Norwich - The Board of Education put off making budget cuts to absorb a $1.35 million cut to the public school portion of the budget for three weeks to await decisions by the City Council on a plan to bond some capital expenses and remove them from the annual budget.

The school board will hold special meetings July 2 of the board's budget expenditure committee followed by the full board to vote on a final board budget. The City Council is expected to vote July 1 on a proposed $525,000 bond for technology upgrades, equipment and software removed from the school budget to ease the budget cut.

The City Council on Monday approved a $150,000 increase to the $70.3 million flat-funded school budget. But because the school board faces a $1.5 million tuition increase at Norwich Free Academy, the full $1.35 million cut must be made in the kindergarten through eighth grade budget.

Alderman and mayoral candidate Charles Jaskiewicz, who favored a higher school budget, addressed the school board Tuesday during public comment time. Jaskiewicz, former Norwich school board chairman and a current member of the State Board of Education, urged the Norwich board to restore full-day kindergarten as a top priority.

Jaskiewicz said Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is making "a big push" for early childhood development, and full-day kindergarten is part of that plan. Norwich had full-day kindergarten for only a few years before it was eliminated in budget cuts.

Currently, only the John B. Stanton School has full-day kindergarten, funded through the state network school reform grant.

Superintendent Abby Dolliver told the board that the state has allocated about $2 million for Norwich through the state Alliance District reform program, but the state Department of Education must first approve an educational reform plan before funding would be approved.

She said she hopes to expand full-day kindergarten to Wequonnoc and Uncas schools at the start of the next school year through the Alliance District grant.

c.bessette@theday.com