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Board approves new Excel Preschool special‑education positions and one‑year SMS counselor funding
Summary
Facing an enrollment surge, the board approved a 1.0 FTE special‑education teacher and four paraprofessionals for the Excel Preschool and authorized partial use of 2% ECS set‑aside funds to fund a one‑year Schaghticoke Middle School counselor.
The New Milford Board of Education approved staffing additions Aug. 20 to address growing special‑education needs in the district’s Excel Preschool and to fund a one‑year counselor at Schaghticoke Middle School.
Superintendent Janet Parlato told the board the Excel Preschool received 58 referrals after the October deadline; 18 children will remain in the Excel program because they are not yet old enough for kindergarten and at least 24 students require 1:1 paraprofessional support. ‘‘There are significant behavioral and medical needs for the small kids,’’ Parlato said, recommending addition of a 1.0 FTE Special Education teacher and multiple paraprofessionals.
The district estimated the cost at about $95,000 for the teacher and roughly $80,000 for four paraprofessionals; Dr. Parlato said those hires can be funded from the general fund because some recent hires were at lower salaries than departing staff.
Mrs. Tammy McInerney moved to approve the additional enrollment‑driven Excel Preschool positions using general fund dollars; Mrs. Leslie Sarich seconded and the motion passed unanimously.
Separately, Dr. Parlato proposed partially using the district’s 2% ECS set‑aside to fund a one‑year school counselor at Schaghticoke Middle School as a data‑gathering, transitional position. She said the counselor’s portion would be roughly $90,000 of the district’s $231,092 set‑aside and would allow the district to collect outcome data before committing to an ongoing operational expense. The board approved the partial use of ECS set‑aside funds unanimously.
Board members discussed options to offset recurring costs in future budgets. Mr. Eric Hansell suggested seeking non‑education recurring revenues or cost‑sharing (he referenced the School Based Health Center as an example where administrative costs might be shared), while Mrs. Faulenbach and others said they prefer to gather data on student needs before rolling positions into the operational budget.
The approved positions will be posted and filled according to district hiring practice; board members asked administration to present a plan for how the recurring costs would be handled in the next budget cycle if the positions continue beyond a one‑year period.
