Norwich – Limiting the 2015-16 public school budget to a 1 percent increase as proposed last week by acting City Manager John Bilda would lead to drastic changes in the school system, including realigning the city’s two middle schools and raising the average class size to 30 students, according to school supporters.

They added those changes would not even equal the $3.5 million total that would have to be cut from the $75.8 million requested school budget

The proposed changes outlined last week by school Superintendent Abby Dolliver in response to Bilda’s proposed $72.3 million, 1 percent increase budget drew the most attention at Monday’s first Norwich City Council budget hearing.

About 50 people attended the hearing, most urging the council to boost education spending, calling it an economic development issue as well as an educational necessity and others saying taxpayers on fixed incomes cannot afford higher taxes.

Several teachers said they are “scared” at the prospects of classes of 30 or more students – especially kindergarten classes – with 50 or more students at each lunch wave with fewer staff to supervise.

Denielle Sandoval, a kindergarten teacher at the Thomas Mahan School said increasing class sizes would prevent her from giving individual attention. Para-educators help, but they too “are on the chopping block,” Sandoval said.

“If you decimate education, economic development will not happen,” resident Ernie Marvin said.

School supporters said Norwich public schools already lag behind other schools in the region because of past budget cuts that eliminated world languages and instrumental music at the middle schools – considered basic curriculum programs in surrounding towns.

Now, in Dolliver’s proposal, the middle schools themselves would be eliminated. Kelly Middle School, the city’s largest and recently renovated building, would be converted into a “junior high school,” with all seventh- and eighth-graders attending that school in larger class sizes with larger specialty group instruction teams.

All sixth-graders would move to Teachers’ Memorial Middle School, along with the 21 special education students now at the Hickory Street special education school.

The middle school changes would eliminate 24 certified staff positions.

Another 10 elementary school certified staff positions would be eliminated, with class sizes in many of those classes expected to reach 30 students.

The staff cuts and middle school changes would save about $2 million in the budget. Eliminating another 30 non-certified staff positions would save $750,000, but along the way would dismantle much of the school improvement plan enacted over the past few years to turn around sagging test scores, Dolliver told the City Council last week.

Parents said they are considering moving out of Norwich into surrounding towns that offer languages, music and other programs and have smaller class sizes.

Other speakers Monday, however, urged the council to cut even more from Bilda’s proposed total citywide budget of $119.7 million plus another $7.25 million for the central city paid fire district budget. Bilda’s total citywide budget represented a 1 percent spending increase, but a 3.94 percent tax increase citywide.

Bilda and city Comptroller Josh Pothier did find a way to slightly reduce the current 7.38-mill fire tax paid by property owners in the City Consolidated District – a controversy that dominated tax discussions this winter. Although the fire budget increased, the fire tax would drop slightly to 7.16 mills, a 3 percent reduction.

That was accomplished by re-evaluating all city tax-exempt properties in the CCD and allocating fire coverage for those structures citywide. City budget officials then allocating a portion of the $7.8 million turned over to the city by Norwich Public Utilities -- 10 percent of NPU gross revenues – to cover those taxes.

As a result, taxpayers in the CCD would see a decrease in the fire tax from 7.38 mills to 7.16 mills. Taxpayers in the five volunteer fire districts still would pay 0.49 mills over the citywide tax to cover volunteer firefighter pensions and workers’ compensation.

For a taxpayer with a home with a market value of $134,000, that means an overall $142 tax increase in the town district and a $122 increase in the central city. Overall, though, those in the town still pay less per year on that same house — $3,804 to a central city taxpayer’s $4,430.

Residents Richard Majchier and John Lucente both recounted some of the high expenses they face in everyday life, including increasing taxes every year.

“I just think the taxes are way too high in the city of Norwich,” Majchier said.

c.bessette@theday.com

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