Hamden Council Restores Some Funding to School Budget

The Hamden Town Council Thursday night gave the Board of Education some -- but not all -- of what it wanted, restoring its proposed 2013-14 budget to $81.9 million, shy of the $82.2 million Supt. of Schools Fran Rabinowitz had requested.

But the funds -- restored to Mayor Scott Jackson's $81.1 million budget proposal -- means there won't be the estimated 27 layoffs, school officials said.

In the days leading up to Thursday's budget workshop, PTA parents had been lobbying parents to pressure council members to support restoring funding to the budget because of the prospect of teacher layoffs and larger class sizes.

Rabinowitz said she estimates that there will be more than two dozen teachers retiring at the end of the school year, which will save the district money since it will have the option of whether to fill those empty positions. And those that are filled will be taken likely taken with younger, less expensive educators.

A motion to restore the full $82.2 million funding request was defeated. Two other separate votes added $300,000 and $500,000 to the budget, bringing it to $81.9 million.

The council still has to vote to approve the full town budget and set the mill rate, which is expected to happen next Tuesday.