The Newtown Board of Education on Tuesday night voted to forward a list of six possible charter revisions to the Legislative Council that is considering appointing a new Charter Revision Commission to review possible charter changes that town leaders might wish to be reviewed.
The council recently asked that the various town boards consider areas that might need to be changed or updated.
The school board’s proposal includes taking a second look at whether or not it makes sense to have a bifurcated budget, or one that is divided such that taxpayers vote on the town and school budgets separately and if one passes and the other fails only the one that fails needs to be revisited. The charter change was made a year ago to allow for bifurcation after it took five referendums to pass the town and school budget. Last year, the municipal budget was approved on the first referendum, but it took two times to pass the school budget.
Board member Michelle Ku, who is working with member Kathy Hamilton on possible changes to consider, said data she has collected from other towns suggests that this process “can create an atmosphere in which collaboration between the town and the Board of Education might be discouraged.
“Additionally, it has been suggested that bifurcation of the budget is detrimental to passing the school budget,” she said.
Other areas the board agreed should be considered include: clearer understanding of minority representation rules on political composition of school board, particularly when vacancies occur; a more consistent process for filling vacancies on elected town boards; clarification on Legislative Council action to reduce or increase the Board of Finance recommended budget; and changing dates of referendum so it is possibly on a Saturday, or at least the weekday does not coincide with spring breaks and, therefore, reduces voter turnout. At this time, the referendum is scheduled for the fourth Tuesday in April. The board also suggested reviewing advisory questions on the budget referendum so it is clear the voters’ intent for raising or lowering the budget.