The Westport Board of Education decided tonight it will not seek restoration of the $500,000 cut from its proposed 2007-08 budget by the Board of Finance.
The $500,000 cut brings the school proposal to $88.7 million, which is a 7.8 percent increase over the current budget. The Board of Education had proposed a $89.2 million 2007-08 operating budget, which is a 8.4 percent increase over the current budget.
The Board of Finance, which meets Wednesday to review restoration requests, suggested school officials take $400,000 of the cut from the insurance reserve fund.
Schools Superintendent Elliott Landon said it would remain unclear on the future of the district’s insurance funding, but he would not recommend seeking restoration.
Landon said if the insurance funding was necessary, he would be prepared to cut other areas that do not affect children in the classrooms.
“The (Board of Finance’s) suggestion on insurance is appealing, but we need to wait and see,” he said. “We can defer some things that would not affect class size or classroom teachers.”
Board Chairwoman Mary Parmelee said she is not comfortable not funding the insurance reserve at the level the board had approved, but she would not ask for restoration.
She said the finance board had rationalized that the municipal budget has enough insurance funding to back up the school board.
Don O’Day, a board member, said the board does not have to decide where to cut in the budget tonight, and that decision would be made in June.
He believes the $500,000 cut was reasonable.
James Marpe, board secretary, said the finance board gave a strong signal that the $500,000 cut was a final number.
He wouldn’t know how to rationalize a request for restoration, he said.
