By Linda Conner Lambeck

WESTPORT — After a month of meetings and questions, the Board of Education this week managed to shave just $119,008 from the superintendent’s proposed 2023-24 operating budget.

By a 5-1 vote, the school board voted late Monday to request a $136,287,710 budget from the Board of Finance, representing a 5.24 percent increase — or $6,787,135 — over this year’s budget.

Board member Robert Harrington voted against the motion, and member Christina Torres was absent.

“I simply think the 5.24 percent number is too high,” Harrington said later. “I believe there were more opportunities to make choices outside of the classroom, away from the sports fields and our art programs.

“I want to protect programs and things that touch the classroom,” he added.

The new request is fractionally lower than the 5.33 percent spending increase proposed by Supt. of Schools Thomas Scarice in early January.

The only cut was a much-talked-about school facilities position, a job designed to help coordinate a growing volume of district maintenance projects and smaller capital projects. The name of the position changed over the course of budget deliberations from facilities project manager to project coordinator in the final draft. It was made clear the coordinator would not be a supervisor.

“I’m just trying to understand the justification for doing it, like now, with seemingly all of the needs that students have versus waiting a year to institute the position,” said board member Kevin Christie.

After two votes, the cut was approved 4 to 1, with one abstention. Board Chairwoman Lee Goldstein voted no and Board Vice Chairwoman Liz Heyer, head of the finance and facilities committee, abstained.

Scarice said there are several summer maintenance projects the coordinator would have helped to coordinate.

In proposing the position, the administrators eliminated one of 18 custodian positions at Staples. That job was not restored.

No votes were taken on a list of other proposed additions and subtractions to the recommended budget.

As such, the board decided:

• Not to restore an $89,109 intramural sports program, even though it was acknowledged some parents probably rely on the activities for care before and after school.
• Not to restore a $150,102 high school instructional coach. Goldstein called the position not as impactful as it could be.
• Not to switch to a Bring-Your-Own-Device program at the middle schools, which could potentially save the district $257,013 in computer costs. The district technology director advised against it.
• Not to increase high school student parking fees, which would boost district revenues by $24,000.
• Not make a $471,000 reduction in the proposed school bus transportation budget. That cut had been pushed by Harrington, who is convinced routes could be trimmed at the middle and high school levels by allowing parents to opt out of the service. He couldn’t get a second on the motion.

“I feel strongly that spending over $7.7 million on transportation is out of control,” Harrington said.

This year, the district budgeted $7.1 million for transportation, but ended up spending $6.7 million due in part to a bus driver shortage and the compression of some bus routes. The plan is to return to a full fleet of buses in the fall.

This year, a new bus contract is out for bids and it is not yet known what the cost will be.

District Chief Financial Officer Elio Longo said he expects the new bus contract will have an increase lower than 6 percent, but cautioned against expecting anything smaller.

Harrington said he knows there is a commitment to find more savings in budget areas like transportation, utilities and health care over time, but finds the pace too slow.

“I’m definitely a believer in starting something now,” Harrington said.

Scarice said the school district is about a year from some of the big changes anticipated in health care, special education and utilities. Transportation is in that bucket, “but we’re just dipping our toe in that,” he said.

Freelance writer Linda Conner Lambeck, a reporter for more than four decades at the Connecticut Post and other Hearst publications, is a member of the Education Writers Association.