Darien Public Schools' gifted program and 15 elementary paraprofessionals would be cut under the superintendent's proposed $125M budget.
Richard Kaufman, Patch Staff
DARIEN, CT — Superintendent of Darien Public Schools Dr. Alan Addley unveiled his proposed $125 million budget for 2025-2026, and among several cuts is the elimination of the district's gifted program and the reduction of 15 elementary paraprofessionals.
In an email to district families last Friday afternoon, Addley said the district "is facing significant recurring operating expenses, driven by collective bargaining agreements that support staff retention and recruitment, escalating health insurance premiums, increased transportation, and special education costs."
To find efficiencies, Addley is proposing to cut 3.3 full-time equivalent staff positions in IDEA Program - Interesting Dimensions that Extend Abilities - for an estimated savings of $469,015.
The program currently serves 237 students. Grades 2-5 have two 45-55 minute pull-out sessions per six-day cycle, while grades 6-8 have two 42-minute sessions per week during lunch.
"We will be serving our students in a different capacity," Addley told the Board of Education during his budget presentation on Jan. 2. "It's not ideal in the sense of, it's a different way of doing something given the challenge that we have before us. But our responsibility is to meet the needs of all of our kids in the classroom without necessarily being pulled out, and that's what we'll do under this particular program."
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According to Addley, other ways of providing services to students in the program include differentiated practices, curricular extensions, school-wide enrichment, extracurricular opportunities, and more professional learning for teachers.
Another notable proposed cut is the elimination of 15 instructional paraprofessionals at the elementary level for an estimated savings of $1.1 million.
There are three paraprofessionals at each elementary school, and they primarily assist Kindergarten and first grade classrooms, Addley said. They assist with supervision at recess, in the lunchroom and during arrival and dismissal.
The paraprofessionals also provide teacher coverage, something Addley said is "a growing issue."
"That's getting away from the role they ordinarily are used for and should be used for," he told the school board. "That's a very expensive model for doing substitute teacher coverage."
Paraprofessional duties would be covered by two student interns per school, Addley said.
During the public comment portion of the Board of Education's Jan. 2 special meeting, several speakers spoke against the two proposed cuts.
"We've lost our way as a school district," said Darien Education Association President Barry Palmer. "The budget unveiled tonight not only fails to make our students a top priority, it actually puts their needs last. The elimination of instructional aides is penny-wise and pound-foolish. It will result in an increase of students who need special education services and add costs to already one of our largest drivers of the budget. It's the opposite of sustainability."
On the IDEA Program, Palmer called the proposed cut "a betrayal of what Darien Public Schools represents." He said the district should be "embarrassed" for considering such a cut.
"We need leadership from the board, our students deserve better, this community deserves better," he added.
William DeRocco, a Darien High School graduate and a former student in the IDEA Program, has a PhD in theoretical physics from Stanford University and is currently a scientist at the University of Maryland. He said he was recently selected to help lead NASA's next flagship mission.
"When I was asked this year at Thanksgiving what I was grateful for, I told my family that I was thankful for the IDEA Program, because I had been reflecting about it. I truly believe it has prepared me and provided me with the skills I needed to accomplish my ambitions," DeRocco said.
"I am very, very troubled that IDEA may be cut. If we want the Darien Public Schools system to continue to be a place where all students can thrive and build the skills necessary to achieve their dreams, the board should seriously reconsider this proposed cut."
Addley's full proposed budget can be found here.
The Jan. 2 special meeting can be viewed on-demand on DarienTV79
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