Schools
BOE Passes Budget, Revises Calendar
School budget passes with a 3.18 percent increase; school calendar reduced to 180 days.
Before confirming that the job for Stratford superintendent would indeed be offered to Newtown Supt. Janet Robinson, the Stratford Board of Education Monday passed a budget and adopted a 180-day school year.
The proposed budget for fiscal year 2013-14 (which starts July 1, 2013) comes in a shade over $96.9 million, and represents a 3.18 percent increase over the current school budget
Michael Feeney, the school board's chief operating officer, said the proposed budget reflects more than a million dollars in health insurance savings.
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Feeney said the 3.18 percent increase can be largely attributed to a $900,000 increase in teachers' salaries as per a pending union contract and an additional $2.9 million to special education funding.
The Town Council will vote on the budget in May, according to BOE Chairman Gavin Forrester.
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In response to school days lost during a blizzard earlier this month and Hurricane Sandy last fall, the school board Monday also voted to scrap its 182-day calendar and adopt a 180-day school year.
That makes June 25 the last day of school, said Forrester, adding that if three more school days are canceled Good Friday will become a half day.
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