Proposed Preston school budget shows 2.95% increase
Mar. 9—PRESTON — Federal COVID-19 relief funds will allow the school district to launch the town's first general education summer school, open to all students in preschool through seventh grade and held in partnership with Mystic Seaport, Superintendent Roy Seitsinger said Monday.
The $58,000 to $61,000 cost of the summer program will be covered through the town's $281,674 second round federal COVID-19 relief funds, announced Jan. 29. Seitsinger called the program a chance for all Preston students to catch up on "unfinished learning" that might have been lost during school COVID-19 shutdowns, remote and hybrid learning models.
At least 80 students have expressed interest in the five-week program that starts July 12 and will run four days a week, half days, with one longer day per week to be spent at Mystic Seaport. Seitsinger said the program will allow for both academic learning and enrichment, with children interacting in person with their classmates.
Seitsinger is planning to use a combination of the federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund grant, special education grant and the town's federal Title 1 grant to offset part of the projected increase in the proposed 2021-22 school budget, which was presented to the Board of Education Monday.
The proposed $12.6 million budget presented calls for a 2.95% spending increase of $369,739, mostly in the fixed costs of salaries and health insurance costs. Salaries would increase by $267,586, and health insurance costs are projected to increase by $129,604. High school tuition is projected to drop by $79,902 due to declining enrollment, and special education costs are projected to decrease by $36,649.
The board is expected to discuss and vote on the proposed budget at a special meeting March 22.
The budget calls for adding one fourth teacher to split two projected classes of 23 students each into three classes. Other staffing and programs would remain the same, Seitsinger said.
In additional to the summer school program, Seitsinger hopes to use the federal grant to boost the part-time school social worker to full time, pay for technology upgrades, maintenance and repair costs.
"For so many reasons, we need that," Seitsinger said of the social worker position.
The social worker position was created in the 2019-20 school year as a part-time position, although Seitsinger and some board members have wanted to make the position full time, reluctantly cutting it to part time in budget cuts.
Addressing students' social and emotional health during and after the COVID-19 school restrictions has been emphasized by state and federal education officials in supporting the school assistance grants.
Under the new plan, Preston would pay for 60% of social worker Jessica Boucher's $68,691 salary, and the grant would pay for the remaining 40%. If the district wanted to keep the position at full time after next year, the school district would have to fund the position.
"The work of the social worker is not going to go away," Seitsinger said. "Increasing the position from part time to full time is a very positive step."
