Bridgeport school budget in the black

BRIDGEPORT — One quarter of the fiscal year is nearly complete, but the city school board is only now poised to formally adopt a 2020-21 spending plan that is not only structurally balanced but has a COVID cushion.

What at least one member of the city council earlier this month called a surplus is actually a $3.5 million reserve made possible largely when the district received federal and state COVID-19 grant funds, some of which are good through September 2022.

Marlene Siegel, the school district’s chief financial officer, told the school board’s finance committee in a virtual meeting this week that the reserve is being stored in the district’s Internal Service Fund. Once used to bank medical insurance premiums when the district was selfinsured, the fund is now used by the district to store funds that can carry over from one year to the next.

Bridgeport received funding from both the federal CARES Act — about $8.6 million after private schools got their share — and state’s Corona Virus Relief fund — some $4.7 million. The district can use the funds for technology and connectivity, learning materials and services, transportation and personal protective equipment. Some is also being used to temporarily hire back 45 kindergarten paraprofessionals.

Another $2 million could be coming to the district from FEMA, depending on reimbursement rates.

Unlike operating funds, the grant funds come with strings attached, and cannot be used to fund recurring expenses such as salaries. A good chunk of what remains in Brigeport will be used to renew years-old math, literacy and social studies curriculum materials.

“Curriculum renewal is a priority to put us in an updated position with online resources,” Schools Superintendent Michael Testani told the board. “This will put us in a much better position.”

Although extra expenses came with the pandemic that shut down in-person learning in March, savings were also produced in utilities, transportation and elsewhere, leaving the district with a surplus that will be used to fill a projected gap in the 2020-21 budget.

The school board originally asked for $14 million more in operating funds in 2020-21. It got about $4.63 million from the state and city plus another $934,000 from the city in in-kind payments.

The 2020-21 operating budget for a district of 20,000 students stands at $256,455.009.

Roughly half of the student population in the district is on remote learning in the fall.

The district also received an unanticipated $2 million boost in federal Title 1 grant funding.

Even so, Siegel told the board the district remains in deficit prevention mode, spending only what is deemed necessary.

“We don’t know how long (the) pandemic will last and how much funding we’ll get” in the new fiscal year, Siegel said.

Other unknown factors include special education costs.

The district has so far only filled half of the 45 temporary kindergarten aide positions because officials say they are having a hard time getting and keeping the employees.

“Staffing during pandemic has proved to be extremely challenging,” Siegel said.

So too, has been getting teacher substitutes and nurses, although Siegel said at this point, nursing positions are one position away from being at full staff.

Although the district has consistently ended fiscal years balanced, for several years it has reached the target by making cuts in existing programs and services as the school year proceeds.

Committee Chair Joe Sokolovic asked Siegel what a comfortable cushion is for the Internal Service Fund. He didn’t really get an answer but was told that whatever cushion remained will likely be applied to increased costs in 2021-22.

Board Chairman John Weldon said with a structurally balanced budget in place, he wanted to present the spending plan to the full board for a vote. Its next schedule meeting is Oct. 13.

Weldon also suggested that a link to the district’s annual audit — conducted by Blum Shapiro of Shelton in conjunction with a city audit — be posted to the district website.

“And maybe we can have the auditor come and make a presentation to the board about how the work is done,” Weldon said.