Board of Education Questions 5 Percent Increase in Officiating Costs

When Board of Education member Patricia Johnson learned that the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference was requiring a 5 percent increase from schools to pay for game officials, she immediately questioned the increase.

At a time when teachers and administrators are agreeing to a 0 percent increase in pay to help Southington schools adapt their budget to the struggling economy, Johnson said such an increase is alarming and other board members backed her statement.

Now the board is reaching out to figure out how the contractual increase was approved and what say members had, if any, in negotiating the raise for local officials.

“We review our budget line by line and when we saw this increase, it prompted us to immediately question why,” said Brian Goralski, chairman of the Board of Education. “Every employee in our district has done their part to help, but this was an agency we had no control over.”

In order to participate in interscholastic sports, public schools are required to take membership in the Connecticut Association of Schools – Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference. The conference requires annual dues, which are set based on contractual obligations.

Over the past two years, board members said, the dues have increased steadily because of growing costs for officials at sporting events.

In a letter sent to the conference and Deputy Executive Director Karissa Niehoff on Jan. 29, Goralski questioned the decision to agree to such increases and asked several questions. The questions included when the contract was negotiated, who negotiated it, what involvement local schools had and how to explain this increase to the community during a tough budget cycle.

“The letter was meant to be informal and to help us really understand who takes responsibility for a 5 percent increase in officiating costs,” Erardi said. “We hope this will lead not only Southington, but schools across the state to have a better understanding of the process.”

Messages left with Niehoff were not returned Friday or Monday. School officials said they have not yet received a response.

Goralski said he does expect the conference to write a response in the near future, however, and said he hopes this will not only explain the increase but also lead to a review, which could enhance the process in the future.

“If it’s in our budget, we have a responsibility to explain it and to understand why there is an added cost,” Goralski said. “That’s what we are doing here. That’s what we are trying to do for the community.”