Glastonbury Superintendent Presents $95 Million School Spending Plan

Superintendent Alan B. Bookman presented a $95 million spending plan to the school board during their meeting Wednesday night, a 4.33 percent increase over the current budget.

The proposed 2013 budget is the highest increase since Bookman’s proposed $91 million budget—a 4.91 percent increase—during the 2009-10 budget season.

Much of the increase—1.9 percent—includes contractual wage increases and health benefits for staff. Increases in overall health care costs account for an additional 1 percent of the increase.

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The Board of Education’s new strategic plan, which calls for a “21st century learning environment,” also accounts for a large part of the spending increase. The proposed spending plan calls for iPads for all incoming freshmen and sophomores at Glastonbury High School, an addition of $307,000 to the budget.

The budget also calls for:

• $400,000 for school supplies
• $200,000 for unfunded state and federal mandates
• $194,000 to increase the scheduled replacement of school buses from four vehicles to six vehicles each year.
• $95,000 for programming at the new Glastonbury East Hartford Elementary Magnet School’s planetarium.

The board held a budget workshop Thursday night, and will hold one more Monday before voting on the final spending plan on Jan. 9.

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