The Westport Board of Education is preparing to deliberate and vote on the proposed 2007-08 school budget, and its final decision may be something less than what Schools Superintendent Elliott Landon has proposed.
Landon has proposed an $89.2 million 2007-08 budget, which is a 8.8 percent, or $7.2 million, increase over the current budget. The board is scheduled to vote on the proposal during its meeting at 8 p.m. on Monday at Staples High School.
During a meeting with the Board of Finance on Tuesday night, Board of Education Chairwoman Mary Parmelee said the board most likely would present the finance board with something different than what Landon has proposed.
“I imagine we will make changes to the budget,” she said on Thursday. “I only know of potential requests to lower it.”
School board members have been making suggestions this week to Landon for potential changes to the budget, she said, and he will respond to the questions and suggestions during Monday’s meeting.
“Board members are responding to (Landon) with suggestions for expenses that could be deferred or eliminated,” she said. “We will discuss them Monday night.”
Landon’s proposal includes placing $1 million back into the insurance account that the Board of Finance cut a year ago.
Parmelee said some board members may request to cut the $1 million from the insurance account, but it’s not on her list.
“We don’t have a specific target on how much we will decrease the budget,” she said. “Our target is what we need to best educate our students.”
