Schools Avoid Cutting Programs, Staff

A version of this story is in The Daily Norwalk.

The long budget process for Norwalk Public Schools is starting to come to an end and Superintendent Michael Nast is managing to do what many thought impossible —cut the Board of Education budget by almost $5 million without cutting any programs or staff positions.  At last night’s Board of Education meeting Nast presented a list of cuts totaling $4.8 million, just shy of the $5.1 million cut required by the Board of Estimation and Taxation.

“We are close to our goal of not cutting programs or positions,” said Nast who stressed that his proposal was still a “rough draft”.  Nast also said he has been working closely with the teachers’ and administrators’ unions on devising this budget.  In fact, the BOE met privately in executive session to discuss collective bargaining.  The proposed budget, however, does not include concessions or give backs from any of the unions.

At the beginning of the year Nast had identified $3 million in cuts, but the school administration struggled to find the remainder.  The bulk of the most recent cuts come from the following areas:  $300,00 from health benefits, as advised by NPS’s benefits consultant; $343,000 by eliminating four reserve teachers,; $274,000  in severance reduction; $220,000 from the facilities department; and  $160,000 from a middle school assistant principal’s salary that will be backfilled with grant monies.

The school budget will be brought before the board for a possible vote at a BOE meeting next week, June 15.  The public can weigh in on the details of the budget at a Finance Committee Meeting slated for this Thursday, 7 p.m. at City Hall.