By: Claire Dinshaw ’17 & Madison Sell ’18

The Representative Town Meeting [RTM] voted to restore $390,000 of the $1.4 million cut to the Board of Education [BOE] budget for the 2017-18 school year on Tuesday, May 2, bringing the total cuts to the BOE budget down to $1 million.
According to Superintendent Dr. Colleen Palmer, the cuts were originally made as a result of the BOF’s decision to cut the overall town budget by $3.5 million in response to actions taken by the Connecticut state government.
“The Connecticut fiscal crisis has really impacted local municipalities to a significant degree,” Palmer said. “[Our budget was cut with] no warning, no opportunity for the town to prepare fiscally.”
The budget Palmer originally proposed to the BOE would have increased education spending by 2.44 percent from last year. However, the BOF asked for this budget to be cut by an additional $1.7 million before agreeing to a lower $1.4 million cut on April 5.
According to BOF member James Westphal, the discussion surrounding the budget is misleading. “The Board of Finance approved an increase of $1 million compared to 2017,” Westphal said. “Enrollment is expected to further decline at similar or greater rates over the next five years.” With this, the question at hand, he says, is what the district can do to lower costs.
Palmer has eliminated $963,000 by decreasing the number of grade level assistants at the high school, raising money by increasing the cost of parking, and implementing other cost-saving measures in an attempt to meet the $1 million cut.
“[We] tried to keep [the cut] away from the classrooms. We did not increase class size. We did not eliminate electives at the high school,” Palmer said. “I know students were upset about the parking, but I think it is a workable measure.”
None of these cost-saving measures have been formally approved by the BOE.
Ultimately, Westphal said the BOF’s actions are not designed to undermine the quality of education in the district.
“As a father of two children in the school system, I am extremely appreciative of the efforts taken by the Board of Education and Dr. Palmer’s team,” Westphal said. “I’ve worked with them directly and they are a great group. But both the Board of Education and Board of Finance need to think even more creatively and thoroughly about how we can work together and solve our challenges rather than just throw up our hands and accept the status quo.”
Before the RTM agreed to restoration, there had been several proposals on the table designed to cut an additional $400,000 from the budget, including a delay to entering orchestra and Workshop (a program for gifted Westport youth) for a year in the elementary schools.
With the newly approved budget, the threats to delay these programs have subsided, relieving students.
“The delay [would have] set the entire music program back,” Lauren Schmittdt ’18, who is currently a member of both Symphonic Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra, said.
Former member of Workshop, Madison Malin ‘17, on the other hand, did not believe a similar delay to Workshop would have had a negative effect.
“I don’t think it would be detrimental,” Malin said. “However, Workshop does give a chance for the kids who are bored in class to really have a place to fit in, so even though it seems like a decent place to cut the budget, it’s another year of a lack of true stimulation for these kids.”
Ultimately, Palmer is relieved to have reached a budget agreement.
“I am so pleased that the mandated reduction from our original budget has been modified to less than the 1/3 of the original reduction of the BoE budget,” Palmer wrote in an email sent to the district on Wednesday, May 3. “I thank all of those who contributed to our efforts on this very long and arduous budget journey.”