aoconnell@thestamfordtimes.com

STAMFORD — The board of education is slated to vote Thursday night on a $218,609,176 school budget which will cut 43.6 teaching positions, two Central Office administrators and an as-yet undetermined number of school staff positions from the schools.

The budget, which represents a 4.8 percent increase over this year's budget, eliminates 43.6 budget and grant-funded teaching positions from the schools. According to Superintendent Joshua Starr, an estimated 16 teachers will actually lose their jobs, thanks to attrition, retirement and the removal of new positions from the budget.

The school budget has been cut by $4.3 million since Starr proposed a $222.9 million operating budget in February. The school board cut $2 million from the budget, the finance board reduced the spending plan by $1.9 million and the board of representatives slashed $350,000 this spring. The schools also suffered a reduction by the state when the Early Reading Success grants were discontinued.

Despite the setbacks, Starr believes the $218.6 million budget is an educationally responsible one.

"Absolutely," he said, pointing to an increase of academic time for language arts, math, science and social studies in the middle schools. The two major high schools are adding chemistry labs for juniors next year, new AP classes are being added to the high schools and the schools still plan to create a Stamford Excellence Team to assist schools designated as being in need of improvement under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.

The team will be made up of five grant-funded consulting teachers who will work with schools in need.

"(The budget) just doesn't let us do all the things I would like to do, but it enables us to do all the things we must do," said Starr. "I think Stamford deserves a lot more."

In Central Office two administrators will also lose their positions; executive director for youth development Joe O'Callaghan and special administrator for autistic spectrum disorder services Karen Poggi will both return to positions in the schools.

At presstime, the final number of school staff members who will lose jobs will was not yet available, said school spokeswoman Sarah Arnold.

The board will vote on the budget at a special board meeting, at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 15.