Stamford finance board sounds alarm on education budget ‘fiscal cliff’
A overall of 120 Stamford faculty positions, at a cost of approximately $8.8 million, are established to expire in the following two yrs, as they are funded as a result of limited-expression COVID-19 aid dollars.
All those positions — which consist of 19.5 kindergarten para-educator comprehensive-time equivalent places, or FTEs, 23 mum or dad facilitators, 21 engineering integration specialists, 8.5 teacher FTEs and 27 protection workers — are at the moment paid for by the next and 3rd installments of the federal Elementary and Secondary University Unexpected emergency Aid funds, also recognized as ESSER II and ESSER III.
The second installment is established to conclude after this university calendar year concludes. The third and most important part of the funds will expire at the finish of the 2023-24 college 12 months.
For the positions to continue being intact past 2024, the district will want to uncover a way to pay for them.
Officials have referred to the phenomena as an oncoming “fiscal cliff.”
In the course of a digital meeting Thursday evening of the Board of Finance, member Mary Lou Rinaldi said she expected the Board of Schooling to devote the the vast majority of the ESSER funds to cash assignments, relatively than use a massive chunk of it to pay out for the 120 positions.
In May well, the Board of Finance agreed to make a college design fund of approximately $20 million by growing property taxes by 1 per cent. Rinaldi mentioned she was nervous about the Board of Education’s dedication to the university construction tasks.
“That fears me mainly because we’ve set in $20 million by way of our endeavours and we had been hoping that the Board of (Education) was likely to be a significant lover in that and we have been going to see a greater part of … ESSER funds created obtainable to stockpile for university construction and renovation,” she stated.
Ryan Fealey, finance director for Stamford Community Educational facilities, responded that the district could not stockpile those people cash, considering that they expire at the conclude of the following university calendar year. Plus, ESSER cash can only be utilised for precise money initiatives these types of as air high quality enhancements and doorways and home windows, for illustration.
The district has fully commited $10 million in ESSER dollars for funds jobs this yr, and will likely use another $4 million of the funds upcoming calendar year on creating advancements, he stated.
Rinaldi mentioned she remained anxious.
“At some place, the funding goes absent … and now the Board of Instruction operating spending budget is heading to balloon, we’re likely to tumble off a cliff to now fund out of tax dollars 120 positions,” she explained.
Fealey stated it is not likely that all of the 120 positions would be funded by way of the functioning price range as soon as federal bucks dried up. He included that predicted raises in wages, health care, transportation, utilities and perhaps special education will drive up the price range request as well.
“ESSER positions are just just one of many pressures coming,” he said.
Throughout a Board of Education and learning conference last month, Fealey projected that the school district’s finances would develop by about 5.3 per cent every of the future two yrs if all of the positions have been to be moved into the working finances. That would be additional than double the working budget’s ordinary enhance of 2.5 per cent just about every calendar year over the earlier eight decades.
Rinaldi cautioned that she would not help a bigger increase.
“I want to go on report just to say that I’m not likely to be in favor of a 6 or 7 {ac23b82de22bd478cde2a3afa9e55fd5f696f5668b46466ac4c8be2ee1b69550} increase in your functioning finances appear subsequent year or the year soon after,” she mentioned. “There has to be some constraint, especially if the Board of (Education) is critical about this lengthy-selection building. One thing has obtained to give.”
In total, the district has acquired about $55.34 million COVID-19 aid money by several grants, with about $23.8 million remaining to invest in the up coming two faculty decades.
During the conference, board users deliberated in excess of two college-related appropriations: a $40,000 request to update the district’s facilities master strategy, and $400,000 to fund the software course of action for state funding for 4 university developing jobs.
The $40,000 item, which passed unanimously, requires updating the district’s not long ago done grasp facilities approach to replicate adjustments to the reimbursement charge the town receives from the point out.
Below the new rules, the state’s refund amount for new school building in Stamford will be 60 {ac23b82de22bd478cde2a3afa9e55fd5f696f5668b46466ac4c8be2ee1b69550} for the up coming 25 several years, a great deal larger than the 20 p.c amount the metropolis made use of to get.
The new framework will provide much extra funding for Stamford’s bold master strategy to create or extend four schools, like a new K-8 college in south Stamford, and make improvements to lots of other people. The approximated value to apply the whole program is a lot more than $500 million in excess of 12 a long time.
Board associates did not aid the $400,000 appropriation, however, picking out to postpone it an additional month.
The funds would be used to fund the application process for development jobs at Turn of River Middle School, Rippowam Center University, KT Murphy Elementary University and the facility at 83 Lockwood Ave.
The past two properties will be applied to create a south Stamford K-8 school divided amongst the two campuses.
Customers argued that it built minimal feeling to fund the application method for the 4 web pages in advance of revising the grasp amenities plan.