As the new year begins, Brookfield’s 2013-14 budget season is getting underway, beginning with the Superintendent of Schools, Anthony Bivona, presenting his administration’s budget proposal to the Board of Education (BOE) earlier this month. Bivona’s initial proposal request asks for $38,862,940, a $1,826,940 or 4.93 percent increase over the approved 2012-13 budget.
The BOE is currently deliberating on the superintendent’s budget and will deliver their final proposal to the First Selectman’s Office by January 31. The school board and administration will also be giving a joint presentation to the Boards of Selectmen and Finance in mid February.
The largest cost drivers in the superintendent’s proposal are employee benefits, which rose $592,754 or 9.54 percent year-over-year, and salaries, which increased 4.3 percent by $1,026,645.
The increase to the salaries line is due in part to seven new full-time positions, which collectively represent $273,688 of the $24,903,991 allocated for salaries in the superintendent’s proposed budget. The remainder of the increase ($1,026,645) is for $688,427 in contractual salary increases and an additional $64,530 in the budget for substitute teachers.
With the number of students requiring special education services in the district rising steadily since 2009-10 — including increasing from 297 for the current year to a projected 305 next year — five of the full-time positions being requested are to assist special needs students in each of the four school buildings. The proposal calls for two paraprofessionals at Center Elementary School (CES), one certified in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA); a paraprofessional at Huckleberry Hill Elementary School (HHES); a social worker at Whisconier Middle School (WMS); and a full-time special needs teacher at Brookfield High School (BHS).
The other two “full-time positions” are actually three teachers — one full-time and two part-time — to bolster the district’s World Language Program by adding an additional full-time language teacher for kindergarten and first grade students at CES and part-time Mandarin teachers for grade seven at WMS and grade nine at BHS.
The district is also working on implementing a three-phase security upgrade to four school buildings in the wake of the Dec. 14 Sandy Hook shootings in neighboring Newtown. Brookfield’s registered voters and property owners have been asked to attend a town meeting Thursday at 7 p.m. in Town Hall to approve funding for Phase I and school and town officials will be meeting over the next few weeks to work on a funding plan to accomplish the latter phases before the end of the current academic year.
Bivona proposed a 2.76 percent increase in his initial budget proposal for 2012-13, which was adjusted slightly by the Board of Finance and ultimately approved by voters at 2.45 percent.
Historic Budget Increase (Decrease) Data
Fiscal Year
Dollar Increase
Percent Increase
2006-07 $967,500 3.08 percent 2007-08 $1,221,700 3.76 percent 2008-09 $418,022 1.24 percent 2009-10 ($88,369) -0.26 percent 2010-11 $1,410,762 4.15 percent 2011-12 $732,048 2.06 percent 2012-13 $886,000 2.45 percent Avg Increase$792,523
2.35 percent
2013-14 proposed $1,826,825 4.93 percent
As usual, we'll go round and round on this and then settle on a 3% increase. But I'm going to be voting yes every time...
If anyone commenting here on the Patch is receiving even a dollar from the Education system, in the name of honesty and full disclosure, I hope that they will mention that fact, and how much they are being paid.
Taxes Per Month $458.33 PRINCIPAL $320,000.00 1% $3,200.00 INTEREST 2.8% $8,960.00 TAXES $5,500.00 $17,660.00 Approximate Monthly Mortgage Payment $1,471.67 Annual AFTER BIVONA 2013-2014 Taxes Per Month $480.93 4.93% Increase per Month $22.60 Increase per year $271.15 PRINCIPAL $312,700.00 1.0% $3,127.00 INTEREST 2.8% $8,755.60 TAXES $5,771.15 $17,653.75 Approximate Monthly Mortgage Payment $1,471.15 $271 Increase in taxes (5%) = $7,300 loss of home value holding the mortgage payment constant for 1st time homebuyers or in other words, each 1% increase in taxes yield a .5% decrease in home value assuming constant wages & employment $27 of home value lost for each dollar of tax increase And the education systems are the same if not better in Newtown, Ridgefield, New Fairfield and other surrounding communities. It is why homes decrease in value in Brookfield and increase in value there. It is the "Tax Surcharge" (lost home value to 1st time homebuyers Loss on Home Value $(7,300.00) -2.3%
No one buying a house cuts it so close that a difference of $25-$75 per month in their payment would make any difference in their ability to qualify for a mortgage or be a significant factor in choosing between two homes with a price difference of less than $10k. Do you really think any buyer is going to be swayed by a $23 per month difference in their mortgage payment? Do you think any seller even thinks about the fact that they may need to cut their selling price by 2% due to a $271 tax difference? I am not sure what the 1% principal in your example represents. I did a real calculation of the actual monthly for each of the two houses in your example using 30 yr and 2.8% interest. (Great rate if you can really find a 30 yr fixed at this rate.) The actual monthly payment difference between $320k ($1,326/Mo) and $313k ($1,295) is only $30. I think you will agree that in the scope of buying a home for $320k vs. $313k, a difference of $30 per month, $360 per year would NOT be a significant consideration when choosing one house over another.
do you know the difference between no and know?
It's not about qualifing for how deep in debt the banks and real estate brokers can put them. THEY are savvy to that game as real estate sales for the last 5 years town-by-town have shown. The average age of the median priced home buyers shows what first time home buyers are doing. The baby boomers can want all they want but when folks will only pay what they want they can grow old in homes, never selling. Yes, kids figured out the game. The numbers over 5 years bear it out. You're nit-piking a simple example. They are doing their math. I applaud todays kids that are every bit as savvy as our grandparents were with a buck. The homeowner who doesn't cut their price simply won't sell. It's the law of supply and demand. It's a socio-economic model that no longer falls prey to snake oil salesmanship. No I don't agree and the numbers bear it house. Home sales are rising and home prices are still falling in Brookfield. Keep raising the taxes and expecting different results. But I wouldn't hold my breath about selling. It's a market driven economy now.
Brookfield, CT - Single Family Properties 12 Months Ending: Dec-12 Dec-11 Change Unit Sales 142 114 24.60% Average Sale Price $395,427 $418,922 -5.60% Median Sale Price $334,950 $361,250 -7.30% Average List Price $525,824 $516,019 1.90% Sales to List Price Ratio 95.00% 93.79% 1.30% Inventory 134 138 -2.90% Months of Supply 13.2 12.8 3.10% MarketTime (Days) 116 130 -10.80% Price per Sq Ft $167 $174 -3.70% Keep raising taxes. The actions of first time homebuyers speak for themselves. No interpretation needed.