Schools

School Board Sends Budget to Mayor

Approves $81.5 million 2012-13 budget that includes Student Support Advisors parents lobbied for.

 

After a half hour public hearing that included both supporters and detractors of Supt. Fran Rabinowitz's $81.5 million proposed 2012-13 school budget, the Board of Education voted to send the spending plan to Mayor Scott Jackson.

The budget is $2.5 million more than the current budget for about a 3.1 percent increase. Most of that money makes up for federal funding that the district received for several years under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that is no longer available, with only about $500,000 in new initiatives.

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During the public hearing, held immediately before Tuesday's regular board meeting, several parents implored the board to keep the funding for eight Student Support Advisors for each of the town's elementary schools.

The new full-time positions were created to address what some parent's say are horrific conditions students face during lunch and recess where fights and bullying are likely to occur.

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The jobs would cost the board a net of $71,000, with the remaining funds coming from cutting existing aide positions. The advisors would be in charge of lunch and playground aides and would add a level of professionalism that many say is needed.

"I would invite you to see what lunchtime is like -- frankly, it's horrifying," said Spring Glen School parent Kathy Czepiel, whose children attend the school. "You have aides yelling in microphones at students, bullying and serious emotional abuse."

But that problem is not symptomatic of a larger one at the school, she stressed.

"The lunch room and recess are weak points in an otherwise wonderful environment," she said, adding that she is happy with the education her children receive at the school.

Denise Laframboise said it's been a problem for years, and now is the time to address it.

"We have aides with no training and they're not being paid wages that attract anyone with any knowledge of children," she said of the $8.50/hour positions. In addition to the advisor positions, the board need to increase that wage to attract people more qualified to deal with dozens of children at a time, she said.

"I pay my babysitter more," she said.

But others said that the school board needs to live within the taxpayer's means -- and that doesn't include an increase of any kind.

"I'm tired of seeing increases every year," said Blake Road resident Stephen Marsh, a former town recycling coordinator. Leadership in other cities and towns vow to craft budgets with no increase, but that doesn't happen in Hamden, he said.

"I'm really sick of it," he said, adding that his taxes have increased $6,000 in recent years to $14,000. "It's insane. I think it's a poor value for what we are getting in Hamden and I'm thinking of moving because I'm sick of it."

"You can't continue to ask for more," agreed Marjorie Bonadis, who has two children attending Hamden High School. "We aren't all guarenteed step increases."


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