Waterford - The Board of Education in a special meeting Tuesday decided not to appeal a Board of Finance reduction of $100,000 to the proposed 2015-16 school budget.

The Board of Finance restored $120,000 to the school budget during the board's final budget hearing Monday after cutting $220,000 last week. The $220,000 initially slashed from the school budget was equal to the compensation package slated for the superintendent's position.

Board members Gregory Benoit and David Campo, and chairwoman Jody Nazarchyk said during the meeting that they thought the school district would be able to work around the decrease.

Benoit noted that the cut amounted to roughly a quarter of a percent of the district's overall budget, which stands at $45.4 million - comparable to cuts faced by other departments.

He said justifying an appeal to the Representative Town Meeting would be "a difficult road to go down." The RTM is slated to hold budget hearings in May.

"The town has been more than generous with us," Nazarchyk said after the meeting, citing a recently completed school construction project that spanned 10 years.

Nazarchyk said after the meeting that the district may be able to avoid making additional cuts to meet the reduced budget. With 12 teachers slated to retire, the district may hire new teachers at lower salaries than budgeted for the positions of those who are leaving, said Nazarchyk. She said Director of Finance and Operations Bob Sirpenski had said the district may also be able to achieve savings on energy costs.

The new superintendent when hired may be awarded a salary lower than Superintendent Jerome Belair's ending compensation package, depending on the new superintendent's level of experience, Nazarchyk added. She also noted that the district may go a few months without a superintendent, so the new superintendent could receive less than a full year's salary.

The chairwoman said the board may discuss making cuts if they are deemed necessary at the board's April meeting.

The decision not to appeal did not require a vote, Nazarchyk explained during the meeting. She said a vote would only have been required if the board chose to ask the RTM to reinstate funding.

In other business Tuesday, the six board members present voted unanimously to request that Dr. Joseph Wood at the New England School Development Council (NESDEC) facilitate the district's search for a new superintendent. The board was also considering contracting with the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education (CABE), and had interviewed representatives from both agencies, according to Nazarchyk.

The board has slated $20,000 in the 2015-16 budget for a superintendent search but will have to start spending from the 2014-15 budget to start the search, according to Nazarchyk. The search was originally slated to take place mostly during the next school year, under the assumption that Belair would continue in his position until June 2016.

Belair announced last week that he would end his tenure with the district this June, reversing the previous plans, after the American Federation of Teachers Connecticut union and Board of Finance expressed opposition to his compensation package. Belair announced his retirement in September, and as part of his 2014-15 contract was able to begin receiving pension benefits from the state in addition to his compensation package from the district.

Nazarchyk said Monday that NESDEC will first be charged with conducting focus groups among town leadership, teachers, Waterford students, parents of students and senior citizens to determine what qualities town residents are seeking in a new superintendent.

The outcomes of focus groups will help NESDEC develop a job description that the firm will distribute either regionally or nationally, she said.

The board has yet to finalize a search committee, but the last superintendent search committee included teachers, students, town residents, town officials and others, Nazarchyk said. She said the Board of Education will be part of the search committee.

"I want everybody to have a voice," she said.

She said she hopes interviews of candidates can begin in June.

Asked about the condensed timeline in light of Belair's contract ending in June, Nazarchyk noted that both CABE and NESDEC had estimated a search period lasting 90 to 120 days.

"So I think we're OK if we move along," she said.

t.townsend@theday.com

Twitter: @ConnecticuTess