Wasn't it 11 something?

No, it's yeah.

Um so it has not changed since I've been here and I'm going on this is my 11th year.

Um I can definitely go back and look for you and um get that number to you.

No, that's okay.

If it hasn't changed in 11 years, then I just want the public and my fellow counselors to recognize that the educational cost sharing grant, if it hasn't changed since 2017, the rate of inflation has been over 30 something percent since 2017.

So that is a transfer of almost four million dollars in tax liability from the state to the local municipality, and other towns are dealing with this.

There's been articles about this across the board that keeping those things flat when we have rising costs, as we all know we do, um, effectively transfers that tax burden onto the local uh property owners.

Um and that really does if you look at the budget that they've put forward, you know, our increase would be around one percent if the educational cost sharing grant had kept pace with inflation.

So the reason I I raise that point is to understand that I recognize the uh superintendent and the board are doing the best they can with these budgets as far as like not adding anything, not limiting roles.

They talk a lot about state mandated uh funding, but we I think also owe it to ourselves after we get through this budget season to really hold our state reps accountable for why these grants are increasing and why it's acceptable for the state to continue to shift tax burden from the state to local taxpayers.

Um that's the point I want to raise and the the question I'll have.

Um, and otherwise I will go back on mute and uh hope you guys all have a nice night.

Thank you.

Thank you, Counselor King, for that.

Um, in regards to instructional services, I one of my questions was the state mandated reading program, um, but you answer that in the presentation.

But just thinking about um other curriculum programs that fall under instructional services.

So are there any other upticks that the public should know about in regards to instructional services?

Because I know that's a sizable chunk as well.

I just want to um point out that the increase of the hundred and thank you.

46.

Um is actually just the increase in reading program.

No, just the increase in the total of that budget.

The mandated reading program is costing us over 300,000.

Okay, so that that's the piece that so yeah, so Dr.

Hade had to cut other areas in her budget in order to just get through at the 146,000.

And and thank you for adding that piece of context.

I think it's important for folks to hear that.

Thank you.

Counselors, counselor, deputy mayor.

That's fine.

Um, I do understand that any further rejections would result in staffing losses.

So can you just explain to tell me how what are your class sizes at the elementary school, the ratios?

Yeah, yeah.

That's right, I guess.

22?

Yeah.

Somewhere between 20 and 22, depending on which building.

And then um, I imagine that to get to another million dollars, how many positions are you probably would probably have to do five?

12, 12 positions.

Okay, thank you.

And so I can clarify, Deputy Mayor, again, this is always sort of public learns.

It's really not like a clean 12, like we have to really study because with a teacher's contract, you're gonna have folks the highest paid folks are obviously the long-time tenure people, and you know, they're not you can't touch them as fast as you touch new people.

And the new people are typically paid um much lower.

So it could be 12, it could be 10, it could be 14.

But you know, to get to that number, you gotta think of the newer people who are much lower, but by contract, they're the ones who suffer the cuts first.

Counselor Kilke.

Um student enrollment, something that I get talked to every now and then again uh over the year.

We're looking at about a three percent uh decrease from 24 uh 23, 24 to uh 25.

I'm sorry, to uh actual on Tanner 124.

Just looking at the number here, 117 total.

That's including the not in district schools.

Um how sort of does that track with recent history that decline 3964 down to 3847?

uh decrease from 24 uh 23 24 to uh 25 i'm sorry to uh actual on 101 24 just looking at the number here 117 total that's including the not in district schools um how sort of does that track with recent history that decline 3964 down to 3847 so in dist in district okay that's what's uh so the the majority of those students so 23 of those students are in windsor schools but the remaining are not in windsor schools so those are our students in magnet schools and just moving so they're actually not in our buildings so it's really only the 23 number that in district kids that have decreased or projected to decrease okay but how question would be how does that align over the last several years that that change is that you know where where's the trend line on that and how big is each step year to year.

Um so that number yeah it's pretty yeah it's pretty flat it's been pretty flat we've been sitting because most districts are except for a handful are decreasing and that's what we always in Nesdaq always projects that we're gonna decrease and we never do so but we always just remain flat at that number so it is I mean I can get you very specific numbers no but I mean that's in other words we're not seeing some dramatic we haven't lost 500 students over the last three years we haven't okay because sometimes that is something that I hear from people that our enrollment is crashing it may be going down in any given year over a two three year period but we we haven't been dun dun you know okay thank you counselor let me sorry just like when people get facts so last night at our board meeting uh Mr Kears uh residency officer presented on um yeah a residency report that's asked for every year and so as he shared you know he he does a uh a yeoman's job I think by far the best in the state because people try to get them to go to other places um so when you see the number drop some some of those are because he he's on top of people who really don't live here not like hundreds of people but he's on top of people so that's why people will see movement but yeah there's never uh that 400 or it's a pretty flat um number okay I just wanted the public moving people that don't live here so people do leave yep we do need that the schools sure feel full to me when we go in as a parent they feel full absolutely but great question thank you counselor Pelke Counselor Naeem thank you so much um I probably less of a question more of a comment on um I know technology increases were big right about 15 16 percent um but that feels in line with what we're seeing with software costs going up in all industries across the board um are we are you guys seeing anything happening in a more collaborative effort to combat that in terms of the kind of licensing costs no unfortunately when it comes to technology it's almost the opposite we're the there's you know a handful of these big companies and they're buying up all the little ones and they're those some of our contracts actually raised by 30 thousand dollars like one software program um they're holding the market and no one's yeah it that's I think the worst area right now even over you know utilities is the software companies thank you and I think also a number of years ago based on the technology line item they did with a fine tooth comb started looking at okay there's a couple of different programs that look similar and so they said wait a second we can't have one program that only a handful of teachers are utilizing you know as much as it could they could argue why they needed that different program we said it didn't make they said and told us it didn't make sense and we had a trim that we were uh when we saw the line item again for uh the technology side and the software side uh we would have liked to have been able to find savings there but we we asked those questions um and it wasn't there if anything is Ms.

Batchelder mentioned a lot of the costs are going up well beyond what inflation is and just to piggyback on that it was documented in executive session just to prevent any um competition issues or pricing issues that Windsor may have negotiated for themselves and not being competition with other towns so um it was definitely presented to the board in executive session all of our software packages the vendors the reason why they're there and then he just in my opinion um Dr.

Hill justified those that he felt were one offs and that he cut off and made sure that we shored up the technology that we need so that our district is not held hostage especially in the area of data we are responsible for maintaining the data and it's a lot more expensive to get it back than to maintain it.

So we invest in heavy in that, and um I believe the whole board was definitely thinking that was a non-negotiable that if we have to invest in that area to protect ourselves, it's well worth the investment.

Thank you.

I did want to uh point out that I appreciate how the commitment to keeping programs in the schools going, like challenge programs, gifted, STEM counselors, ESL.