Marks Puts Freeze on Spending

Norwalk School Superintendent Susan Marks put a spending freeze in place on Wednesday. Marks' intention is to forward savings from this year's budget to help alleviate shortages in next year's operating budget.


"I implemented a hard freeze of expenditures for the rest of the 2010-11 school year," she wrote in an email. "Any requests for exemptions to the freeze will be made to the superintendent. There may be exemptions made on a case-by-case basis, however, the purpose of the freeze is to save as much money from the 2010-11 budget that can be rolled over to be utilized for the 2011-12 school year."

In her email, Marks list the following areas to be included in the freeze:

• Administrative position vacancies are frozen and may not be filled with permanent employees.

• All vacant classroom, itinerant teacher and nonclassroom positions may be filled by long-term substitutes.

• Only emergency overtime is permitted.

• All requests for additional special education and related services staff, both certified and noncertified, must be discussed and approved with the director of pupil personnel services.

• All positions funded by grants must be approved by the superintendent.

• All grant purchases and grant money used for professional development, conferences and travel must be reviewed and approved.

• No new contractual commitments may be made except for emergency repairs, special education services and to extend existing maintenance agreements for copiers and computers.

• All commitments for consultant services will require an exception.

• School spending can continue for purchasing instructional materials for students, media materials, textbooks and training materials. Schools, however, should only purchase instructional materials and textbooks that are necessary.

• Building service supplies are exempt from the freeze.

• Materials and supplies for maintenance work and printing are exempt.

• Travel and conference commitments are frozen. Employees must not arrange travel expenditures or make commitments to participate in out-of-state conferences unless the travel was previously authorized.

• Expenditures for dues, registrations and subscriptions are frozen.

• All furniture and equipment purchases are frozen unless an exception is approved.

• Payments of existing lease or master lease obligations are exempt.