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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 11/18/1993STEERING COMMITTEE 18 NOVEMBER 1993 The South Burlington Steering Committee held a meeting on Thursday, 19 November 1993, at 7:30 p.m., in the Library of the Frederick Tuttle Middle School, Dorset St. Members Present: School Board: Francis Murray, Chairman; Dennis Snyder, Julie Duppstadt, Theodore Manazir, Bruce Chattman City Council: Michael Flaherty, James Condos, John Dinklage, Charles Hafter Also Present: Margaret Picard, City Clerk; Brian Searles, Police Chief; Bruce Ladeau, Leo Brown, School Dept; Darlene Worth, Marilyn Frederick, Joan Hanley, Margaret Miner, Pete Crevier, Lil Gamache, M. Villa-Libby, Billy Ward, Lee Nelson, Rowshan Golshayan, William Smith 1. Minutes of Ms. Duppstadt moved the Minutes of September 30, 1993 be approved as written. Mr. Manazir seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 2. Budget Input FY 95: Mr. Hafter noted the Grand List had been overestimated last year. Therefore, a 1% increase for this year will bring things back to where they were. Since this will mean no increase in the Grand List, there can't be an operating tax increase without going to the voters. Mr. Chattman said the schools are looking at a possible $400,000 deficit because there is no longer surplus money available. The floor was then opened for input from the public. Mr. Crevier raised a question of information provided in the booklets for the school revenues. He said the expenses are handled well, but there is only half a page on revenue sources other than taxes. He asked to see a history of what's happening with revenues. Mr. Crevier said he was particularly concerned with revenues that help create a surplus (tuitions, etc.). He also felt more explanation was needed for items in the 1992-3 budget used in the $1,130,000 surplus. He asked how such surpluses arose and whether people were taxed too much. Ms. Villa-Libby said she was concerned about transportation. She felt the schools have done a marvelous job in transporting children with diverse needs. She was concerned the city isn't doing as well to provide public transport for everyone so that people can get to work sites, recreation, etc. Ms. Villa-Libby said SSTA isn't reliable enough. She asked for a "birth to death vision" in transportation and asked members to look at a range of possible responses to this issue. Mr. Condos suggested Ms. Villa-Libby talk with the CCTA Board as they create the system and the city only pays the bill. Mr. Dinklage said he represents the city on the MPO and would like to know specific problems with SSTA. Mr. Hafter added that two years ago he did a study on SSTA costs and found that at that time it cost about $27.00 per ride for SSTA. Mr Crevier expressed concern that on two occasions the schools had to borrow before tax time to meet payroll obligations, and this cost the city over $3500 in interest. He asked if this could be addressed. 3. CASA Presentation: Mr. Ladeau introduced the presenters: Lee Nelson, Billy Ward, and Rowshan Golshayan. Mr. Ward presented a study done by two high school seniors (Christopher Haggerty and Tyler Baldwin) on drug and alcohol use and availability to students. Mr. Ward then explained his role in the school and how students are referred to him. He said the program has been very effective in its first years with 21 students referred into treatment. There have been a lot of self-referrals and a lot of parental involvement. Mr. Ward noted that all of last school year there were 83 referrals and there have already been 68 so far this school year. 28 of these have been self-referrals, and this is very significant. In the last few months, Mr. Ward said, he has run into a situation where a young person with a significant addiction problem has agreed to go into treatment but parents have said no to it. Mr. Ward felt this is very alarming. In an ideal situation, Mr. Ward felt, there would be a Student Assistance Program at the Middle School as well as the high school. Mr. Ladeau added that they need to start dealing with these issues even before they get to school. This means making school buildings available to help address needs. Ms. Nelson presented CASA's annual report. She noted they have begun receiving calls from other communities about the program. They are looking to see if a Middle School program is possible. Ms. Nelson then outlined some of the proposed projects for the coming year. Supt. Chattman noted there has been a 26% cutback in federal funds to help support programs of this kind. Both Mr. Ladeau and Mr. Murray thanked the CASA members for their efforts. 4. Populations Projections: William Smith said he has been working with the schools since 1981 on the issue of population. At present, he said, the system is generally within capacity. If the high school continues to accept tuition students, however, they will have to make some decisions as they will be getting out of capacity. Mr. Smith noted there was an enormous in migration last year which resulted in numbers that exceeded anyone's expectations. Mr. Chattman gave the results of an informal survey he conducted of families of new students. Half of these came from someplace else in Vermont, many from nearby towns. Half came from all over the country and from foreign countries. 93% of the new families moved into existing homes with only 7% into newly constructed homes. Half of the families moved for reasons related to jobs. 83% moved to South Burlington because of the reputation of the school system. Mr. Smith said that with the same K-5 configuration, there will have to be some action taken at the elementary school level. Central School is at maximum, and both Chamberlin and Orchard are near capacity. He noted that if fifth graders were sent to the Middle School, the space problem would be solved. This has been done successfully in Essex Junction. If, however, the city wants to keep the current K-5 configuration at the elementary school, something will have to be done soon. Supt. Chattman noted that programs will drive a lot of what is viewed as capacity. He felt a lot more needs to be done to educate children outside of the school buildings. As there was no further business to come before the Committee, the meeting was adjourned at 9:40 p.m. Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.