Letter to the Community from BOE member Chris Moore

January 22, 2010

To members of the Guilford community:

As we enter another budget season during difficult economic times I wanted to give you my personal perspective on the education budget for 2010-2011. Please forgive the length but if you care about education in Guilford I think it is worth a few minutes to read. While this will all be covered in the upcoming public hearings on Monday and Tuesday January 25th and 26th I realize it is difficult for parents in particular to attend evening meetings.

First and foremost I want to say that I personally believe both the process and the budget presented to the BOE by the district leadership teams and Dr. Forcella represent a sober and responsible look at how to minimize expenditures while trying to avoid significant negative impacts on our teaching and programs in Guilford. This is a budget that was prepared in order to pass at referendum without further cuts – not one that has padding in it should the referendum fail or should it be cut further.

The budget presented was prepared over months with countless difficult meetings understanding that cuts will have to be made. State aid will decrease $300K from last year. The proposed budget represents a 2.8% increase over last year, but cuts more than 16 FTEs across certified and non-certified teaching positions, administrative, secretarial, and custodial positions.

I have heard calls for a “zero percent increase” to the BOE budget.

This would require an additional $1.36 million in cuts. There is absolutely nowhere to go but staffing and program cuts if these cuts were to be made. An additional $1M in cuts would necessitate a cut in ~20 positions and based on contractual obligations the newest/ non-tenured hires will be the first to go – many of whom are energetic teachers just beginning their careers. Programs across the board would suffer.

For a Guilford taxpayer with a house assessed at $300K, a $1M cut in the budget would amount to a savings of about $84/ year, or about $7 per month.

I would like to comment on salary negotiations. The BOE budget is about 80% staff so this is certainly the heart of the matter. The teacher contract will be negotiated next summer, and there have been contracts around the state that have been negotiated with annual pay increases in the 0-1% range. This will be helpful in next year’s budgets, but we are still under contract this year. I don’t believe wage concessions will be considered regardless of what happens at referendum this year, and it is important to remember that the teachers in Guilford made true concessions last year to save jobs. We should respect this effort – one of the only in the state by members of the GEA – by not slashing more positions than the current proposal suggests.

One thing I didn’t understand until recently was the process of contract negotiations with the unions in CT. If an agreement can’t be reached through mediation, both sides will present their proposed contract for arbitration. The arbitration process will pick one or the other – it won’t be a compromise. This forces both sides to be realistic in the contracts they present for arbitration but makes it essentially impossible to “stand firm” on a zero percent increase for example. While you can point fingers regarding this system and the parties involved, this is what happens.

You may hear calls for “pay for play” or other ways to shift costs some. While the merits and impact of this may be worth discussing the reality is that it would be a small amount saved relative to the overall budget and would not alleviate the need for staffing cuts.

I think it is important to understand the “teaching coaches” that Dr. Forcella is suggesting we reallocate administrative positions to (with a savings of $60K). This is part of a vision to continue to improve instruction in Guilford and is done in partnership with the University of Pittsburgh as a method to help teachers teach effectively, using data driven outcomes. Dr. Forcella brings a balanced and excellent vision on how to improve education and is trying to accomplish it despite the economic challenges.

Guilford is not overspending on education. We are below the state average in per pupil expenditures. We are at or near the bottom of spending on infrastructure. We have very low debt in the town and our equalized mil rate is reasonable given the relative wealth and income of the town. No one wants higher taxes, but at some point we will get what we pay for and we are far from out of line with other towns in CT.

Infrastructure is another topic and I know the community is taking another hard look at how to approach this. As part of the facilities subcommittee we are working under the leadership of John Ireland to establish a long term capital plan.

I think everyone understands that sacrifices need to be made and this budget does this by cutting positions in both certified and non-certified staff.

In the end I think it has to be about trust – I have personally been incredibly impressed with Dr. Forcella’s approach and leadership through the last two difficult years. The number of evening meetings he attends is staggering – this is not an easy time to be a superintendent.

It is also important to understand that substantial cuts cannot just be put back in place when times get better. Programs take time to develop, and once they are cut they need to be rebuilt from the ground up. We are fortunate to have many established and effective programs in sports, music, theater, and the arts in Guilford schools.

I realize (hope) I am probably preaching to the choir for many of you with this message regarding getting your “yes” vote for the budget. However, it is important that these issues be discussed with your friends and neighbors over the coming months, that the issues be understood, and that people get out and vote.

Thanks for your attention and feel free to forward this email to persons who may be interested in it.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or comments.

Sincerely,

Chris L. Moore
151 Whitfield St.
Chris.moore@yale.edu
203-687-6776