Heating Costs Down, School Board Transfers Surplus To Town

The school district saved $200,000 in heating costs this year and the school board voted unanimously Wednesday to give the surplus money to the town for use in the 2012-13 budget.

The savings came after the conversion from oil heat to natural gas at the Gales Ferry campus, which saved approximately $50,000, according to Superintendent of Schools Michael Graner. The rest, he said, is surplus money that was set aside for heating oil but was never used due to the warm temperatures this winter.

The finance committee voted unanimously to transfer the funds to the town but not immediately.

“I have to admit, it wasn’t my first inclination to give the money back to the town," said finance committee member Gordon Strickland. “What sold me on it was the fact that town did put up the money to do the natural gas conversion, which will be savings ongoing.”

The board had over-estimated how much they would save from the conversion and Strickland said the town paid $220,000 for the conversion. 

“I do agree that it is appropriate that we transfer this money to the town,” he said. “It allows the town the option to take that and help reduce their budget going forward and the whole town benefits.”

Next year’s heating budget is reduced by approximately $53,000 and is now down to $484,000, which counts on a typical winter and more savings from natural gas heat at the Gales Ferry campus, according to Graner.

“This is a one-time savings, we were fortunate this year,” said Strickland. “We may be crying next year in 10-foot snow drifts.”

The town's finance committee has twice postponed submitting a budget to the town council in anticipation of significant savings in the schools' heating costs.

However, the transfer came at an awkward time because last week the board did not renew the contracts for five long-term substitute teachers and this week, board members voted to terminate the contracts of three tenured teachers.

Jerry Lentz, a part-time biology teacher; Patricia Rimmele, a part-time family and consumer science teacher and Trisha Roberge, a full-time special education teacher, were all described as “excellent teachers” by Graner, who said their positions had been eliminated in the 2012-13 budget.

“I don’t want anybody sitting in this room, or sitting at home or at any of these tables to think ‘why are we giving $200,000 to the town when we have terminated some contracts,'” said Michelle Hinton, chair of the board’s finance committee. “Two different accounts – that is not something we could have done.”

Hinton said the board is prohibited from switching money from the heating oil account to the salary account, for instance. All funds designated to a certain account have to be spent on items relevant to that account.

Graner said Roberge has been placed on a “call back” list and will be contacted if a teaching position opens up. He said after the budget has been approved and once all the retirements and possible resignations are announced, he expects up to eight positions will need to be filled.