Not a lot to say: Proposed $42 million East Lyme school budget draws one comment

East Lyme - Only one resident among the handful at Monday's school budget public hearing had anything to say about the $42,041,219 school budget proposal, a 3.82 percent increase over the current budget.

Though Mike Schulz proposed cutting further, into such things as incentive programs, he said the board had put forward "a reasonably decent budget."

Schulz also approved of what he saw as a trend in shrinking raises, from 4.5 percent in overall staff raises several years ago to no increase last year.

"It shows good progress," Schulz said.

Last week, the Board of Education unanimously approved a new contract for administrators that will keep annual wage increases at between 1.25 percent and 1.75 percent for the next three years.

Teachers will see a 2.99 percent wage increase next year, and other employee groups could see increases, now in negotiation, estimated at 3.5 percent, according to Superintendent James Lombardo.

Increases to salaries and benefits make up the bulk of the $1,547,039 increase in the proposed budget, even though the proposal includes four fewer teachers for an anticipated savings of $243,000.

A smaller teaching staff reflects 115 less students next year, according to Lombardo.

Other changes in the school budget include a $151,000 savings in special-education costs such as tuition and transportation because the district is now providing special-education programs in district; and a $50,000 increase in unemployment for laid-off staff, a 100 percent increase.

The increase is partly due to the fact that people laid off now have a harder time finding a new job and can collect unemployment for longer, Lombardo said.

The budget also has $370,000 to pay for staff salaries that the district had previously been paying for with federal education job funds.

The district has chosen to defer initiatives such as the implementation of full-day kindergarten and the high school capstone project for seniors, Lombardo said.

The school board has until Feb. 27 to adopt a final budget proposal to forward to the Board of Finance.

Meanwhile, at a special meeting immediately following the budget hearing, the school board unanimously approved a sublease agreement with the Eastern Community Development Corp. for property at 25 Chesterfield Road, which until last year was used by the high school alternative education program. The organization will pay $800 a month to lease the property through January 2013 when the school board's lease expires. That alternative education program was reinvented last year as Coastal Connections and occupies office space at 315 Flanders Road.

j.cho@theday.com