School Board OKs Big Budget Cuts Totaling $455,000

The city's education board on Tuesday accepted $455,000 in budget cuts and upped meal prices to ease a significant gap in the district's spending plan, according to the Hartford Courant.

The Middletown Board of Education approved Superintendent Patricia Charles's recommendation to increase the cost of breakfast beginning in January from 85 cents to a dollar, and lunch by 25 cents, upping the cost to $2.50 at the elementary level, $2.75 for middle school and $3 at the high school, the Courant reports.

Since August, when Charles took over for Interim Principal David Larson, she's been concerned about the number of city students attending magnet schools, an added cost which the city must absorb.

In September, 52 students were being bussed to magnet schools, which has since jumped to 81, according to the Middletown Press.

Other cost measures have been put into place, the Press reports, including a ban on using appliances in the classroom, a reduction in paper, printing and copying; shutting down computers by 6 p.m. to lower electricity consumption, and sharing substitute teachers district wide.

In February, the board announced a deficit of more than $1 million.

School Board's $1 Million Deficit Could Take Years to Resolve