News

$4 Million ‘Placeholder’ for Saxe Auditorium Renovation Drives Schools Superintendent’s Capital Spending Plan

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Driven largely by what he called a $4 million “placeholder” for renovating the Saxe Middle School auditorium, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Bryan Luizzi on Monday proposed a capital budget of $5,564,500 for the 2015-16 fiscal year. The figure would represent a 140 percent increase over approved capital spending for New Canaan Public Schools in the current fiscal year. Delivered to the Board of Education on the same night that Luizzi recommended an operating budget—a salary- and benefits-driven total that makes up about 97 of all district spending—the proposed capital budget will get full vetting by the school board prior to its Jan. 20 meeting. Once the Board of Ed settles on its budget requests, they go to the selectmen, finance board and Town Council.

News

School Board to Weigh Funding for Varsity Club Sports in Budget Request

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District officials as they finalize a budget request for next year are looking at whether to include stipends for varsity club sports such as squash, skiing and crew. Board of Education members on Monday said that treating the separate sports fairly means establishing firm criteria in areas such as program history and participation. “I think it is really important for us to be consistent and I appreciate that we all love the sports that we love,” Secretary Dionna Carlson said at the school board’s meeting, held in the Wagner Room at New Canaan High School. “But as a board I think we have to be consistent.”

The comments came as Superintendent of Schools Dr. Bryan Luizzi proposed a budget for fiscal year 2016 to the BOE. The full board is scheduled to come back Jan.

News

Schools Superintendent Proposes 5 Percent Increase in Spending

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Superintendent of Schools Dr. Bryan Luizzi on Monday night proposed an operating budget for the district of $84,912,121 in fiscal year 2016—a 5 percent increase over current spending. The figure is driven mainly by staffing costs tied to rising enrollment—especially in teacher salaries (65 percent) and benefits (17 percent), Luizzi said during the Board of Education’s regular meeting. Citing district-wide enrollment, which is expected to rise next year by about 40, and then steadily increase through 2021, Luizzi said the proposed teacher salaries anticipate additional staffers: two classroom teachers for the seventh grade, one additional K-4 teacher, two supervisory aides at Saxe, one custodian at the middle school and a part-time district-wide social worker. “To be fully understood, we need to understand that [the proposed budget] is comprised of multiple drivers, that some are obligatory and some are discretionary,” Luizzi said during the meeting, held in the Wagner Room at New Canaan High School. “Those drivers are significant numbers.

Government

Town Officials Eye Safe Pedestrian Walkway alongside Busy Access Road to Lapham Community Center

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Town officials want to install a 6-foot wide, processed stone pedestrian walkway alongside the bustling access road that runs down to the Lapham Community Center at Waveny. As it is, pedestrians circling the park are walking in the road—often in groups, pushing baby strollers or with leashed dogs in tow—and it’s an “accident waiting to happen,” according to New Canaan’s recreation director. “It’s getting kind of dangerous, because you’ve got people wearing headsets and they don’t hear cars coming,” Steve Benko said. What’s more, the access road itself gets plenty of use not just from residents visiting the community center, but also from youth sports parents dropping off or collecting their kids from the turf field over by the water tower. The proposed new trail would need to come from capital funds for the Recreation Department following this upcoming budget season.