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That proposed package, which goes to a public hearing Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in the Brookfield High School (BHS) auditorium, is $476,214 lower than spending for the current fiscal year and is $58,000 lower than the budget for the fiscal year that ended in June of last year.
Schools Business Manager Art Colley said that per capita the reduction over current spending in the proposed schools budget is the lowest among the 91 school districts that have reported.
He said the proposed reduction is 1.4 percent lower than current spending and that the next lowest district in the state is at 0.5 percent below current spending.
The finance board voted 4-2 March 25 to adopt a $50,963,366 proposed municipal budget for the fiscal year starting in July, an apparent response to an economic climate in which the most recent town grand list, the log of taxable property, had negative growth, as 127 businesses closed during that year in Brookfield.
The overall package is $907,457 below current spending and would produce no tax increase in the next fiscal year.
Mr. Colley presented proposals to the school board that included closing Center Elementary School (CES), which has an enrollment of prekindergarten through first grade and eliminating athletic and co-curricular programs at BHS, Whisconier Middle School (WMS) and Huckleberry Hill Elementary School (HHES).
School board Chairman Daria Rockholz said in an interview that closing CES is "at the bottom of our list" as the board slashes $1 million from the proposed budget that it adopted in late January.
The closing would, according to Mr. Colley's figures, only yield a savings of $621,035.
"There are people who think it should close," Mr. Shaker said. "If it is an option, we can intelligently talk to people who bring that up."
Although no plan was endorsed, since the municipal budget will not be adopted until at least the middle of next month, some of the school board members said that they supported many of the components of the "balanced approach" in which some programs and staff would be eliminated.
Some of the board members indicated that they might want to mix and match components from the four options that Mr. Colley presented during the school board meeting.
"That's probably the one that you would use as your template," school board Vice Chairman Wayne D'Orio said of the "balanced approach," which, along with the other options, was developed after school administrators, including the four principals, met last week following the vote by the finance board.
Under that plan, 13.7 staff members would be slashed and there would be a $273,000 reduction in programs, including the elimination of ninth-grade sports at BHS and the entire athletic program at WMS.
"In some areas, Parks & Recreation can pick up for the students in the ninth grade," Brookfield High School Principal Bryan Luizzi said regarding discussions he has had with Dennis DiPinto, the municipal Parks & Recreation director, on ways that his department can offset the potential loss of ninth-grade sports.
WMS interim Principal Deane Renda said that there are several Parks & Recreation programs that provide teams for the fifth- to eighth-grade students that attend the school.
Mr. Luizzi said that, in some cases, ninth-grade athletes could play on the junior varsity teams at BHS if the freshman sports program is eliminated.
"I would like to look at the extracurricular activities in detail as to which ones we keep and which ones leave," school board member Rob Gianazza said.
Among the staff reductions under the "balanced approach" would be the elimination of three teachers and the school nurse at HHES. The plan also calls for the full-time assistant principal at HHES to become a shared position with WMS.
Mr. Colley said that under the "staff-focused' option, 17.7 positions would be eliminated and there would be $102,587 in reductions in program areas.
HHES Principal Sharon Beitel noted that under that plan the school would lose some teachers in specialized areas, such as physical education and health.
"We're raising the class sizes and raising the curriculum responsibility," she said.
Under the "program-focused" option, all athletic and co-curricular activities at BHS, WMS and HHES would be eliminated.
Some of the options presented would increase the pay-to-participate fee that was established at the beginning of the current academic year for extracurricular activities.
School administrators have said that Brookfield's system of having families pay a modest one-time fee for the year, regardless of how many activities the student participates in, is less burdensome for parents and students than the pay-to-participate programs in many other school districts.
"I don't think sports will go unscathed even if the pay-to-participate fees go up," Mr. D'Orio said.
Mr. Shaker said that the school district could generate some revenue for its extracurricular programs by charging fees for groups that want to use the two new synthetic fields at BHS for activities.
During the public comment portion of the session, several parents expressed concern about possible revisions in bus schedules as a result of the proposed reduced funding for the school district.
Mrs. Rockholz said that in some instances elementary school students would be on a bus for 40 minutes.
"We share their concern," she said. "We're still looking at the busing situation."
Superintendent of Schools Anthony Bivona and Mrs. Rockholz said the school district is developing a campaign to inform residents about the impact of the budget on the school district.
The PowerPoint presentation that Mr. Colley delivered this week and other information is being posted on the school district's Web site, which can be accessed at www.brookfield.k12.ct.us.
School officials held a news conference today on the potential impact on the budget, and during this week's board meeting they urged residents to attend Tuesday night's public hearing and Wednesday night's meeting of the finance board. The finance board is expected then to adopt its revised recommended proposed municipal budget, which will be presented at the annual town meeting May 5.
"Talk to neighbors, get the word out," school board member Bruce McDonald said.
"We want people to understand the impact," Mrs. Rockholz said.
The proposed municipal budget will likely be considered at a referendum on or about May 19.
