The bulk of the $1.78 million in increased spending is attributed to fixed costs associated with health insurance, salaries, and energy. BOE Chairman Lou Daniels is not happy to submit an increased budget when no significant improvements have been proposed for the Canton public schools. Daniels cites the added pressure of adding 50 more students next year, increasing class size without adding new teachers.
The Board of Selectmen, under the direction of First Selectman Mary Tomolonius, has proposed its portion of the town budget, also an increase of 9.94 percent. If the Board of Finance accepts the proposed budgets, it is widely expected that taxes will rise in Canton because the town's expenses are outpacing the town's revenues despite the 7.5 percent increase in the grand list from last year.
The budget requests now move to the Board of Finance, which will meet with the Board of Education and Board of Selectman over the next two weeks for any further revisions.
During the same Board of Education meeting, a vote was postponed on whether to add football as a sport at Canton High School. Since last summer, the Friends of Canton Football under the leadership of Canton resident Karl Grabowski, have held a number of fundraisers in an effort to reach the $82,000 goal set by the Canton Board of Education.
With $42,000 in the bank and a line of credit of $50,000, Friends of Canton Football thought it had enough to sway the Board of Education to commit to football this fall.
Superintendent of Schools Anthony Serio will be reporting back to the Board of Education to address Title IX issues that need to be explored to conclude if two more women's teams will need to be added if football is added. Both Serio and Canton High School Principal Gary Gula have been publicly supportive of adding a football team in Canton.