Finance Committee to Suggest 1.5% Education Funding Increase

Windsor residents could be one step closer to having some idea of what the town's next fiscal year will look like if the board of education votes to approve the finance committee's recommended 1.5 percent overall budget increase Tuesday night.

Approval, however, may be hard to come by, as the committee's recommendation is a full percentage point below the Superintendent Dr. Jeffrey Villar's proposed budget in increase.

Additionally, the recommendation was approved by a 2-1 vote, with all democrats on the board of education (who hold the majority) expressing support for the superintendent's proposal.

At the finance committee's final budget meeting, held on February 6, committee Chair Kristin Ingram told her colleagues she "cannot in good conscience, send an increase of 2.49 percent to the board (of education)," adding that families in Windsor are struggling and cannot afford the tax impact of Villar's proposal.

With the support of the majority of board members, Villar told the finance committee he was against additional cuts, including cutting administrative positions, and that he presented a budget that was fiscally sound while getting the district moving in the right direction.

The board of education will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the L.P. Wilson Community Center Board Room.