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Colchester Public Schools - Budget Questions 2022-2023
Budget Workshop - 3/15/2022
1. At the BOE Meeting, March 8, the superintendent recommended that the reduction of teachers at Bacon Academy be changed
from a 5.0 FTE reduction to a 3.0 FTE reduction. What was the reason for this change?
In the initial budget discussions earlier in the year, it was decided to reduce 5.0 FTE teaching positions at Bacon Academy due to
declining enrollment and due to potential increases in other areas. Since that initial conversation, we have had the opportunity to
consider many influences and potential unintended consequences if we cut five positions. We identified that it could compromise the
successful implementation of the Capstone Projects as a graduation requirement starting with next year's seniors, which will
necessitate the addition of at least six new sections of the half-year Capstone course. In addition to that, we were concerned if we cut
5.0 FTE, it could have deleterious effects on our ability to offer an ample amount of electives across both the Humanities and STEM
that students need to graduate. In essence, we could probably make the class sizes fit, but the cut to opportunities for students might
be too much based on our graduation requirements. In addition, the significant savings that were realized in the employee related
insurance line eliminated the need for the full five positions to be removed.
2. The Alternative Education program is no longer being offered, either at Bacon Academy or the Old Academy, so how are those
students being served?
The Alternative Education (Alt. Ed.) program has been an integral part of CPS for many years, serving a population that benefited
from the personalized, separate program. Over the last several years, the number of students qualifying for the Alt. Ed. program
significantly declined, presumably by a very high graduation rate from Alt. Ed. and the increased focus on varied and responsive
interventions and supports that have been built at Bacon Academy. In Spring of 2021 we were forecasting that only 2-3 students were
eligible to attend Alt. Ed. for the current school year, and it was determined that staffing a program with six certified teachers for so
few students was not a viable program. The students were placed in other programming and we are very happy to report that they are
all currently on pace to graduate this year. In fact, one was just offered a full-time career at Electric Boat upon graduation due to their
success and the great training they have received in our Technology Education programs. Their success this year can be directly
connected to a brand new program we recently started called Brick. The Brick program is a highly individualized student support
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program that is currently servicing approximately 20 of our most disenfranchised students. We are seeing immense success thus far,
and the Board will hear more about this program at their May Board meeting.
3. Will Colchester Public Schools continue to use Old Bacon Academy for instructional purposes?
The district will continue to evaluate the instructional programming potential for Old Bacon Academy and we look forward to the
potential revitalization of the building in the future.
Budget Workshop - 3/22/2022
4. Curricula - Why does $65K need to be allocated annually for curriculum implementation? Why are the curricula being updated
so frequently?
The curriculum implementation line funds the one or two curricular areas that undergo revision each year. There are 13 curriculum
areas that are taught to our students over the course of a student’s 13 years of education, and each area has been placed on a 7-year
review cycle to ensure that instruction in that area includes current, relevant, and engaging content. By reviewing one or two curricular
areas each year, our educators are afforded the opportunity to update texts, integrate the most current research-based instructional
strategies, and align instruction so that student learning builds upon itself year-over-year. In the last 6 years, Colchester has worked to
build a foundation of a written curriculum. Prior to 2017, there was little written curriculum for teachers to use as a guide to
instruction. Without a written curriculum, a teacher is left to his or her own decisions about what to teach students. Alternatively, when
teachers have an engaging written curriculum, students are guaranteed a more consistent quality of instruction, teachers are able to
work as a team to support student learning, and instruction is more effectively scaffolded, therefore reducing the likelihood of gaps in
learning year-over-year. By 2023/24, the District will have reviewed and/or written curriculum for all 13 areas, thus creating a
foundation for teachers to build upon when making instructional decisions.
Since 2017, the District budget has funded $293,474 of curriculum resources and the ESSERIII (ARPA) grant has funded $25,000 to
support the curricular areas of Career Technical Education, Science, Visual Literacy, World Language, Digital Literacy and
Innovations, English Language Arts, Health, and Physical Education.
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5. Why does the budget increase when overall enrollment is going down?
A number of factors go into the overall budget that are not directly tied to enrollment. These include non-discretionary factors such as
employee related insurance, employee benefits, and contractual wage increases. Other factors include those areas that the district has
strengthened over the past decade that were in need of adequate funding. These include IT support staff and a long-range technology
refresh plan, capital improvements and a long-range capital plan, adequate maintenance repair and supply funding, school safety and
security, and appropriate levels of staffing for finance and human resources. An additional factor that changes yearly is the needs of
our students with disabilities. The needs of these students vary significantly and the appropriate support is required by federal law. In
addition, the district has made a concerted effort to increase its in-district special programming that allows us to keep some students
with significant needs in the district rather than making outplacements. However, the district continues to review the budget
line-by-line to ensure efficiencies where possible and we reallocate resources to enhance our program while not increasing the overall
number of staff. Finally, in terms of overall costs compared to other districts in the state, Colchester PS provides an excellent
education while keeping costs low. In 2011-12 based on the Net current expenditures per pupil (NCEP) published by the State, CPS
was ranked 153 out of 169 districts and in 2019-20 we were ranked 103 out of 169 districts, or still in the bottom half of all districts.
6. What are the expenses associated with the CTAC program?
The following expenses for the 18-22 year-old program, or CTAC, are listed under the Special Education budget:
Two (2.0) paraprofessionals $45,992
One (1.0) teacher $91,451
Cell phone for program $ 450
Gasoline for van transportation $ 540
Maintenance for van $ 250
Part-time custodian $ 3,393
Rental of facility (shared) $23,000
7. The district is working with an outside contractor, NCCJ, to assist with its diversity initiatives. What is the source of that
funding?
The District is using TITLE IV, PART A: STUDENT SUPPORT AND ACADEMIC ENRICHMENT federal grant funds to pay for
support from NCCJ.
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8. Why is there a 36.18% increase in classified overtime?
The majority of the classified overtime increase of $12,700 is at the district level. This increase is due to additional hours of overtime
for the School Resource Officer to attend evening and weekend events and a weekly stipend for the SRO’s new service dog.
9. What changes took place with office professionals?
The total number of office professionals remains at 16.25 FTE, but one position was moved from WJJMS to CES due to the drop in
enrollment at WJJMS and the significant increase of enrollment at CES.
10. How has the Special Education budget changed over the past few years?
The special education budget varies significantly year to year based on the needs of students. The budget in 2017-18 was $8,365,428,
in 2020-21 it was $8,202,113 and the proposed 2022-23 budget is $8,734,723. The most significant adjustments year-over-year are
the number of staff required to address student needs in-district and the number of students placed out-of-district. Both of these budget
lines can shift significantly, even in one year, as can the total number of identified students. The number of identified students has
changed over the past 10 years, from 384 in 2011-12, to a high of 418 in 2017-18, with a current number of 358. One important note is
that the district budgets for the total cost of outplaced students and the state provides an excess cost reimbursement of any cost, tuition
and/or transportation over 4.5 times our per pupil expenditure. These reimbursement funds go directly to the town, but the district can
request these funds to cover any unanticipated costs that occur during the school year. (Please see the FAQ document at the end of the
budget for more information.)
11. Is there savings when a teacher retires or resigns?
When a teacher resigns there can be some savings, but only if the replacement teacher is hired at a lower step on the salary scale of the
contract.
When a teacher retires the following contractual conditions apply:
Certified professional employees who have served a minimum of fifteen (15) years of consecutive service in the system, upon
retirement or death, but not resignation, shall receive payment for twenty-seven percent (27%) of all accumulated unused Sick Leave
days based on salary at the time of severance. To be eligible for this payment, teachers must have been hired on or before June 30,
2017 and must give written notification by October 1 of intent to retire.
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In general, a teacher eligible for retirement is at the top step of the salary scale and if they have the full allowable amount of sick
leave, or 180 days, their potential retirement payout offsets any savings even if the district hires a replacement teacher at a lower step.
The savings would be in the second year after a teacher retires if there is a difference between their salary at retirement and the salary
of the replacement teacher. The purpose of requiring teachers to declare their retirement by October 1st is to allow the district to plan
for the retirement benefit in the budget. The estimated retirement cost can be found on page 171 of the 2022-23 proposed budget,
“259007 41230 RETIREMENT” and will vary year to year based on the number of qualified certified retirements.
12. There has been a significant increase in the health insurance reserve, can you explain the background of that increase?
The significant increase in the health insurance reserve balance for the BOE has happened over the last couple of years (2019-2020,
2020-2021 and current 2021-2022 through November). The largest driver of the increase is related to actual health insurance claims
and associated administrative costs being lower than anticipated for both 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 when the budget funding
calculations were prepared. As has been discussed over the last two years, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in cancellation of
medical procedures, and delays in doctor visits, impacting the actual claims incurred. Since March 2020, the balance in the reserve
increased from approximately $2,562,000 to $4,007,000 as of the end of November 2021.
The budget funding formula recommended by Lockton and adopted by the BOF takes into account the reserve fund balance when
calculating the employer contribution amount to be included in the budget. Typically, the balance as of the end of November is used
for the BOE calculation. The budget calculation for FY 2022-2023 is also being impacted by a significantly lower estimate for
incurred claims next year.
13. What major requests from each of the building administrators did not make it into the proposed budget?
No major requests from the departments or schools were not placed into the proposed budget. Some supply line items at WJJMS and
BA were adjusted to level funding year-over-year to reflect the declining enrollments.
14. What are the average class sizes K-8 and how has this number changed over the last several years? How does our average
compare to schools in our DRG?
Class sizes in Kindergarten through grade 5 range from 17 to 21 according to the March 1, 2022 enrollment data. Class sizes at
WJJMS range from 18 to 21. The elementary class sizes typically fall into this same range as the district adjusts the number of
teachers in each grade to stay at approximately 20 students per class. The class sizes at WJJMS can vary from year to year as the
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number of core area teachers remains the same for each team at four. So, the individual class size, in general, is determined by the
total number of students in a grade divided by eight, or two teams of four teachers.
Class sizes in other districts are not readily available.
15. What are the largest class sizes at Bacon Academy?
There are currently four classes with 30 students in each, and 16 classes between 25 and 30 students.
16. What is the rationale behind not adding paraprofessionals in Kindergarten? What other districts in our DRG do not have
paras in Kindergarten classrooms?
The district has not placed paraprofessionals in kindergarten classrooms as we have determined that targeted intervention and
instruction provides a greater impact. Currently, paraprofessionals push into classrooms to help with small group instruction. We have
40 min of reading intervention and 30 min of math intervention push in support daily to provide small groups. Teachers create the
lessons and paraprofessionals meet with the small groups. We rotate groups between the teacher and paraprofessional so that teachers
work with all students in a small group. Paraprofessionals also help with collecting progress monitoring data as needed and instructed
by the teacher.
Information about classroom supports is not readily available from other districts.
17. What is the difference between instructional coaches, interventionists and paraprofessionals?
Coaches - Certified staff who have specialized certifications and/or training in reading or math. Work with teachers to review student
learning, co-lesson plan, observe and reflect with the teacher.
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Intervention Specialists - certified staff who have specialized certifications and/or training in reading or math. Review whole-school
student learning data, identify students with lagging skills, arrange for interventions aimed at meeting student needs, provide
interventions or support paraprofessionals to provide interventions to individual students or student groups.
Paraprofessionals - Non-certified staff who fulfill a variety of roles within the district. When assigned to intervention labs,
paraprofessionals work directly with students to provide them interventions aimed at addressing specific student skill needs.
Budget Workshop - 3/29/2022
18. What is the history of funding for the Capital Reserve for the past 3 years? What has been proposed, cut, and inevitably
funded year-over-year? How far short have we come each year compared to what the long-range plan suggests we need to be
saving annually?
The district is permitted to transfer funds into the BOE Capital Reserve (pg. 193) to plan for larger expenses in the future. A recent
example is the Bacon Academy underground oil tank that will need to be replaced in ten years at an estimated cost of $150,000. The
district will budget $15,000 per year for the next ten years to appropriately fund the removal.
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Over the past three years the proposed amounts were as follows:
In the 2020-21 budget year funds were used from savings in the 2019-20 school year due to the closure of the district for four months.
The current BOE Capital Reserve account current available budget is $162,732 (as of 12/31/2021). On March 31, 2020 the available
budget was $349,385.
The administrations’ recommendation is that $150,000 be allocated in this proposed budget and future budgets to ensure funding is
available for planned repairs/replacement as well as unexpected costs that occur during the year. It is important to note that this
budget line has not been appropriately funded for the past four years and continuing to not fund it in the future puts the district at risk
of large, unfunded expenditures in the future.
19. Please explain Capital Outlay (260007, pg. 174) and what it's used for.
The Capital Outlay is the yearly budget for projects that are necessary to repair or maintain our facilities. A detail of those expenses
can be found starting on page 192 and include items such as carpet replacement at JJIS. The list of items is determined by the Director
of Educational Operations in collaboration with lead custodians and administrators in each of the buildings. The district then funds
what are considered the most urgent of those items each year for each building. (Please also see FAQ #31 at the end of the budget
document.)
20. Where is the fee for the use of Old Bacon in the budget book?
Page 126 under Bacon Academy, line 27104-44330.
21. Can ARPA funds be used to reduce the budget?
The approximately $2.4 million in ARPA funds that was awarded to the district is intended to assist with the recovery of lost learning
for students, assist with technology purchases, and upgrade HVAC systems. The funds are over three years and expire in October
2024. In the current budget for 2021-22 the following areas were supported by ARPA funds and not the operating budget:
● Two special education teachers
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● District-wide wireless replacement plan
● Technology hardware, such as Chromebooks, iPads, etc. $124,313
● Kindergarten teacher
● Preschool teacher
● Two preschool paraprofessionals
● HVAC upgrades - $500,000
The remaining funds have been allocated to staff and services to assist with the recovery of lost learning as is the intention of this
grant.
22. What does the communications/public relations office professional located at central office do?
The Communications/Public Relations Office Professional (CO OP) serves as the first contact for our families and district via both
telephone and in person. The CO OP answers the main telephone line for the district, serves as the transportation/bus backup contact,
and as part of the Central Office crisis/communication response team. In regard to communications and public relations, the CO OP
drafts and works to publish Board of Education, Superintendent, and school-specific press releases through submitting and
maintaining relationships with key partners.
Beginning in the 2021-2022, the district centralized registration to allow for a smoother transition for incoming students and their
families. The CO OP plays a significant role in the central registration process as along with the District Data Specialist, 350 plus
registrations are processed each school year. Furthermore, the CO OP coordinates the volunteer application and approval process for
the entire district as well as the digital backpack that goes out to families every Friday. The CO OP is a part-time position (6.5 hours
per day) and an important part of our Central Office team.
23. What are the funds that are transferred into on page 174?
260007-50205 Transfer to BOE capital reserve are the funds put aside for long-range capital improvement plans (see q. 18 &19).
281007-50205 Transfer to BOE capital reserve are funds put aside for the long-range technology plan.
259007-50260 Transfer to Education Grants Fund are funds allocated to the C3 program.
251007-50700 Transfer to Debt Service Fund are funds that are part of a twelve-year payment for an energy efficiency review for the
district and part of town buildings that was conducted in 2013-14 by Honeywell. There are three more annual payments associated
with this service, with the last one in 2024-25.
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24. What is the breakdown for the $65,000 for curriculum implementation?
The breakdown of the items for the curriculum implementation line of $65,000 is listed in the chart below and are the items that are in
BOLD.
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25. Why do we have a communications contractor listed on p 163 and what do they do for the district?
The district engaged the services of a communications firm to assist with messaging and public relations.
26. On page 166, the Raptor program is listed as costing $7,200. What happened to the cost of 150K which the board approved a
while ago?
The funding allocated three years ago by the BOE and the BOF was to match the school security grant that was awarded to the district.
The Raptor visitor system was a part of that grant and provides a level of security with visitors as their state issued ID is scanned and
compared to the national known sex-offendor list. However, that was only about $10,000 of the entire $300,000 grant.
Raptor also has a great solution for schools in the form of an app that enhances school security and communication with emergency
services. The annual cost is $7200 or 1800 a building. The state police, the SRO and the principals have all agreed it is a worthwhile
addition to our security protocols.
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