Dear School Supporters,

This past Friday the Board of Education passed their proposed budget to the Town Council. The Town Council will now review and then decide on this budget over the next several weeks. On Tuesday, April 3rd, the Council will finalize the budget that goes to May 1 referendum.

What can you do to influence these decisions?

PLEASE come find out next Saturday morning, 9AM – 12PM at the Crandall Lodge. You will be offered a number of opportunities for you to decide where you fit in. This meeting is a significant opportunity to make a difference in the future of our students and of the quality of life in Tolland. Bring a friend! Please RSVP or send you questions to Jackie Kolb at kolbjacqueline@yahoo.com or Ken Kittredge at 860-872-8838 or maxadrenalin@aol.com.

If you have never been to one of these meetings, you will not be alone. This is our kickoff meeting where new people come to start getting involved.

Toward that, State Representative Bryan Hurlburt will lead a conversation on the nuts and bolts of getting real results.  Superintendent Bill Guzman will be there representing the schools.

“Ashford, Tolland and Willington deserves a state representative who will provide real leadership and get real results. Our challenging times demand nothing less.“  ~Bryan Hurlburt

In past years we just haven’t had enough people involved at this point in the process. It is understandable. We have so many other priorities in our lives screaming at us. The result has been lost referendums. Last year alone ~ half a million dollars was removed from the school budget by rejected referendums, and half of that reduction came down to 37 votes.  With your help, we could avoid multiple referendums.Here’s the thing. No one wants higher taxes, so Tolland most often votes against them without fully considering the impact. We intend this year to be different. The discussion has already moved much beyond just costs, focused on services. If school costs must be reduced, who best to do it? The Board of Education struggled for weeks to reduce the cost of their budget. Unfortunately this required sacrificing some programs and service. The Town Council does not want to harm schools and, through working together, we will find additional efficiencies. No one person has all the answers.  CLICK LINK –> The Town Council and Board of Education have DRAFTED a preliminary goal to work on together, in a meaningful way, in the coming months and years.

Do you feel that Pay for Play in Tolland is too high?

This is only one of many things that have impacted schools over the past years of reductions.

What other aspects of education in Tolland concern you?

Pay for Play is not a singular issue. It is the result of complicated, multi-year scenario where school cost increases outpace funding sources. An annual ‘short-view’ process of taking issues one by one results in a ‘long-view’ where we all lose. Because educational programming has been significantly cut bit by bit over several years, pay for play is only one of the unfunded priorities of different factions of the town and school community.

Please join us on Saturday

This meeting is a significant opportunity to make a difference in the future of our students and of the quality of life in Tolland. Bring a friend! Please RSVP or send you questions to Jackie Kolb at kolbjacqueline@yahoo.com or Ken Kittredge 860-872-8838 or maxadrenalin@aol.com.

…. Because you make the difference in Tolland!

Officials in attendance:  Karen Kramer, Mark Gill, Althea Gill, Josh Freeman, Rick Field, Jan Rubino, Jack Scavone, Christine Howard, Steve Clark, Tom Frattaroli, Bob Pagoni, Bill Guzman

What did they talk about?

The meeting started off with fairly low energy.  “I’m tired!” one participant proclaimed.  These officials spend most evenings at one meeting or another in service of our town.  Yet, as the meeting progressed, passions were activated.  Each of these people cares deeply about what happens to Tolland.  They feel responsible for making their best, positive impact.  They expressed concern that the current system isn’t working and drives divisiveness in town. They expressed concern that everyone is looking just at a number, a percentage increase to the budget.  They expressed concern that more residents don’t get involved and don’t come out to vote.

Officials drafted a goal statement

The instructions were to NOT make it pretty, rather to get the collective thoughts down.  Here’s the DRAFT goal statement participants agreed upon:

BOE, Town Manager and Town Council supports and town votes in a mutually agreed upon budget.

• Our budget should be perceived as efficient and should include alternative ways of delivering services where appropriate
• Our budget should be responsive to the needs of the residents and students of Tolland while being fiscally minded.
• Our budget is a direct investment in our town’s future
• Our budget should find the balance between delivery of service and fiscal responsibility
• Our budget should be more easily understood by the public with respect to cost and priorities
• We should have a plan for effectively communicating and disseminating information, building upon what we already are using.

 So….?

Reading this over, clearly it isn’t easy … otherwise, we would have done it already!  What is in the way?  Obstacles listed included

• Not enough revenue increase to cover fixed cost increase
• Voters are polarized either toward the BOE budget or the Town Manager’s budget
• Some won’t bend, consider other points of view
• Disengagement / lack of awareness of programs/services and their value
• The economic picture
• Unfunded mandates / public perception that the school budget is bloated
• Lack of pride

And …

… with this list of formidable obstacles our officials went to work.  In groups, they began developing potential solutions.  These are IDEAS, possibility thinking.  While few are likely to be adopted “as is” one idea seeds another and through the creative process plans of action are developed.

IDEAS that might address polarized voters

• The Board of Education and Town Council first unify within, THEN combined toward a mutually agreed upon budget.
• More careful language mare made that don’t incite one perspective against another.
• BOE and the town submit their budget to a third party, such as a board of finance.
• We work to infect pride through sports, music, plays and coffee houses.
• We engage well known residents and their networks.

Solutions to other obstacles were brainstormed

In the end, participants were please about this process.  What will be done next?  One participant remarked,

“Next year we need to begin this [collaborative process] earlier!”

Another remarked,

“I didn’t want to come tonight.  Now I’m glad I did.  This was good.”

Meeting handout (.pdf) is here

Photo credit:  Jayme Kunze

We need your help, now! 

Please take just a few minutes today to send an email.  Let elected officials know the value you see in their meeting together prior to February 17th and developing their shared perspective.  School cost increases outpacing funding sources is a complex, multi-year problem.   We all want a school system that works more effectively.  We all want a sustainable Tolland.

Please send your email to the following Board of Education and Town Council addresses:

gblock@tolland.k12.ct.us;sclark@tolland.k12.ct.us;tfrattaroli@tolland.k12.ct.us;agill@tolland.k12.ct.us;
kkramer@tolland.k12.ct.us;rpagoni@tolland.k12.ct.us;apowell@tolland.k12.ct.us;ftantillo@tolland.k12.ct.us;
choward@tolland.k12.ct.us;jscavone@tolland.org;mgill@tolland.org;sbelsito@tolland.org;rfield@tolland.org;
jfreeman@tolland.org;jrubino@tolland.org;bstanford@tolland.org;swerbner@tolland.org;wguzman@tolland.k12.ct.us

Want more information?

• Upcoming meetings
• Our Advisory Board’s Situation Assessment
• FTS Letter to the Board of Education

We request that in the month of January, the Town Council and Board of Education work together so that the BOE budget is built upon most-likely-case cost estimates, changed from worst-case cost estimates.

________________________________________________________

Friends of Tolland Schools (FTS) asks for unified action now, from town professionals, the Town Council, and the Board of Education. In words heard at the FTS Advisory Board last Monday evening, “We need to set aside what HAS been done and look at what NEEDS to be done.”

Tolland’s Town Manager observes, “Make all the arguments you want, at the end of the day, the voter votes a number!” And thus begins the “win/lose dance”: the Superintendent has presented a ‘status quo’ budget of 5.98%, and the Town Manager countered by saying a budget tax increase right for the Town is in the range of 1-3% (see note below). New Town Council members informally target zero percent increase, without any deep discernment for the impact of that on schools and other town services, beyond soundbites of “change” and “efficiency.”

This is what happens when we allow the budget discussion to be all about “a number.” The FTS Advisory Board recognized that a critical issue is our year-at-a-time approach. We have an annual ‘short-view’ process of ‘winners and losers’ and a ‘long-view’ result where we all lose. We lose because educational programming has been significantly cut bit by bit over several years. We lose because we have deterioration of our roads. We lose because of increased community divisiveness. Without a longer term, SUBSTANTIVE approach to the budgetary process, the fundamental drivers of this ‘win/lose’ debate will never be addressed in a meaningful way.

So, what does a unified budget look like, in this situation?

We request that in the month of January, the Town Council and Board of Education work together so that the BOE budget is built upon most-likely-case cost estimates, changed from worst-case cost estimates.

With this done, things begin to change. First, leaders are seen as credible. It is no longer left to taxpayers to guess what proposed services really cost. Discussion among leaders shifts. Rather than “my number” (zero percent <—> six percent), leaders talk about prioritized service that will or won’t be offered at each funding level. With that focus, additional, creative possibilities are debated. Taxpayers see leaders as working hard to provide the best service possible within cost parameters. Moving away from a two-sided negotiation, trust is built. More voices enter the discussion. Solutions appear from untapped sources.

With this done, a unified budget for the Superintendent’s proposed level of service requires less than a 5.98% increase. In addition, toward a unified budget, We suggest leaders focus the discussion on specific priorities that may or may not be funded, rather than calls for particular budget increases.

As with any significant, positive change, there are obstacles. FTS has independently formulated a number of suggestions on how to make this happen, developing a strawman budget increase that approximated 4%. While we would be glad to share our brainstorming, going through this process affirmed for us that there are no simple solutions. Each idea raised also surfaced numerous complexities and leap-of-faith requirements. This is precisely why our leaders must work trustingly together.

School conservative cost estimates exist because of large unknown variables each January. Unlike the town, which maintains financial reserves, the district has no fall back position for unfavorable variance to the assumptions made. Looking forward to years ahead, circumstances as unforeseeable as a flu epidemic (impacting the calculation of health insurance cost) or a change in weather will inevitably cause a significant unfunded problem. Without a fall back position, we could foresee schools unable to meet payroll and similar obligations. While the town reserves money for such inevitability, as things are now, use of it is outside the schools realm of possibility. What would be the legal way to allow the BOE to have a reserve, managed by the town, counted on in the case of rare extraordinary expenses?

So, we send this to you without pretending we have the answers. Rather, we send this with the hope for a better process, and the vision for many stakeholders better understanding and engaging in the substance of town services and the consequences of cuts. We envision shared ownership of action required to preserve and improve our community.

Thank you,

Friends of Tolland Schools

Note:  After this was sent to the Board of Education, we were corrected.  Town Manager Steve Werbner’s 1-3% increase is a tax increase, not a budget (cost) increase.  It is net of projected revenue increase, based on changes to the grand list, expected to be published by the Town Manager this week.

Last Monday, January 16th at St. Matthew’s Church, Friends of Tolland Schools’ Advisory Board held their first meeting.   Each Advisory Board member was selected based on helping balance the group’s perspective, subject matter expertise, and a history of service to the town.

Advisory Board Attendees were Sandy Chafouleas, Lou Deloreto, Mark Summers, Becky Ellert, and Dan Carmody. Town Leaders Jack Scavone, Andy Powell also attended.

Other Attendees, Suzie Lotreck, Bob Rubino, Frank Pasini, Brenda Falusi, Diane Clokey, Ken Kittredge, Jackie Kolb, role played other perspectives at one point during the meeting, including a senior on a fixed pension, a teacher, a high school student and a tuned out voter.

Participants worked on two questions:

1. What are some of our biggest challenges to acting together?
2. What are your necessary improvements to the budget process?

The notes below are based on what was captured on the flip charts, in a file here.  The meeting handout is here.  After comparing Tolland to this scenario (other districts have similar dynamics) participants discussed our biggest challenges to working together, and what they believe needs to change. The word “need” was offered frequently. Opinions may not have be shared by all present and were not prioritized. Specific budget increases FY 2012-13 was purposely NOT discussed.

Becky, Sandy, Jack, Andy and Dan, Lou and Mark discuss the budget process

Advisory participants felt that Tolland needs more clarity from the top.

People first don’t understand the repercussions if the budget fails. Folks need conversations like this, simple and efficient, to get on board. It was felt that some people want to get involved, but they don’t know how. Start by “changing the dance steps.” The Town Council and Board of Education have a predisposition, with roles that have formed over many years. We need our professionals to act in a different way from the roles they currently assume. As things are, our professionals speak a different language from each other and reach an impasse. They need to talk beyond just numbers, about services.  It has become all about the numbers and the Board of Education is seen as a cost center. Yes, the numbers are important, AND get to the content. It was stated, “we need to set aside what HAS been done and look at what NEEDS to be done.”

 “We need to set aside what HAS been done and look at what NEEDS to be done.”

Different roles bring a healthy tension, where each challenge the other. However, to be effective, it requires a healthy relationship and current dynamics are not effective. The complete change over of the Town Council brings an opportunity to develop different dynamics, now. We need more outside the box thinking with respect to folks working together. A great example was neighbors helping neighbors. It saved the town a lot of money and had other benefits. It helps us work toward breaking down where we are divided by age group.

Beyond that, it was felt that we are missing the bigger picture. We primarily focus from one crisis to the next.  The year-at-a-time approach doesn’t work because a significant share of the budget are locked in costs, from contracts that span years. A longer term approach requires learning from past decisions. For example, High School Geothermal was defeated. However, with today’s hindsight, we missed the opportunity to invest capital and achieve very short payback. Today we pay significantly higher operating costs. We need a way to reconcile dollars to services in a way that people understand in terms of value provided. Otherwise, years of skimping on the operating budget cause larger problems that later need to be addressed. As we look longer term, the numbers become quite large. Focusing on the changes from year to year and between options will keep the discussions more manageable.

With that, it was suggested that the Town Council and Board of Education together offer a simplified message to voters, reiterated in communication from our professionals. We need to come to some common ground on the value to the community of what Tolland schools provide.

On Monday, December 19th, in the midst of the hectic holiday season, Tolland residents and leaders gathered to create a common understanding about important issues the town is currently facing.

Participants had a unique opportunity to formulate important questions by talking in small groups that included Town Manager Steve Werbner, School Superintendent Bill Guzman, and representatives from the Town Council and Board of Education. One participant noted that her group was so engaged in a lively dialogue with Town Council member Rick Field that they only listed one question. Anyone who came to the meeting looking for easy answers would be disappointed.

The theme “We need to all be in this together” ran from the first Q&A question to the closing comments.

“How do we get away from Steve’s budget vs. Bill’s Budget?” kicked off the Q&A. Bill, Steve and Town Council officials took turns explaining in depth Town Charter requirements as well as the difference in roles, highlighting a difference between intended process and actual perception.

How do we get away from Steve’s budget vs. Bill’s Budget?

This question was left open, with participants voicing that regardless of these obstacles, nothing is set in stone. This subject was returned to in closing comments. Leaders were asked to come together in the end on one budget to the town, best given the circumstances, that they agree to support.

Steve Werbner voiced a theme, “If we continue to do the same things we’ve done every year, we’ll continue to get the same result we get every year.” Steve says people just don’t understand the impact of their vote. The school budget is unclear on what will be cut and what will be funded. When asked, “What are people willing to accept as far as level of services,” discussion came back to the fact that people don’t know the important details represented in the budget they are asked to vote for and seem surprised later.

What are people willing to accept as far as level of services?

Since the consequences for failing to pass the budget are not visible when voting, the question simply becomes, “Do I want my taxes raised?” Board of Education leaders detailed the complexities that make defining service levels difficult to pin down. For example, after budget adoption significant health insurance adjustments are negotiated allowing increased service in other areas. Participants pushed back, saying availability of hundreds of pages of budget documentation will not help voters understand the implications. Voters need a better way to get their arms around what is on the table, so they cast a conscious vote for a bottom line number and the programs that are included, getting away from year after year of elimination of a few programs at a time.

It was suggested that with a charter change, the BOE’s School budget and Town Council’s town budget could be separate votes. Participants pushed back against this idea, saying Tolland’s budget needs to be “our budget,” with both group taking responsibility rather than working against each other. Again, it was recognized that there are no easy answers.

What are our options for resource sharing?

Leaders were asked to talk about options for resource sharing, for example insurance policies or where there are overlaps of responsibilities. Some is already being done through two regional agencies, EASTCONN,http://www.eastconn.org, and CREC, http://www.crec.org. These agencies pool purchasing power for reduced supply expense. In addition, through EASTCONN and a new state law, we are pursuing better insurance rates. CREC is working on collaborative effort to pool transportation costs.

Participants wanted to know how we define excellence in education in Tolland, and where we stand on the continuum of educational needs? It was stated that Tolland is challenged to meet the needs of students outside the middle of the continuum. Implications beyond individual students were noted. For example, Tolland’s lack of gifted programs is seen as an obstacle to the town’s desire to host to a high tech business corridor. It was felt that some of our neighboring towns do better. Mandates were discussed, many of which apply to special needs students. Leaders were urged to focus just on working to improve what they can control. Participants voiced that there are implications on property values when education is cut.  Education is an asset to Tolland.

Looking for additional funding sources, leaders were asked about commercial development down the road. Participants were told, commercial development is important, but will take years to come to fruition and even when fully developed will not change the funding landscape all that much.

The session came to a close with Jack Scavone, Town Council Chairman, highlighting our challenge moving forward. He has spent the last six weeks digging into the budget.  Jack again stated that there are no easy answers.  He says, the facts are the facts.  Most of the cost drivers have already been decided. We have contractual increases on the way and we have a $2,000,000 problem.  Divide it anyway you want, 15,000 residents, 5,500 households.  Jack says, We can’t change the system. We won’t get a dime from anyone else, this is our problem, and it is not just about this year. We are all here doing the same thing, the facts don’t lie.  Together, we have a real challenge deciding how to accomplish what we want and need and what we can afford.

_________________________________________________________

This meeting on Tolland Patch: http://tolland.patch.com/articles/reaching-for-a-united-tolland-budget

All are invited, PLEASE HELP US GET THE WORD OUT!

This meeting is a continuation of the discussion held on November 29th (for a report on that meeting, click here).   Among the comments heard after that meeting,

” I think it is a good format and residents/parents might feel a little more comfortable speaking or asking questions at a meeting like this, rather than the intimidating confines of the council chambers.”

Town leaders will answer questions.  They will listen to the comments and participate in dialogue.  Some issues may require a follow up.  We also plan continue discussion our recent theme:

What can you do to improve the dynamics between the Town Council / Steve Werbner and the Board or Education / Bill Guzman so that the two groups present a unified budget to the town?

Please RSVP to SAdlerstein@yahoo.com by Thursday December 15th so we can get a rough headcount.  Also let us know if you require childcare.

On November 29th, a town hall type meeting with Superintendent Bill Guzman was held at the Birch Grove Media Center. asked. The purpose of the evening was to start a dialog about whatever was on residents’ minds. Attending this meeting with Bill Guzman were Town Council members Jack Scavone (Chair), Rick Field and Jan Rubino, Board of Education Chair Andy Powell, representatives from Tolland Elementary PTO, representatives from Friends for Tolland Schools and folks who just wanted to hear more information.

The group largely had the budget process in mind. More specifically, they wanted to know how residents might best participate in the process and understand the facts. Bill distributed two budget timelines, which have been combined and are linked here. Attendees asked how data and information is disseminated throughout the entire process. Some felt that the schedule didn’t clearly enough indicate a purpose for each of the meetings. Others said the schedule would feel overwhelming to a typical resident who may want to follow along and be heard during the process. Similarly, there was discussion about timing of the State of the Schools within this budget framework, currently AFTER the Board of Education submits budget, late for public input so feeling that attendance and participation suffers. Others were looking for good communication of facts and data, expressing that residents require more of a snapshot of what is most important. In the spirit of improving the executive summary, development of “top ten school indicators” along with the related trends was suggested.

Other questions spanned many topics, whatever was on residents’ minds. As issues were discussed, attendees were encouraged to call or email Town Manager Steve Werbner, School Superintendent Bill Guzman or a Town Council or Board of Education member with what is on their minds. Similarly, the importance of learning elected officials’ positions on important issues and getting to know them better was expressed.

The recurring theme in the conversation was improved cooperation during the process between elected and employed leaders, and then using that spirit of cooperation to ask questions together, improving the way we do things, including proactively planning for best use of available technology and not accepting the status quo.

What happens next?

As the meeting closed, attendees were asked what was still on their minds. Last on that list was, “We need more meetings like this.” We are in the process of determining how to keep town hall type conversations going, and include a cross section of town perspectives. We are looking to have something scheduled by the end of this week.