Claremont
“It is frustrating because the directive was deliberately ignored,” said Chris Irish, board vice chairman, in one of several sharply worded exchanges between McGoodwin and the board.
Board members Michelle Pierce and Rebecca Zullo also criticized McGoodwin for not following through on the directive and first allowing the board to see what a $1.2 million reduction would look like.
“You did not give us the option,” Pierce said. “You did not follow the directive. You just said you cannot do it.”
McGoodwin warned that a reduction of 3.8 percent will “destroy the district” and reminded the board he asked where members suggested the cuts could come from.
“You couldn’t give me an answer,” he said.
McGoodwin firmly agreed to return Dec. 6 with a new budget that included the steep reduction the board demanded.
However, he warned that with fixed cost increases such as insurance, more cuts in state revenue coming and new collective bargaining agreements, the actual reduction will need to be closer to $2 million to achieve the $1.71 per $1,000 reduction in the local school tax rate.
The budget cut sought by the board was part of a Sept. 30 directive, which also included language that said there could be no reductions in instructional staff, no additions in administrative or support staff and no reductions in athletics or extracurricular activities “without supporting data and board approval.” There also can be no increases in the technical center budget or programs and no additional technology initiatives. Board Chairman Brian Rapp and Pierce were not at the Sept. 30 meeting.
Though he promised to deliver a budget as requested, McGoodwin defended his $32.9 million proposal.
“I’m not going to lie down and say, ‘sure board, I’ll do what you say,’ ” he said. “I don’t believe you had a clue what you were asking for. But I will do it and try to minimize the impact on children.
“You made it clear you want a budget $1.2 million below this year. You will see that and then it will be in your lap.”
Irish said that was what the board wanted to hear from McGoodwin.
“Give it to us. Make us do the heavy lifting,” Irish said. “Just give us a chance to do our job. We might come up with something better.”
The budget presented last night represents a 5.5 percent increase from the current budget of $31.2 million while a $1.2 million to $2 million cut from this year represents a 3.8 percent to 6 percent decrease.
Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com
