Haynie: Board Made Budget Cuts Without Plan

Here's an op-ed by Board of Education Member Sue Haynie:

I like plans. I think parents and staff and taxpayers like plans. And, especially when making large financial decisions of a personal nature or as an acting Norwalk Board of Ed (BOE) member, I like plans.  The Norwalk BOE reconciled the 2011/12 Operating Budget on June 14^th  by making $4.1 million of reductions and we did so without a plan.     We didn’t use  Superintendent Marks reconciled Budget as a guide even though it was an articulated  plan containing  thoughtful and meticulous suggestions based on 6 months of stakeholder discussion of how best to make $4.6 million dollars of painful cuts.  We didn’t use Superintendent Marks reconciled Budget as a guide even though, because of union concessions and internal adjustments made since her original May 2011 reconciliation, $723,000 could be put back at the get-go and even though she had provided prioritized suggestions for position reinstatement. 

Instead, BOE Finance Chair Mr. Colarassi orchestrated a presentation whereby we used as a template the budget recommendations of two committees:  his 3-member BOE Finance Committee and that of the Budget Committee with its strong Union voice. Neither of these two committees had reconciled their Budgets, nor had made all the necessary painful decisions, so both were short over $1 Million dollars. Both of these two committees violated elements of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by their lack of recorded votes, a Connecticut act that is in large part about transparency of government. Neither of these two committees presented anyone an articulated plan that this Board member is aware of.  Additionally, we as a full 9-member Board did not meet prior to June 14^th to fully review either the BOE Finance or the Budget Committee plans. We as a 9-member Board did not have our own plan either.

So, on June 14^th the Norwalk BOE had to make over $4.1 million in cuts. The dire economy and the core mission of educating our youth demanded that we make fiscally conservative and highly targeted, goal-centered decisions. We didn’t do that. We winged it.  We went down the list as suggested by the BOE Finance Chair, keeping some and throwing other positions and functions off the bus, each decision based on our own agendas, opinions, and emotions; data and due diligence be hanged.

This is clearly not the way to protect our children’s educational needs, instill confidence with the city taxpayers or run a $154 million dollar business.  The sole purpose of public schools is to educate all our children well. We hired a Superintendent with the expertise and track record to do this and it requires change and new ways of thinking. This is making some people very uncomfortable. It is time for the political and personal agendas of the adults in this City to get out of the way; our children our waiting.