Bolton PTA - Advocacy Committee

A Message from the Bolton
PTA Legislative Advocacy Committee

By: Katherine Gallé

Chairperson, Legislative Advocacy Committee

It is that time of year again when the Bolton Board of Selectmen, Board of Education and Board of Finance are busy preparing their proposed budgets for the 2009-2010 budget year. During these difficult economic times, I know that we are all concerned that our Boards are spending our tax dollars so that we get the most “bang for the buck.” Now is the time for all of us to have our voices heard in the budget process. We encourage everyone to take some time to go to the meetings, participate in the process and let our elected officials know what you care about this budget season. You can find information about when and where the meetings are held at www.bolton.govoffice.com

U.S. News and World Report released its ranking America’s Best High Schools for 2009. Bolton High School was one of sixteen Connecticut schools to be awarded the silver medal, thereby ranking it as one of the top 600 performing high schools in the country. To rank the schools, U.S. News and World Report and the School Evaluation Services analyzed enrollment and academic information data from more than 21,000 public high schools. The Bolton PTA congratulates Bolton High School, its administrators and teachers on such an impressive accomplishment!

Bolton PTA Legislative Advocacy Committee Report
(Sept. 18, 2008)

Welcome back to the 2008-2009 school year! The Legislative Advocacy Committee is closely watching the proposed Bolton High School renovation project. The following are highlights of the current status of the project and the findings and recommendations of the Building Committee thus far.

A Building Committee was organized in order to investigate and plan in connection with the proposed Bolton High School and Town Hall Renovation projects. The Building Committee consists of members of our Board of Education, Board of Selectmen, Board of Finance and two Bolton residents. They include the following:

The Building Committee has been meeting for over a year gathering information from experts in the fields of architecture, space planning, and construction.

From this, the Committee has proposed a long-range plan that addresses the needs of the high school.

A survey was mailed to residents in order to gauge their interest in and opinions regarding the proposed renovations. A newsletter with the findings and additional information about the project was mailed to Bolton residents a couple of weeks ago.

The High School has served our children for nearly 50 years but it no longer meets building compliance regulations, space requirements and service efficiency needs. Bolton High School is also being reviewed for accreditation this fall, which involves an evaluation of the building and curriculum.

Efforts to address and solve our town building needs have been ongoing for over 10 years.

The Building Committee has indicated that this is an opportune time to borrow money for projects because of low interest rates and the town has an exceptionally good bond rating. State reimbursement rates for school projects are projected to decrease in the upcoming year, which means that if we wait until the future, we will be paying more.

There is a big concern that if we do not address the needs of the high school now, it may result in a loss of accreditation for Bolton High School and future generations of students and residents will inherit outdated facilities that will be more costly to fix.

School no longer meets building compliance regulations, space requirements and service efficiency needs.

BHS is also being reviewed for accreditation this fall, which involves an evaluation of the building and curriculum.

Students must be well prepared in math, science and technology to compete in today's global economy. This requires facilities that can accommodate modern program curriculum.

All classrooms, including two portable modular classrooms, are used every single period of each school day.

Special education instruction has also increased and has taken over rooms that were not designed for students with special needs.

BHS needs to be equipped to accommodate changing technology as the building is not presently wired nor set up with technology as a focus.

BHS is also not in compliance with federal and state building regulations – related to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Title IX - that mandate equal accessibility.

The Building Committee has determined that the most cost-effective option would be to renovate the existing school “like new” and to build an addition.

Renovation and expansion would add approximately 46,000 square feet to the school's existing approximate 52,000 square feet. This plan will provide a cost savings of approximately $6 million over building an entirely new school and includes an auditorium space, which would be beneficial to both the school and community.

There are some “optional projects” that are being considered. These include the following:

Specific costs are still being determined, but we do have a range of costs supplied by the architect.

The cost estimates for the project as a result of state reimbursement would be $16-18 million for the BHS project.

If the BHS project included a second gym, the net cost to the community would be $19-21 million.

If the BHS project included a pool, the net cost to the community would be $20-22 million.

If the BHS project included both a second gymnasium and a pool, the net cost to the community would be $23-25 million.

Although the renovation project was originally scheduled to come up for referendum at the time of the November elections, it has been postponed. We will continue to follow the Board of Finance, Board of Selectmen and Board of Education as they work on this project and will update you as the project progresses to referendum.

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please contact Kate Hammond Gallé at khgalle@comcast.net

1. School administrators submit their proposed spending to the school superintendent, who adds to or deletes from these requests.

2. The superintendent then submits a proposed budget to the Bolton Board of Education, which is comprised of members of the Bolton community who were elected to serve in this volunteer capacity.

3. The Board of Education holds a series of workshops to consider each line item in this budget. Residents are invited to these workshops to discuss areas of support or concern.

4. The Board of Education then submits a final budget to the Board of Finance, which also receives a town budget at the same time from the Board of Selectmen.

5. The Board of Finance holds budget hearings that all residents may attend. Residents are encouraged to speak at these hearings on the proposed town and education budgets. The tax increase necessary to support these budgets is discussed.

6. Based on what they hear from residents, the Board of Finance may order the Board of Education and/or the Selectmen to make cuts in their budgets, or it may allow to budget to stand as is. According to town charter, the Board of Finance cannot make specific cuts to the education budget; for example, the Board cannot say "eliminate one teaching position" or "eliminate sports." The Board of Finance can only order a certain amount to be cut -- it is then up to the Board of Education to designate where those cuts will be made.

7. A town wide vote (referendum) on the final proposed budget is held each May/June. Referenda will continue to be held until the budget is approved. After each failed referendum, the Board of Finance can put forth the same budget or a lower budget for the next vote, but according to town charter they cannot propose a higher amount.

The town of Bolton has failed to pass 3 budgets over the past few weeks. Only 32 to 36% of Bolton residents voted in the past 3 referenda. Please consider exercising your civic duty and vote!

Q: What if we pass the budget but then get more money from the state than what had been expected? Can lost programs be restored?
A: Unfortunately, no. If the town gets any increase in state aid for education after the budget is passed, this will result in a decrease in taxes and NOT an increase in spending and reinstatement of programs for the education budget (per town charter).

Q: Will large tax increases be the norm from year to year?
A: The need to pay off some short-term loans this year is contributing to the tight budget situation. The Board of Finance expects next year will be a bit easier for the town. And with sewers going in around the Bolton Lake area, the town hopes for some commercial development to follow, which will help ease the tax burden on residents.

Q: Town spending has increased at a nominal rate over the past 10 years or so, keeping pace with inflation. Why has education spending increased at a higher rate?
A: If you remove special-education costs from the education budget, the spending increases over the years for education have kept pace with town spending increases. What has driven it up is the cost for special education programs, which has skyrocketed in the past few years. These excellent programs are mandated by law but, unfortunately, the government does not provide enough funding to help small towns such as ours to pay for these programs. In other words, we are told what we must provide (and we agree with the need and responsibility to provide them) but are not given the money we need to fund them -- so town taxpayers must pay for these mandated programs.

Q: Many people don’t want more commercial development in town. How does this impact taxes?
A: Each voter must decide for himself how to weigh three major issues that are interrelated – preserving the town’s rural qualities, maintaining quality in Bolton schools, and paying higher taxes. If we do not want certain types of commercial development, then we as residents will continue to shoulder the tax burden. If we want to continue to maintain open space, we must be willing to pay for it.

Q: Are Bolton teachers highly paid? And how much in insurance co-pays do they contribute?
A: If you look at all teachers' salaries in the state and divide them into thirds (highest salaries, middle salaries, and lowest salaries), the salaries of Bolton teachers fall in the top half of that lowest third. Also, teachers’ co-pays for insurance are between 13% and 20% – among the highest in the state.

Q: Why do kids need things like computers in schools, when they never had them before?
A: Because today’s world is a different world. We’re a global society now, and students need new types of knowledge in order to succeed. In Bolton, our kids don’t have the best of everything. What they have is a good, solid foundation of the things they need to learn.

Q: If I don’t have kids in the school system, why should I care about the schools?
A: Any Realtor will tell you that the quality of the schools is directly linked to property values. For most people, their home is their major investment, and in Bolton that investment continues to appreciate.