Stonington school board approves 4.1% budget hike

Stonington - The Board of Education approved a proposed 2012-13 budget Thursday night that shows a 4.1 percent increase.

The $33.2 million budget, which now goes to the Board of Finance for review, is $4,000 less than the budget presented by Superintendent of Schools Leanne Masterjoseph.

The board's unanimous approval of the budget came after three meetings to review the proposal.

The $1.3 million increase in the proposed budget, combined with a proposed town budget that shows a 1.6 percent decrease and a capital improvement budget with a small increase, means taxpayers are facing a four-tenths of a mill increase in the tax rate. The Board of Finance, though, could decide to make cuts before sending the budget to voters for approval.

Two items the board had considered cutting but then decided to preserve were the $8,892 to restore a full sports schedule for high school teams and $43,452 to bus students to regional magnet schools such as the Marine Sciences Magnet High School of Southeastern Connecticut in Groton.

Board Chairwoman Gail MacDonald said board members thought that eliminating the magnet school transportation could make it difficult for students to attend the schools and result in increased class sizes in Stonington.

MacDonald said the 4.1 percent hike follows several years of "extreme austerity" in the school budget, which were preceded by many years of cuts. "We've kind of reached a breaking point here," she said. "We need to do the right thing by our students."

The budget honors all contractual agreements, including a 2.9 percent raise for teachers and other school employees. Because of expected resignations, though, teacher salaries are projected to increase just 2.3 percent. The proposal calls for a few staff increases. Health insurance costs have decreased, but special education costs have gone up.

j.wojtas@theday.com