Norwalk: The BOE Finance Meeting

The meeting opens with Fuller saying he doesn’t want to discuss the budget reconciliation. This is the “recommendation of the professionals on staff we have to do this, so he has no questions.

Corda: Spoke to Morris, and that there will extra $$$ coming to the sitrcit on the priority schools plan, Morris thinks 3-400k. Corda explains that he’s been around a long time and that things could change so obviously if that kind of money were to come to the district, it could be used for literacy specialists. Morris says there may be an adjustment to the formula used for special education. Corda explains a flaw in the excess cost aid which is the timing of when that allocation is made, which Corda says is ¾ the way through in the school year.

Kimmel: Does what to discuss issues. Asked about a question about questions sent 2 weeks ago. Kimmel found central office savings.

Corda: Says $247k was nickel and dimed from accounts. Cites professional development.

Kimmel: Makes comparison in various deparments. Stresses that there is money that can be had bynickle and diming.. Think we will fund the literacy specialists, thinks that having it on the top of the lsit to refund sends to the wrong message. Points out that central administration items could be cut more, and would rather “nicle and dime the budget lines to death” in order to avoid cutting literacy specialists. “You work through operations before you cut programs” As I look at this there is one major program that is being cut.”

Corda: “I think we have nickel and dimed the budget.” He’s slightly uncomfortable, he thinks its been too much. He reduced water by $750k water. “That said, I don’t want to lose sight of the fact this budget was built based on a understanding with the city that we made adjustments last year…”

Kimmel: I don’t think we have nickel and dimed the budget. I’m positive that we can live with it. I’m convinced of it. Lists the 10k each line items that reach $500k. I know what happened last year, I don’t disagree with you. I disagree with having 4 literary specialists there.”

Kimmel: Talks about enrollment discrepancy, suddenly $1.3 million that won’t affect programs. Speaks about special education issues, says it’s a big issues across the state and nation. Back in January when I voted on the budget, I thought the special education budget was set in stone. He now notices that there are changes, such a clerical special ed position, and then goes on to list other special ed tuitions and positions that have changed. Was under the impression that the special funding was something you have to live with, and if you cut around it, so he wants to know who we are getting there by reduced enrollment. He doesn’t understand it, doesn’t think its just due to a decline in enrollment.

Corda: Is happy to go through Special Education, but it seems that Mr. Fuller wants to say something.

Fuller: I’m sure that Special Ed has looked at and they have to live with. “I trust the professionals not people who meet once a month.”

Corda: We present the budget to the board in December based on info we have at that point knowing we will have revisions that will go on. The big items of $500k about students coming back to the district of aging out, which he says happens at 21. [why are we responsible for 21 year olds] They went back and looked a birth dates. Then explains how his budget has flexibility so they can adapt when the budget concerns happen, in regards to whether they …he says there is no contingency line item. [Ah that explains it, he doesn’t want for us to see what a slush fund]

Kimmel: Drills into the aging out. You can figure out when the kids will turn 21. Why was this ever in the budget.

Corda: “instead of saysing I have 7/10 of a tuition because the youngest is going to age out, we keep the full tuition. It gives me a cushion.”

Kimmel: When you are talking a single youngster it doesn’t sound like much, but you have a bigger number here.

Corda: That’s only part of it. We can bring back youngsters that are being educated outside of the system, and bring them back.

Kimmel: It’s still $1/3 million, I still don’t understand why its in your bidget.

Corda: I respectfully disagree with you. The reduction was also made based on where kids were in the district and the enrollments change. Says if he doesn’t have an estimate he may be short the funding for a teacher. Also acknowledges that we are cutting back on the level of service, by cutting back psychologists. So we are cutting back on services. Cites a speech pathologist,

Kimmel: But there’s an IEP that says you have to a meet the objective.

Corda: We are the edge.

Kimmle: But that’s my point, you aren’t nickel and diming central office, you are sending the wrong message.

Corda: We know what it takes to operate the system.. We have 19 buildings.

Kimmel: My list is not touching the buildings.

Fuller: We have to depend on the professionals in place to do this. He doesn’t think it should go back and forth over personal opinions.

Vetter: Kimmel is entitled to his opinion. Is concerned about the cuts to the high school teachers, thinks it will lead to larger classes. There will be public comments at the regular meeting.

Burnett: Concerned about transportation, where do we find efficiencies instead of eliminating equipment.

Opdhal: We didn’t get rid of equipment.

Burnett: Questions the $200k and wants to know if they can keep practice times the same, and the

Fuller: These are the recommendations of the people in the field. These are the recommendations of the ADs. These are the professionals in the field.

Burnett: Wants to take a closer look at the dollar line items, he wants to see the numbers. We don’t have to rubber stamp everything that came from the Ads.

Fuller: You can do that with any line item.

Corda: Troubled by what appears in the papers. At the last public board meeting, said that part of the reductions had no impact at all. Starts complaining that there’s a box in the article, quoting that there was no programmatic impact. The reductions we are talking about has a programmatic impact on our ability to do things. He wants to disabuse them of that notion that the school system will feel the pain of the budget. There are impacts, he stresses. Says they spend 99% of their budget. He defies anyone to find a corporation that has that level of accuracy. He again circles back to special ed and health insurance that those numbers impact his budget. [He’s basically trying defend his slushy accounting]

Kimmel: Why not a contingency fund.

Corda: I love to put a contingency line in but the second floor won’t allow it. He states that they said to remove the margin already. There are some people who don’t ….

Kimmel starts questioning what Corda has idnetified

Corda gets angery and concludes by saying It’s bogus.

This is quite a heated exchange. No way I can type what they actually said. Kimmel claims that Corda is saying the taxpayers is irrelevant, Corda is saying he didn’t mean the taxpayer.

Corda: I didn’t not say the tax payers, there are individuals that make the claim that we cannot rely on what you say, and when you ask them to provide evidence they can’t [oh, maybe because nothing is public!]

Corda: When I came to the district, there was a claim that the BOE didn’t spend money on textbooks. You can’t look at any line item in the budget that is blowing smoke..

Corda cites an incident that he had agreement with Jack Miller saying one things bad Bill Papadulous (sp?) saying another thing. The issue was about covering a shortfall that Miller said the council would do, and Papadulous said no way.

Corda is basically saying that the common council and finance departments don’t they have any evidence that they can show him about what to cut. [Why isn’t he saying that he is providing evidence ]

[Fuller chimes in soto voce that its politics. ]

Fuller: I don’t think we are here to challenge the staff, we are part of the politics of this town, some of this we have to put to politics. To think that’s some of these concerns are legitimate is wrong, its politics.

Kimmel: Says he doesn’t appreciate Fuller’s comments said under his breath.

It’s our job to do whatever we can that we are doing due diligence that we are looking under every stone, that we are communicating to the public. We are elected to do our job as best we can. This is happening everywhere. But also what’s happening is to take a step back and see why we are bankrupting towns.
Kimmel makes a plea to find even more savings.

We are doing are job when we are asking these questions.

Corda: Wants clarification on the revised estimates.

They go through the line items.

Basically Fuller is spending his time trying to undermine everything Kimmel, rightfully points out. Burnett and Vetter don’t stop Fuller, but it appears that Burnett wants that closer line time review.

Corda says that the public isn’t even here to understand the budget. Well, maybe because knowing when these meetings are, remember that the finance committee met once, is hard to do when they are not on the web site, either the BOE of the city’s. Everything is a secret, post it and people will see. I remain skeptical because I have sat through budget planning, and this is not it.

I disagree with Corda’s assessment that there’s plenty of oversight in his budget. There’s not. At his finance meeting there was no CPA. The school system needs a finance director, and the efficiencies gained in his budget need to happen year round.