The Board of Education voted Tuesday night on how to cut $200,000 from the budget that was previously approved in early April.

By Ryley McGinnis

The West Hartford Board of Education voted Tuesday night to approve a change to the 2018-19 budget.

When the Town Council approved West Hartford’s overall budget on April 24, a decision was made to reduce the education budget by $200,000. The Council, however, is not permitted to make line item changes to the education budget; that decision is left to the superintendent and Board of Education.

The $200,000 reduction to the $164,551,227 West Hartford Public Schools budget approved on April 3 reduced funding for two positions: $130,000 was cut from the Department Supervisor Salaries, and the other $70,000 was cut from teacher salaries.

Superintendent Tom Moore made it clear that these changes would not cut already existing positions, but instead, they would postpone filling positions that were already vacant. One of the positions, which would have benefited the foreign language department, would have been helpful in enriching education, Moore said.

“We try to keep any cuts as far away from the classroom and the kids,” said Moore. “But with the cuts, there is going to be some impact.”

The reduction will impact other teachers, whose questions will all funnel to Supervisor Meghan Zingle, who will continue doing the work of two people. The students won’t directly feel an impact, Moore said, since the position wasn’t filled for the past year anyway.

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