MONROE, CT — A Homework Club meeting two-to-three days a week in the Masuk High School library would provide tutoring and interventions to students having trouble completing their homework. It is the main driver in the proposed $16,230 increase for “controllable” expenses in Masuk’s budget for next school year.
Controllable budget lines are outside of the contractual obligations, such as salary increases, insurance and utilities.
Principal Steve Swensen recently presented his requests to the Board of Education as part of its review of the overall $75,767,629 budget to fund Monroe’s public schools in 2025-26.
Swensen said Masuk’s enrollment projection is relatively flat, predicting a rise from 1,054 to 1,058 next fall.
He said the breakdown of his requests are actually higher than $16,230, but spending cuts and savings were found in other areas to offset the total impact.
The increase for the Homework Club would be $10,500. The program would include a certified math and humanities teacher and a science teacher.
“It had a great impact on student achievement at the middle school,” Swensen said, explaining how this would be an extension of that program.
His proposal also includes $6,000 to replace six automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) at Masuk. If board members decide to cut this request, Swensen said the money will have to be found elsewhere in the budget.
“Unfortunately it’s not something we can do one a year for six years,” Swensen said. “They’re all at the point where we need to replace them all. I hate the expense all at once, but this will replace the ones in the building.”
He noted that an AED in the athletics area of the school was replaced this year.
A $6,020 request is for programming needs, including $2,000 for the culinary program due to the rising cost of food and supplies, but mostly for new stand mixers. The mixers the school currently uses are about 30-years-old.
“We got our money’s worth out of those stand mixers,” Swensen said with a chuckle, “so it’s time to buy some new ones.”
The remaining $4,020 is for the music program to purchase a marimba and keyboard stands. Swensen said the good news is Masuk’s existing marimba is in good enough condition to be used at Jockey Hollow, providing a benefit to the district by remaining in use.
The marimba accounts for the bulk of this request at around $3,000.
Another cost driver is $3,300 to be split between the Wingman student leadership program and the Cultural Fair, which needs supplies.
“We earned a grant from the state to bring the Wingman program to Masuk,” Swensen said. “We’ve kind of gone through the grant funds. The program is great.”
He said more money is needed for the continued training of student leaders. “They’ve been invaluable to the new Rise program for the freshmen,” he said.
Two Wingmen are paired with every Rise Group, so upperclassmen can lead freshmen in activities with the added benefit of new students seeing a friendly face in the hallway of someone other than a fellow freshman, according to Swensen.
“Our Cultural Fair is incredible,” he said. “As you all know, we’re getting more diverse and as we grow, the Cultural Fair is growing in popularity as well.”
“I think the overall budget is fiscally responsible and I would be remiss if I didn’t put my own shameless plug in for the .4 band teacher at the elementary [level],” Swensen said, noting how music teacher Michael Ances starts his day at an elementary school every morning before coming to Masuk.
The popularity of Masuk’s band program increased from about 40 to nearly 80 students, so it is impossible to provide the instruction everyone needs by sharing staff, according to Swensen.
The 0.4 full time equivalent request in the education budget would make the music teacher for Fawn Hollow and Stepney elementary schools a full 1.0 position.
Swensen wants to provide flexibility to Masuk’s class scheduling, but he said this will not be possible if the 0.4 position is not approved for the elementary schools.
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