Board of Finance Minutes - 3/12/13

BOARD OF FINANCE
REGULAR MEETING - 6:00 PM
MARCH 12, 2013

CALL TO ORDER

Paul Henault, Chairman, called a regular meeting of the Board of Finance to order at 6:03 P.M. on Tuesday, March 12, 2013 in the Main Meeting Room at the Town Offices, 933 Hopmeadow Street, Simsbury, CT. The following members were also present: Peter Askham, Jeff Blumenthal, Nicholas Mason, Kevin North and Barbara Petitjean. Also present were Mary Ann Harris; Finance Director, Matthew Curtis; Superintendent of Schools, Burke LaClair; Board of Education Business Manager; Lydia Tedone, Chair - Board of Education; Leslie Faraci; Commissions Clerk and other interested parties.

1. Approve Minutes - February 27, 2013

Mr. Askham made a motion to approve the minutes of the February 27, 2013 Regular Meeting with changes presented. The motion was seconded by Ms. Petitjean and unanimously passed.

Ms. Petitjean made a motion to amend the agenda in order to address items 3&4 at this point in the meeting. The motion was seconded by Mr. Blumenthal and unanimously passed.

3. CNR (discussion)

Mr. Henault asked if the Board of Education and Board of Selectmen are clear regarding the additional funding in the amount of $100,000 for CNR.  Ms. Harris and Mr. LaClair confirmed that they each understood it was to be split 50/50 between the two (2) Boards.

4. Request to establish Special Revenue Fund to track appropriations previously approved for Town and School safety measures

Ms. Harris explained why a special revenue fund needs to be established in this case.

Mr. Blumenthal made a motion to approve the request to establish Special Revenue Fund to track appropriations previously approved, in an amount not to exceed $77,600, for Town and School safety measures. The motion was seconded by Ms. Petitjean and unanimously passed.

2. Board of Education 2013/2014 Budget Presentation (pursuant to Section 806 of the Town Charter)

Matt Curtis, Superintendent of Schools, worked his way through his presentation and then made himself available for questions from the Board members. He covered topics such as; budget context, economic pressures, enrollment trends and the related adjustments, revenue receipts projection, per pupil costs, return on investment (ROI),  performance measures, Federal/State grants, education reform efforts, equipment upgrades and other specific budget details. Mr. Curtis highlighted the financial additions and reductions that bring the total requested budgeted increase to 1.89%.

Mr. Henault opened up the floor to the Board members for questions. The preschool mandate as well as out-of-district magnet school attendance was discussed. Simsbury public preschool education was discussed in terms of per pupil costs and potential revenue to the Town. The subject of bus routes, bus capacity and efficiency were reviewed. The Chinese Language class was brought up as it relates to available grant funding and then the topic of tracking grant funds was considered further.  Mr. Curtis and the Board members spoke about how he determined which additions/cuts would be highlighted to the public and Mr. Curtis said he would like to highlight significant staff changes and items tied to educational reform when it comes to public presentation. An inquiry regarding equipment costs was raised and then reviewed by Mr. LaClair.  New technology additions were discussed, specifically smart-boards versus one-to-one devises (i.e. tablets). Energy costs and related equipment upgrades were then explained by Mr. LaClair. The Board members commended Mr. Curtis and Mr. LaClair for delivering such a useful and comprehensive budget package. It was suggested, as part of on-going reporting, Mr. LaClair track the grant funds, and the related program expenses throughout the year, in order to tie back to the original budget for tracking purposes. Mr. LaClair then provided an update on the progress regarding the school security related work that will commence shortly. Mr. Curtis said they are keeping their eye out for potential grants related to school security/safety. It was requested of Mr. LaClair to report back to the Board the incremental cost of full-day kindergarten this coming year. This topic was discussed further.

Mr. Henault went through the presentation booklet and provided his comments/questions. The need for three (3) Vice Principals, versus two (2) Vice Principals, at the High School was discussed and Mr. Curtis stated that unless there is an incredible decrease in the amount of teachers to be evaluated, it would be extremely difficult with only two (2) Vice Principals. Pension funding was discussed briefly. Then the CNR schedule was discussed by Mr. LaClair.  Reverting back to the topic of school safety, Mr. Curtis was asked about nursing/staffing related to monitoring student mental health. Mr. Curtis spoke about the solid intervention processes currently in place, but also about the unpredictability attached with this issue.  Mr. Curtis spoke about special education students in response to a question from the Board. Additional specific expenses within the budget were reviewed and discussed.

When asked about their degree of certainty regarding the enrollment assumptions being used, Mr. Curtis said when looking at the 5 year numbers, the reliability is high.

Concern regarding the disposition of The Hartford building, and the resulting economic impact to Simsbury, was raised. Mr. Henault expressed his hesitancy to approve any new construction or major renovations over the next 2 to 3 years when considering the unknowns related to that point. Mr. Curtis said each of the slated capital improvement projects have a security implication, so they will have to be reviewed individually.

Mr. North moved to move the Board of Education budget onto Public Hearing on April 9th, 2013. The motion was seconded by Mr. Mason and passed unanimously.

Ms. Petitjean asked if the Board could get a look at the cash flow version, related to the capital improvement plan, and Mr. LaClair said Ms. Harris is currently updating that information. 

5. Calendar Update

The cancellation of the upcoming Board of Finance meeting, scheduled for March 19th, was discussed.

Ms. Petitjean moved to cancel the Regular Meeting of the Board of Finance on March 19, 2013. The motion was seconded by Mr. Blumenthal and passed unanimously.

Ms. Petitjean moved to adjourn the Regular Meeting of the Board of Finance at 7:32PM. The motion was seconded by Mr. Blumenthal and passed unanimously.

Respectfully submitted,

____________________  ______________________________
Paul Henault, Chairman     Leslie U. Faraci, Commissions Clerk