Insurance Costs May Be Key to All-Day Kindergarten

Success for all-day kindergarten in East Haven might depend on how much the Board of Education spends for employee health insurance.

The latest cost estimate for health insurance from town Finance Director Thomas Thompson is about $300,000 less than the $9,383,000 the Board of Education budgeted for it.

If those figures are confirmed, Christine Maisano, chairman of the Board of Education Finance Subcommittee, said she is optimistic that the school board will have the money for all-day kindergarten in the 2011-12 school year.

But subcommittee members want Thompson to make a presentation and explain how he calculated those costs for a memo to Board of Education Finance Director Jason Lathrop.

"Numbers change, and I need something more concrete in a memo form saying we’re saving what they said we’re saving," Maisano said, following a subcommittee meeting on Monday.

The uncertainty comes from the fact that the Board of Education self-insures for employee health insurance rather than paying an insurance premium. The members want a better idea of how Thompson estimated the self-insurance cost.

The Town Council approved an increase of $247,000 for the Board of Education with the expectation that the schools would start providing all-day kindergarten for all kindergartners.

Educational research shows that on the average children who get all-day kindergarten achieve higher test scores throughout their school years than children who only get half-day kindergarten.

The subcommittee members spent their meeting reviewing next year’s budget, which starts on July 1, with Lathrop, School Superintendent Anthony R. Serio and Assistant Superintendent Erica Forti.

Lathrop said he expects all-day kindergarten to require more buses, because the kindergartners will be going to school and returning home at the same time instead of in two shifts.

But if only two more buses are needed, the cost would be offset by the savings from eliminating the mid-day runs, which are the buses that take the morning session children home and return with the afternoon session children.

Members of the subcommittee felt the school system could save more money in other areas, too. Some members said they were disappointed with the amount the schools paid for electricity, especially since the installation of solar electricity panels.

Board member Thomas S. Hennessey noted the schools are paying about 10 cents per kilowatt-hour. He thought the cost should be 8.5 cents.

"All of this makes me frustrated because we pay way too much for electricity," he said.

Ronald DeNuzzo suggested school officials try to break the Board of Education’s contract or renegotiate it to get a better deal.