NORWALK, Conn. – Plans to use more than $200,000 of the windfall uncovered for the Norwalk Board of Education have shifted away from construction in the Central Office and toward the services that will affect students.
Norwalk Public Schools Superintendent Manny Rivera said in a memo to the BoE that the money should be used to shift the schools’ culture in accordance with the strategic plan approved by the board. While ideas and suggestions for spending the money came in from board members, Rivera said they either did not fit the criteria of avoiding using the money for recurring operational expenses or were already being addressed, just along a different time frame or via other funding.
The windfall in question stems from the $3.1 million surplus shown in the results for Fiscal Year 2013-14. Of that, $224,596 will go to 2013/14 expenses that have not been paid yet, leaving $2.9 million. The board can carry over 1 percent of its operating budget, or $1,643,187, according to state statutes. The remaining $1.3 million would have to be authorized for BoE use by the city in a special appropriation.
The recommendations made to the board two weeks ago included spending $225,000 on physical changes to the Human Resource and Finance Department to ensure confidentiality for staff and to keep confidential documents secure, in accordance with the law. Rivera also suggested staffing and systems improvements as recommended in the Blum Shapiro study of the HR department, but said in his Aug. 29 memo that reassigning current staff and office space, as well as less costly office renovations, will meet the specified goals.
Instead, Rivera recommended that $200,000 be used for professional learning targeted toward student engagement and early literacy initiatives and/or resources to improve intervention.
Those recommendations are inspired by requests made by administrators during an all-day Aug. 19 meeting, which focused on improving school and classroom culture, student engagement and student progress monitoring and intervention, he said.
BoE Finance Committee members discussed the surplus Aug. 20 and a decision was made to ask board members for suggestions of how a portion of the money should be spent. Rivera, in his memo, specified this list of ideas from Artie Kassimis, Shirley Mosby, Mike Barbis and Heidi Keyes:
• Providing additional funds for athletics
• Purchasing additional seats in reading and Math 180 to provide skill building for students
• Completing (accelerating) safety and security upgrades
• School infrastructure needs such as school lockers and windows
• Social Studies books and curriculum resources
• Smartboards
• Marching band support
• Seeking input from school administrators
Rivera said he was addressing some of those ideas to an extent with his latest recommendation. Other suggestions are on the radar screen but “are being addressed in a different time frame or via other funding sources.”
He provided this list:
Safety and security: “We are currently fast-tracking a number of bids to accelerate improvements for $2.3 million of capital. We are also collaborating with the city to submit another school safety grant for $300,000.”
Lockers: “We will be utilizing $25 to $30,000 of existing funding to replace damaged lockers. We will access all aspects of our locker rooms and consider necessary upgrades that may be included in our multiyear operational budget.”
Social studies: “Tony Dadonna will soon be meeting with the Curriculum Committee and will share plans for moving forward with the establishment of a committee and ensuring that our social studies curriculum is aligned with Connecticut state standards. The committee’s timeline will also be shared, as well as the expected dates for the purchase of any new social studies curriculum to be purchased and/or developed.”
Band and athletics: “The past June, we transferred $35,000 to provide needed equipment for Norwalk High’s marching band. This Tuesday’s board agenda also includes a second transfer of funds, $35,000, for the Brien McMahon marching band. Rich Rudl has also established a budget committee to address more thoroughly, and in time for the upcoming budget process, the issue of funding equity and allocation of funds for athletics and bands.”
Smartboards: “We currently have $35,000 in our budget for projectors (Smartboards), which would enable us to install approximately 20 units. We will continue to request our funds each year for both replacement purposes and to add projectors throughout our schools.”
Leave a Reply
You must Register or Login to post a comment.