Lyme-Old Lyme schools finalize $34.7M budget with 1.06% decrease

The Region 18 Board of Education finalized its 202021 school budget at a virtual meeting Wednesday night, locking in a $34.7 million budget that is 1.06%, or $373,127, less than this year’s spending plan. It’s the most the school district has ever been able to decrease a budget year over year, Superintendent Ian Neviaser said at Wednesday’s meeting.

The budget will now be passed to both Lyme and Old Lyme to incorporate into their town budgets before each town passes their own spending plans in coming weeks. Townspeople will not vote on the school budget at referendum this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Earlier this year, the school board had adopted a $35 million budget that was 0.05%, or $18,651, less than this year’s spending plan, but was able to further reduce its budget by moving costs for part of a proposed tennis court project previously planned in the 2020-21 budget into this fiscal year’s budget, Neviaser told The Day last week.

Previously, the tennis court project was planned to take place over two fiscal years, with three of the school’s six tennis courts to be renovated this June and the other three to be completed in fiscal year 2020-21. Now, all six courts will be completed at once. The project will begin in coming weeks.

The lowered budget also means good news for both Lyme and Old Lyme town budgets.

Both towns are obligated to pay a portion of their annual town budgets into the school system but now can expect to pay less than they had previously planned because the school budget was further reduced. The amount both towns pay into the school district is based on the percentage of students spread throughout both towns. On average, Old Lyme pays about 80% of district costs, while Lyme pays about 20%.

After having previously budgeted to pay $27.71 million, or about $160,000 more, than what it paid the district this year, Old Lyme will now be obligated to pay exactly the same amount it paid to the school district this fiscal year, or $27.55 million, because of the further decreased school budget.

Old Lyme Board of Finance Chairman Andy Russell said by phone last week that those savings would be adjusted in the town’s now-proposed $38.9 million spending plan next year. The $160,000 savings would likely reflect an approximate .1 mill rate decrease in the proposed 23.3 mill rate, bringing it to 23.2 mills, Russell estimated. The town still needs to calculate exact numbers and pass its finalized budget at a Board of Finance meeting May 18. The town will not hold a town meeting to pass its budget this year because of the pandemic.

The school district’s budget also brings further savings to the Town of Lyme, which will now be obligated to pay $6.3 million into the school district next year — $203,288 less than the $6.5 million it paid this year. Lyme Board of Finance Chairman Dan Hagan said by phone last week that town officials would likely leave the town’s proposed $10.6 million budget, which is 3% less than the current year’s budget, unchanged and save the unspent money. Lyme will finalize its budget at a Board of Finance Meeting May 12 and also will not hold a town meeting this year.

Neviaser reported to The Day last week that because schools have been closed this year and not spending as much as it had previously budgeted for, the district has been able to further realize savings in the current year’s budget, saving an estimated $75,000 in unspent substitute teacher funds; up to $85,000 in unspent transportation funds due to canceled field trips and spring sports; and $100,000 in decreased custodial and field maintenance costs, among other various savings.

The district will also realize non-pandemic-related savings in the current year’s budget including: an estimated $415,000 in special education costs; $20,000 in liability and insurance costs; and $115,000 in refinanced debt service costs, Neviaser said by phone last week.

In total, Neviaser estimated the school district may not spend as much as $1.5 million in its current year’s budget, though the exact amount won’t be known until an audit on the district is complete this fall. The unspent money will be credited back to Lyme and Old Lyme to use toward 2021-22 school costs and will not affect the district’s just-passed 2020-21 budget.

Over the past five years, the district has credited the towns anywhere between $85,000 and $1.1 million in unspent money, according to numbers Neviaser provided to The Day.