NEWINGTON - Town Council Democrats have called a special meeting-scheduled for Monday, 7 p.m. at Town Hall-in order to �"clarify” a budget resolution allowing the Board of Education surplus to keep unused surplus funds.

       A new statute allowing the retention of unencumbered Board of Education funds not exceeding 1 percent of the previous year’s operating budget overrides a Town Charter ordinance mandating the return of surpluses to the town, according to Town Attorney Ben Ancona.

       He issued the opinion-through a letter sent to Mayor Roy Zartarian-days after the Board of Education held off on making official decisions regarding reductions to its budget due to confusion as to how much of an increase it would have to work with.

       That was one question, but another issue is the use of any surplus money toward salaries-a move that could cause problems for the Board down the road-said Councilor Carol Anest.

       â€�"You can’t guarantee that it’s going to be there the next year,” Anest said. â€�"It’s just bad accounting to use it for salaries.”

       Under the resolution, the surplus would be held in a â€�"non-lapsing” account that the Board could use as it sees fit-with the exception of Capital Improvement Program, (CIP) expenditures. But if the leftover funds were to-hypothetically-be designated as Board operating budget funds, there wouldn’t be the risk of a shortage in the following year since the Council, by statute, has to cover at least the previous amount.

       â€�"Our concern was with the overall appropriation levels,” Zartarian said over the phone. â€�"With the surplus the Board said it could provide, we wanted to treat it, in this case, as one-time”

       The Board had its .05 percent increase-or $345,000 over the flat funding previously proposed by the Council’s Republican Majority-but the body was supposed to be able to add a $515,000 surplus to its operating budget in an effort to cover salary costs and avert teacher layoffs.

       At last Wednesday night’s Board meeting, members were unclear on the resolution as well.

       The additional $515,000-less than the 1 percent of the Board’s operating budget permitted for retention by statute-would have brought this year’s increase to 1.2 percent.

       â€�"That was what was agreed upon,” said Board Chair Nancy Petronio at the start of the meeting. â€�"We’re not sure what happened and why it went down that way last night. It took a couple of hours to register that it may not have gone down the way it was intended to.”

       Members of the Board and the Council Majority held negotiations following the proposed 0 percent, with talks continuing up through the eve of Tuesday’s budget passage. Under the agreement, the board would still have to find the $515,000 to declare as a surplus, to complete the 1.2 percent.

       Mayor Roy Zartarian said that the surplus was supposed to be available for the â€�"operating budget or however the Board of Education sees fit.” The only exception is the Capital Improvement Program, (CIP) as the resolution explicitly designates the funds for â€�"non-capital” expenses, he said.

       â€�"We’re continuing to work with the Town Council to see where we’re at, which makes it very difficult to do what we have to do right now,” Petronio said.

       They’ll still be short of the 1.7 percent needed to eliminate the threat of any layoffs, so the Board continues to deliberate on tentative cuts.

       Superintendent Bill Collins presented lists of potential reduction areas based on possible percentage increases, but the seventh grade World Language program, the high school biomedical STEM academy instructor, and the Middle School gifted program appeared in all scenarios.

       As for teaching positions, the Board is contractually obligated to send notices warning of potential layoffs, although how many is not yet clear.

       â€�"It’s a horrible feeling,” said Board member Paul Vessella. â€�"Nobody around the table wants it to happen, and we’ll do the best we can to prevent it.”

       Another question is how to find the money to put aside as a surplus. Board members have suggested deferring the purchase of instructional supplies in order to direct the funds toward salaries and the saving of positions. If a health benefit surplus comes in at or above the projected $880,000, it could theoretically cover those items, but the Board won’t know the amount until October.