Jeff Parkinson reported the pilot's success and said he would provide more data. Stripling and others discussed ECS funding when Kelley requested more information on state aid; the transcript records the request but does not list ECS details.
The superintendent noted arbitration dates were being considered for March and said the administration would keep the board updated. The presentation closed with next steps: continued projection monitoring, vendor outreach and identification of least-impactful budget reductions.
The board will consider the superintendent's budget and improvement requests at future meetings; no final appropriation decisions were made on Jan. 16.
