Mayor Broaches School Budget Summit

All sides need to speak calmly together in the current dispute between Norwalk Public Schools officials and the school unions, Mayor Richard A. Moccia said Friday in an interview.

In Patch's regular weekly interview Friday(see the first video), Moccia spoke about his suggestion that union and Norwalk Public Schools officials meet together to discuss labor contract givebacks as part of tightening the 2011-2012 fiscal year budget.

The mayor also issued a news release on the matter later on Friday. The news release included the three-paragraph text of an email Moccia sent to Superintendent of Schools Susan F. Marks, Board of Education Chairman Jack Chiaramonte, and to Bruce Melion and Anthony Ditro, presidents of the two major public schools unions in the city. The email stated:

"I am aware of and admire the level of commitment each of you is making to the effort to ensure this year’s budget is directed in a manner that best ensures a continuation of our shared commitment to quality education for all Norwalk children. That your point of view may occasionally be presented with the passion of your belief is not only understandable but respectable.

"Having said as much the time has come for composed conversation regarding how best we, on behalf of all teachers, administrators, students and citizens, can best proceed to set a plan for the coming year that we can afford, that protects jobs, that ensures appropriate class size and support, and that provides for a level of harmony as we work together on our mutual mission.

"Therefore, this invites you to join me to diplomatically discuss how best to advance. I am confident that we can emerge from such a meeting with at the very least an agreed upon demeanor for ongoing discussions. It is my hope that we may also discover mutual ground for ultimate agreement. In anticipation that you agree that such a meeting is in our best interests, please let me know when in the coming days you may be available."

Moccia added in the interview that while he hopes to host a meeting, he isn't playing the role of an entirely neutral party: He himself wants unions to negotiate lower or no wage and benefit increases. The likely alternative, he said, is layoffs—an option the mayor said he'd prefer to avoid.

Second Video: Other events in Norwalk

No regularly scheduled city meetings happen this week because Norwalk's boards and commissions regularly meet only in the first four weeks of each month, and, through Thursday, this is the fifth week of March. Moccia spoke about other upcoming events this week in the second video for this article.

A news conference is scheduled for Wednesday at on the beginning of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and that evening Moccia is to discuss the education budget with the Parent-Teacher Organization.

Moccia is also expected to read to children at the as part of the Read Across America program. During the week, the mayor will be meeting with department heads and city Finance Director Thomas Hamilton to discuss the proposed city budget for the next fiscal year, which begins June 1.

Answer to Patch user Philip's question

I asked the mayor to respond to a question asked by Philip, a Patch user, in the comments section of : "Why aren't current and former city employees names, pensions, and benefit packages made public? Will you agree to publish ALL of this information as a matter of Public Record?"

Moccia responded that the information is already public. Anyone can contact the mayor's office and set up a time to look through the documents or file a Freedom of Information Act request to get copies of the documents, although that second option will cost a certain amount of money on a page-by-page basis.