001Uh, hang on one second. He He just Heather texted me her arrival time is 6:32. I told her we'll be all set when she shows up. All right, we're good. All right. Um, call the meeting to order. We'll do roll call. Mike Bolier. Michael Buller. He Mike Sharon. Mike Sharon. He Joe Kleti. Joe Kleti. He Kirsten Erlinson. Kirsten Erlinson. Andover. Pam Bington Pam Bington Marbor Carrie Fino Drew Gin Drew Goffin Marbor Gabe Marks Gabe Marks Hein Amy Roman Scott Soyette Scotty Andover and Heather Summer from Hebrin. So if we can stand for the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Okay. Yep. Tonight's public hearing is an opportunity
002to present and discuss the regional school district 8 proposed operating and capital budget for 2025 2026. At this time, I will turn the meeting over to Dr. McNamera to present the proposed budget. Good evening everybody and uh very excited to be at this point in the budget process. We're going to give Aaron just a minute to pull up the slide deck. I do have hard copies in front of each of the board members and I send it out electronically to anybody attending uh virtually. Um there have been this is a a version of the original presentation that I had presented initially in January and then done in subsequent meetings in the different towns but obviously there's been adjustments made since um as we've gone through the process. So I'll I'll just go through my slides
003and then if people have questions after we can certainly entertain any of those questions. Uh I am pleased to present the updated proposed administrative budget for the 2025 2026 fiscal year for regional school district 8. The proposed budget will support the district's mission and vision of partnering with families and the community to provide our students with a highquality education in a welcoming, safe, and equitable environment. The proposed budget also supports the work of all district staff focused on ensuring that Ram graduates have the skills and dispositions necessary to be successful in life beyond high school. These skills and dispositions include critical thinking, motivation, communication, integrity, and collaboration. This budget was built with several priorities in mind. First, the budget supports the implementation of the goals identified in the district's strategic plan. These goals focus on
004improving the areas of instruction, talent management, climate, and culture, and organizational systems. The budget also supports the academic and social emotional needs of students and enables us to maintain a program of studies with a variety of course offerings and career pathways that ensure RAM students are college and career ready upon graduation. Finally, it enables us to improve and maintain the district's facilities and grounds. The proposed budget for fiscal year 2526 is 32,620,487 and represents an overall budget of increase a budget increase of a 2.6%. This amount is a combination of a net operating budget of $32,54,487 and a capital budget of $565,487. This proposed increase is amongst the lowest in the state where the average percentage increase proposed to a board of education is currently at 5.35% based on data from Connecticut uh based on
005data from the Connecticut Association of School Business Officials. This data currently shows that there are only five districts in Connecticut with a proposed budget that has a lower percentage increase than ours. Since initially proposing a 4.3% budget increase to the region 8 board in January, efforts have been made to reduce the original proposal. $443,414 has been removed from the budget that was initially proposed. This amount is a combination of $282,790,000 $790 from capital and $160,624 from operating. Furthermore, a math teaching position was eliminated. Salary and benefits for this position equate to an additional $133,000 in reductions from the budget. The member town levy paid by each town is determined by the percentage of students enrolled from each town as of October 1st. The percentage of students enrolled in Graham Middle School and High School from
006both Andover and Marorrow has has declined while the percentage of students from Hebrin has increased. This shift in enrollment has decreased the levy for Andover and Marboro but increased Hebrrons. The audit for the region 82324 budget was finalized and presented, as you know, to the board in February. The surplus from last year will reduce each town's levy payment for next year's budget through a credit offset. This surplus is the result of a variety of factors including unfilled vacancies, new staff hired at lower salaries, a substitute bus driver shortage routinely resulting in combined runs, outplace students returning to district, which is something we're always striving for, and a reduction in contracted services for students. In total, the anticipated the surplus of uh $1,383,719 will be divided in two ways. Region 8 will maintain the equivalent of
0072% of last year's total budget to help pay for a largescale capital project of the track. The remaining $758,12220 will be divided between the three feeding towns and applied as a credit offset for next year's budget. This chart provides the positive impact of the credit offset which has which uh when applied to each member town levies. As you can see, Andover's levy will be reduced by $11,816 due to the credit offset for a total reduction of $134,374. Hebrin's levy will be reduced by $379,060 for an increase of $670,173. and Marorrow's levy will be reduced by an additional $277,245 to a total reduction of $467,554. There are several drivers increasing the proposed budget over the current years. Significant budget drivers include health insurance, which is currently budgeted now at 7%. contractual salary increases, special education purchase
008services, technology, hardware and software, transportation and utility costs. The budget also includes significant reductions from the current year. The notable reductions include special education outplacements, special education transportation, and fuel costs. Another significant budget driver in our new is our newly established partnership with Colombia with the Colombia Board of Education, which makes Ram High School a school of choice for incoming freshmen from Colombia beginning next school year. For each Colombia student attending RAM, Colombia will pay a base tuition of $15,124 plus any additional costs associated with specialized instruction or services provided to students with identified needs. Colombia will be responsible for all transportation costs of their students. The tuition that is paid by Colombia is factored into the region 8 budget as revenue and reduces the member town levy paid towards our budget by Andover Heaven
009and Marorrow. It currently reflects and it will reflect for all of the year because we we now know the students. It reflects uh a total of nine Colombia students attending Ram High School for next year. Uh I would be remiss if I didn't highlight the budgetary impact of our annual debt payment uh paid towards the principal and interest of school construction and renovation projects from over 20 years ago. During last year's budget season, we realized a $655,900 reduction in the debt bond payment from the previous year. This was a significant reduction on our budget from previous fiscal years. for next year and the year after we will see nominal changes in the in the debt payment until it is paid off at the conclusion of the 2627 fiscal year. I've noted it before and I
010want to note it again that we are faced with numerous highcost projects in the very near future that will require bonding. These projects include a new roof for both schools, replacing the boilers, chillers, and HVAC controls, new fire and security systems, a new loading dock area, and replacing the tennis courts and adjacent fencing. The total cost for these projects will be over $10.5 million. And it is critical that these projects are done in a timely manner in order to maintain the safety and integrity of our buildings and grounds. This chart shows the annual uh shows the percentage distribution of the proposed budget by each object category in relation to the total budget. As you can see, 73% of the proposed operating budget is allocated towards employee salaries and benefits. These are fixed costs associated with
011staffing the schools. The funds proposed for next year's capital budget represent a small percent of our actual needs. The development of the capital budget was a collaborative effort between district administration and members of the facilities and finance subcommittees. The proposed capital budget is $565,487 which is $65,710 higher than the current year's budget. Uh the proposed capital budget will enable the district to to continue to address ongoing sidewalk repairs and the replacement of the track. The track is over 20 years old and has already been resurfaced. Due to the poor condition of the track, it will not be used for competition during this current spring uh track season. Uh as all competitions have to be held uh for middle school and high school track programs have to be held at opposing teams venues. The proposed track
012replacement project includes replacing the foundation of the track, the installation of Dzones for field events, the replacement of fencing, and the relocation of the scoreboard. While the projected cost of the track is $1,584,330 is significant, the board's strategic establishment and use of the capital non-recurring account using surplus funds will lessen the financial impact of the track uh project in our towns. There is currently a balance of $433,244 of unallocated capital funds available. As I noted earlier, the availability of 2% of last year's region 8 budget, $625,599, is also available in the district's educational expenditures fund and will also be used to offset the cost of the track. The total available in current funding sources will pay for the majority of the track project, but requires an additional $525,487 to complete. Should this project not be
013funded, we will expect to uh we expect to not be able to allow our student athletes or members of the community who frequently use the track to have access to the track next school year due to safety concerns. This table provides a history of budget increases for region 8. As you can see, the district has a demonstrated history of fiscal responsibility. uh school districts across the state and country are contending with rising costs and challenging economic times and I am pleased to present that the proposed budget is reason is a reasonable increase considering these factors and as I noted earlier one of the lowest in the states. Uh this table provides the per pupil expenditure for secondary regional school district. As I've noted in previous presentations, we continue to provide a high quality educational experience
014for our students at a cost that is amongst the lowest in the states for secondary regional districts. This graph shows the district's enrollment uh on October 1 since 2015 as well as the projected enrollment through the 2034 2035 school year. For the October 2024 report to the state, district enrollment was 1,078 students. As you can see, current projections indicate that enrollment will decrease slightly next year before leveling off and then increasing to numbers exceeding our current enrollment by 2035. The October 1, 2024 enrollment at Ram Middle School was 354 students. Enrollment at the middle school is projected to remain steady for the next few years before increasing to the tw uh in the 2028 2029 school year. The October 1, 2024 enrollment at Ram High School with 724 students. High school pro enrollment is projected
015to experience a decrease in enrollment through the 2728 school year before gradually increasing and eventually surpassing current enrollment in 3132. These projections do not factor in Colombia students who will be attending RAM. It is important to note that over the next 10 years, the elementary districts feeding into RAM are projected to increase their combined enrollments by approximately 200 students. This graph shows the projected combined elementary enrollment of an Andover, Heburn, and Marorrow through the 2034 2035 fiscal year. The projected enroll uh enrollment growth at the elementary school districts that feed into RAM indicate RAM enrollment will continue to grow beyond our current 10-year projections. The proposed budget also includes three safety and security offers to work collaboratively, excuse me, in both schools. These positions will improve the security posture of the district, collaborating with our
016school resource officer, administration, and hallway monitors and help the front office staff manage visitor access visitors accessing the building. The budget also includes the addition of an athletic trainer. We have been using independent contractors to meet our athletic training needs for the current school year, and we are currently working to identify a candidate to serve in this capacity in a full-time basis. It is in the best interest of student athletes and coaches to have a full-time dedicated staff employee to serve in this capacity to ensure consistency and continuity of care. And this board uh and and we appreciate the board's support in hiring an athletic trainer to do that. The resignation of a teacher uh late last spring led to the elimination of the Latin program. Since the resignation was given after the adoption of
017the current year's budget, the elimination of the position is reflected in the budget for the upcoming school year. And as I noted earlier, the budget also reflects the reduction uh of a math teaching position at Ram High School and it also reflects two special education par specialed para educators. Uh these are current vacancies that we have had uh challen it's been challenging to fill um and we can currently meet student needs uh without those positions. Uh I felt it would be important to highlight the return on the community's investment into our district as Ram Middle and High School provide tremendous opportunities to our students. At the high school, our students perform at levels that are well above state averages and standardized assessments and have the opportunity for a more personalized learning experience with the inquiry
018team. At the high school, our students can choose over 250 course offerings and 25 career pathways. The program of studies currently offers 33 dual enrollment opportunities for college for students to earn college credits as well as career and technical education courses which provide desirable skills and prepare graduates to immediately enter the workforce in highpaying careers. Students continually achieve at high levels and find success in AP classes and score well above state and national average SAT scores. Ram High School annually ranks as one of the top schools in the state by US and new news world reports based on a variety of metrics. RAM also uh provides a high quality experience for students beyond academic achievement as it has been recognized as a best community for music education for eight consecutive years. Our fine and performing
019arts programs and classes enable students to achieve at high levels and be recognized statewide and nationally for their hard work and talents. Ram students are also provided with opportunities to develop their skills and excel as student athletes. Last year, Ram had three state championship teams, two state runner-ups, and six CCC division champions. Numerous student athletes earned individual acclaim as state, allconference, and triple threat athletes. The proposed administrative budget reflects the effort of the district and school administration, department coordinators and other staff to put forward a responsible budget that maintains the highquality educational programming and facilities that the Ram community has come to as expect. It is the result of several months of collaboration between school and district administrators, department coordinators, and staff and the region 8 board of education as well and is intended to
020provide the community with a clear understanding of the district's programs and priorities. The administration staff and regional school district a board of education are grateful for the support of the communities of Hebrin, Andover, and Marorrow for what they provide to ensure our students are receiving a highquality education which prepares them to make meaningful contributions to society. I want to thank you all for your collaborative efforts to support um the work that we have done since my initial proposal of the budget in January. Since that time, as I've noted earlier, we've reduced uh in total by 570 by almost $575,000 to this increase where I'm proposing today of a 2.6%. As I previously noted, this is amongst the lowest in the state um and is well below the state average of 5.35. That concludes my presentation
021and I can try my best to answer any questions that members of the board or members of the public may have. Is there anybody um online that has a question for Colin regarding the budget? Just raise your hand. Raise your digital hand if you can do that. That way we know you have a question. Nobody. Okay. Anybody in the room have any questions? Is your comments allowed? Please. You missed us, didn't you? You couldn't keep away. I I could not keep going. That'd be great. Go over because then the Bill will catch it online. Your remarks. [Music] First, please excuse my casual appearance tonight. Can you just state your name in town for the for the recording? Um, a couple of things. Uh, not so many years ago, Name and address, Eric. Pardon me. name
022and address. Oh, I'm sorry. Okay. Eric Shvchenko, Bunker Hill Road, Andover. Um, not so many years ago, uh, Andover made up 18% of the students at RAM. And in very recent years that's fallen precipitously to I see from your handout we're down to 13%. And uh our uh elementary school which could handle as many as 300 students was down below 200. Uh one of the reactions to that was to um offer education to younger students. So there's very active uh preschool program now. And the good news as I see it is that there are numbers of children that are now uh uh at uh Andover Elementary um in significantly increased numbers but it at the very earliest stage. So, um eventually, uh I I look forward to us representing a greater percentage of RAM, you
023know, in the future, but uh I think that's going to take a number of years to, you know, to get there. Um I I view the budget as very responsible. I have no uh objections to it. I have uh one other comment and that is regarding the safety slash security officers that are being added. Um we've had uh in other towns uh nearby we've had a tragedy or two with uh safety officers, if I can call it that, or police officers. um in the school where um they betrayed their trust and uh were actually arrested for uh inappropriate contact with minors. So what I would encourage the board to do would be to um to vet these these these people very very carefully. Um perhaps as a suggestion um if you're still using shipment, perhaps
024they can help with, you know, brainstorming or maybe even advising how this can be done to uh prelude that type of of tragedy uh here at Grant, which is one of the worst things I can imagine happening to a So, uh, that's what I have. Thank you all for your for your work here and, uh, I think you're doing a great job. And, uh, that's it for tonight. Thanks, Sarah. Does anybody else have any questions or comments for Colin on the budget? I just had you sort of answered it uh, about Colombia. I just wanted to know in the future if you had any ideas as to how we could better uh project the enrollment to include uh Colombia students. What strategies could be used to sort of help that assessment? Sure. So, um you
025know, obviously this is the first year that the partnership has existed. Um what I did was I took some anecdotal feedback in order for us to come up with the initial projection that we had come up with which was 10 students I believe. Right. So we were we were off by by two with regards to our incoming freshmen. The board may remember that there there's currently a Columbia student who um transitioned from living in in in district to going to Colombia. So we're allowing that student to stay on. It just made sense. We wouldn't want to disrupt that student's education. Um, but I do believe that as time goes on, we're going to get a better sense of things. Uh, uh, we will certainly continue to work collaboratively with the Colombia administration to, uh, survey
026families to get a better sense of of students at different grade levels as they continue to metriculate up like is is interest in RAM uh, increasing as I believe that it will over time. Um, I I I I may have said this publicly before. I apologize if I'm repeating myself. I believe that the I'm thrilled with the number that we have coming in this year. It's it's basically a you know close to a $150,000 of revenue that is helping reduce the levies of each of the three towns. Um but I am I am fairly confident that that number is going to increase. I think the the the number of incoming freshmen is going to be greater um for for a host of reasons. Number one, I think that as the longer the partnership is established,
027the more positive things are going to be said within the Colombia community about the partnership and students experiences here. That's number one. Um, number two, we will continue to uh partner with with Colombia when possible, even outside of of the high school um realm. One of the things that I think I've informed uh the board about was we had a um we had a gentleman uh come in and do a presentation on social media and social media safety. And we we we wanted to get our early learners. We actually brought sixth graders from the three elementary schools. So I reached out to Colombia and I said, "Why don't you guys send your sixth graders over?" We were doing it for seventh and eighth graders, too. And I said, "Send your seventh and eighth graders." the
028more that the kids come in here and experience opportunities at RAM, I think numbers will grow. Um I I I haven't had this chance to speak uh with with uh members of the staff yet, but I do want to talk about like what are other opportunities that we could say let's get Colombia kids in and have them be a part of things that are going on RAM. So, uh, you know, I will certainly work with their administrative staff to do both formal and informal um, surveys, conversations with parents. I'll continue to make myself available at their board of education meetings, go to their PTO meetings. A big part of this partnership now for me is marketing the district and and trying to um uh, you know, basically explain to parents and students why it's a
029good place to come. So, um, there's going to be a lot of different ways that we do it, but I think that, you know, both formal forms of metrics such as surveys that are that are sent out to Colombia families is certainly going to be something, but the reality is is we won't know until that time in early March when they have to make that firm decision. Great. Thank you. Sure. Do you know how many students graduate from Columbia approximately? So, from what I was told, if I'm remembering correctly, usually around 40ish is is is what they graduate out of. Anybody else? Okay. Um, so that's going to conclude the public hearing portion. Um, we will convene a special meeting immediately following uh the conclusion of the public hearing to consider the adoption of the
030proposed budget. So, we're going to have to adjourn and then we're going to have to go back. Move to adjurnn. Scott Soyette. Um, do we have a second? I'll second. Mike Fuller. Um, all in favor? Anyone opposed? Okay. So, we uh we're done with this.