Board warns $300,000 town-manager cut could stall Dodd middle-school schedule changes

A proposed $300,000 reduction to the Board of Education’s recommended budget could prevent Cheshire from hiring two middle-school teachers the district says are needed to implement a new Dodd Middle School schedule, board members said at the March 19 meeting.

Administrators and curriculum leaders described two schedule models under consideration — a six-period day that would eliminate study-hall blocks and combine physical education with health into a single wellness course, and a seven-period day that would increase core instructional minutes. Both models rely on additional certified teachers to reduce large class sizes (Spanish classes have been reported at 28–29 students) and to add an advisory block aimed at social-emotional learning.

The board’s curriculum report also flagged the district’s manual process for state reading-benchmark reporting. Staff said K–3 benchmark data collection is currently paper-based; the district must deliver formatted data to the state by March 27 and is exploring purchasing a digital version of the Cadence assessment platform, estimated at $10,000–$15,000, to reduce staff time spent on data entry and scoring.

Board members said the town-manager recommendation to reduce the BOE request by $300,000 could mean the district is unable to add the staff necessary for the schedule changes at Dodd. The superintendent and finance staff emphasized that some accounts currently exceed 100% of this year’s budgeted amounts (notably tuition and transportation) and that that fiscal volatility makes planning for additional positions difficult without final town funding decisions.

Next steps: district leaders said they will monitor the town council’s review of the budget and will return to the board with revised recommendations if the town’s final appropriation requires program adjustments. The board stressed it would report to the public if cuts require canceling planned staffing or program changes.