Board seeks supplemental appropriation

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REGION 16 — For the second time in as many years, voters in Region 16 will decide the fate of allocating surplus funds to a capital non-recurring account.

The Region 16 Board of Education, which oversees schools in Beacon Falls and Prospect, is seeking a supplemental appropriation of $384,882 from the 2013-14 year-end budget balance into a capital non-recurring account.

A public hearing on the appropriation and the proposed 2015-16 school budget is April 8 at 7 p.m. at Woodland Regional High School in Beacon Falls. The appropriation and budget will be voted on at either a district meeting or referendum in early May. Although the two issues will be voted on at the same time, they will be separate questions on the ballot.

The school board created a capital non-recurring account last year. State statute allows regional school districts to create the account, which can only be used to pay for one-time capital expenses. Under state law, regional school districts can appropriate 1 percent of their budgets annually into the account.

Voters last year approved appropriating $244,191 from the 2012-13 budget surplus into the account to help pay for repairs to the roof at Woodland. Officials are eyeing the $384,882 to continue repairs to the roof.

An audit of the 2013-14 school budget showed Region 16 ended the fiscal year with an approximate $1.3 million year-end balance. The surplus includes the $244,191 appropriation approved last year, since the transfer was made in the 2013-14 fiscal year.

The remaining funds above the $384,882 sought for the appropriation will be returned to the towns. If the appropriation is voted down, those funds will be returned as well and officials will seek another way to pay for the repairs.