Herbst Gives Ed Board Full Access

The Board of Education will be able to use $223,000 from the $1.1 million moved into a town account to restore the gifted program and freshman sports in the next school year.

First Selectman Tim Herbst made the announcement Monday morning in after, he said, receiving many e-mails over the weekend urging the Board of Education to reinstate the programs. The school board made the cuts last Thursday to meet Herbst's approved 2.375 percent increase.

After hearing comments via email and from residents in person, Herbst said, "It really upset me." 

Some parents have said they would pay an additional $100 a year, on top of the current $200 pay-to-play fee, to preserve freshman sports, he added.

The funds would be available starting July 1, the beginning of the 2011-2012 fiscal year.

Removing TAG allowed four second-grade teachers to return, maintaining current class size. But two board members had said they would ask the town for money to restore TAG later.

All the cuts were part of getting down to a 2.375 percent increase. But education attorney Thomas Mooney said the board would have to budget as though the increase was 1.11 percent, or minus the $1.074 million.

A special school board meeting is scheduled for tomorrow night to discuss how to proceed, including whether to make further cuts to meet a smaller budget increase of 1.11 percent. The Board of Education can also sue to get the funds returned, but that should be a last resort, Mooney has said. 

On Monday, Herbst called Supt. Ralph Iassogna from the press conference. Iassogna said he would pass along Herbst's proposal to the board and Mooney. The board had hotly debated cutting the two programs.

The issue particularly rankled Herbst because he is a former football player who also played freshman football. While he didn't participate in TAG, he knew students who did.

"Trumbull's athletic program is the finest in the state of Connecticut. I would rather have students participate in team sports than doing something less productive," he said.

"I am encouraging all concerned parents to contact the Board of Education," Herbst said.

The board could also see a $37,000 surplus to help the situation, Herbst added.

Students should not be "hostages" because of money issues. "Now [the Board of Education] has got the money. Now it's got the resources to do it," Herbst said.

"Now the ball is in their court," Herbst said, noting that keeping the health insurance funds townside is not "reinventing the wheel." For example, the board pays for bus transportation for private schools from a townside account and works with the Town Finance Director Maria Pires, he said.

Also, keeping the remainder of the $1.074 million on the townside will enable the town to explore combining both sides' health insurance plans to save as much as $750,000, Herbst said. An additional $500,000 could be saved through facilities consolidation.

One challenge in health insurance savings is there are separate brokers for the two health plans. The school's health plan has 700 members, much more than the townside. Each plan costs about $20,000 per family, officials have said.

Herbst said he is preparing for next year's budget process, which will be more difficult with an additional $1.3 million in debt service for THS renovations.

"Next year's budget's going to be very tough," he said.