Winsted seeks change to semi-private school tuition fee law - Torrington Register Citizen

WINSTED — More than a year ago, former mayor and now-selectwoman Candy Perez and the rest of the board wrote to legislators, asking for a change in the law that allows semi-private/public schools to set their own tuition rates.

The law, established in 1949, creates issues for towns served by these types of schools — including the Gilbert School, Winsted’s high school — because it allows them to set their own tuition rates, rather than allowing the town to decide how much it can pay, according to municipal officials. If the law were changed, Perez reasoned, it would allow for negotiation for tuition fees.

This week, Perez brought the legislation change to the attention of the board, saying the legislature didn’t respond to their request after its last session. After discussion, the selectmen voted to re-send the request.

The state statutes governing semi-private schools apply to schools and academies that exist in a town that has no high school of its own. In Winsted’s case, the Gilbert School Corp. leases the school building from the Gilbert Trust, and depends on the annual tuition for its students to pay its bills. The Gilbert School also has an international student program.

Ninety percent of Gilbert’s operating budget comes from annual tuition, and over the years, said Perez, the annual tuition payment has become a burden, and is not always set before the town begins its own budget approval process, which includes Gilbert School tuition.

In March 2019, for example, Gilbert brought forth a budget with a $600,000 increase, and negotiations between the town and the school were stalled for several months.

“A year ago at this time, we sent this letter to state Sen. Craig Miner and state Rep. Jay Case, to discuss at the legislative level a change to the 1949 law,” Perez said. “The letter asks to change it, to require a process of negotiation with the town and the Gilbert School Corp. “

The Winchester Board of Education is scheduled to meet Dec. 13 with the Gilbert School Corp and Gilbert’s new Head of School Greg Shugrue at the senior center for contract negotiations. In the past, these negotiations have seen the two sides at odds. With Shugrue newly established at Gilbert — Superintendent Anthony Serio retired in June this year — the negotiations could be different this year.

“I know the Winchester school board and Gilbert have a negotiation meeting next week on a contract, and while that’s something they’re doing and it’s great news, the issue I see all along is structural, meaning that everything’s fine until someone needs money,” Perez said.

She said that after last year’s budget season, Winsted added money to its education funding at the request of Gilbert, and if it asks for more money, she was worried.

Steve Sedlak, longtime chairman of the Gilbert School Corp, said it wasn’t a good time to send the letter about changing the law governing schools like Gilbert.

“Taking this action anytime soon would be premature, because of the consideration of a contract,” he said. “This is progress. There’s been no contract for three years, and this is an uncomfortable situation for everyone.

“If you can wait until these negotiations are done before you send such a letter, it would be the right thing to do,” Sedlak told the board. “It’s better for these boards to have a long-term agreement. I ask that you delay this.”

Selectman Jack Bourque said he understood Sedlak’s point, but he didn’t want to hold off on sending the request to Case and Miner for too long.

“Do it after the negotiation meeting, but certainly don’t wait past that,” he said, adding that the board should also send copies to the state Board of Education.

Perez insisted that the letter should be sent. “It’s nice when everyone’s getting along (on the school boards) until they don’t,” she said. “Then you’re back in the same boat.

Her concerns, she said, are also driven by other town spending on the horizon.

“We’ve got (bonds to pay for renovations at the) Hinsdale School coming up, and after that we have infrastructure improvements we want to make. We’ll be looking at other things that affect our town,” she said.

Sedlak cautioned the selectmen to let the Gilbert and Winchester boards do their work.

“The separate boards empowered themselves to sit down together and conceptually build a contract,” he said. “Let’s take a look first at this effort.”

Selectwoman Candace Bouchard agreed with Perez. “If something happens, and Gilbert wants $100,000 more for tuition, the Winchester school board just gives it to them,” she said. “All Candy’s trying to do is make that more visible, so the citizens know how the budget is being impacted.”

Mayor Todd Arcelaschi said asking to change the law would give the town a process to follow. “When there’s a stalemate, we’d have a procedure to get through it,” he said. “The sooner we get this seen at the state Capitol, the better.”

source: https://www.registercitizen.com/news/article/Winsted-seeks-change-to-semi-private-school-16689387.php

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