Proposed New Canaan school budget tops $100M, up 8.6%
NEW CANAAN — If the proposed superintendent’s budget is approved by the Board of Education, it would increase school spending by 8.6 percent, raising the overall operating budget to $100.2 million from the current $92.3 million budget.
Superintendent Bryan Luizzi attributes a large part of the $7.9 million uptick on the $5.3 million contribution to the internal services fund.
During the 2021-22 budget discussion, the internal services fund drew warranted attention when town officials considered merging the town and school internal services funds. The Board of Finance considered removing $2.2 million from the school budget that had been targeted for the fund.
The funds allow the town to insure itself, instead of having a premium-based health insurance, and has been proven to be a money saver for the district, according to town officials. The reduction of the funds was argued against in a letter signed by all nine school board members.
During Luizzi’s latest budget presentation to the school board, he explained he “had some ideas” regarding contributions to the fund, including “really spreading that out over a couple of years.” He added at the meeting that he felt it was his “responsibility to put forward what we need.”
The salary expense of $64.8 million would increase 4.2 percent over the current projected $62.2 million. A major change is seen in the employee benefits expense, which is increasing 43.6 percent, to $17.5 million as compared to this year’s projection of $12.2 million due to the contribution to the town’s internal services fund.
“I don't anticipate that the $5.33 million is going to be the budget number,” Luizzi said, adding he hopes to have “conversations” and “articulate the strategy to get this fully funded in the next couple of years.”
Last year, First Selectman Kevin Monyihan said the Board of Finance had “studied this issue intensively” and that other area towns with self-insured accounts have a single internal service fund.
Money for school start times
One item on the budget is the negative amount of more than $463,000, which constitutes a transfer of money from this year’s budget that was targeted to be used to change start times this year. In October, the board postponed the switch to the fall.
Since the change in school start times was not planned to take effect until April 2022, the money will be put toward next year, in which a full-year of changed start times is expected. “We committed to the community (that) if we don't change school start times, we would not be using those funds,” Luizzi said.
The transfer of funds between years in a non-lapsing account allows the district to “ask for 50 percent of the money in next year’s budget, and then 100 percent of the money for the 2023-24 budget,” Luizzi explained. This “helps to level out that funding increase in order to implement the school start times.”
Under proposed scenarios voted on by the board, New Canaan High School students were expected to start at 8:30 a.m., allowing them to sleep later. However, “the BOE is currently evaluating scenarios and has not yet determined the start time for the high school,” Chairperson Katrina Parkhill said this week.
School start times was listed on the agenda for a school board meeting on Jan. 12, however, no vote was taken during the meeting.
The bulk of the additional expenses for later start times was targeted to pay for bus transportation.
The board is expected to vote on the budget in the next few weeks. A school budget presentation will be made Jan. 25 before the Board of Selectmen. It will then weave its way through the Board of Finance in February and March and then to the Town Council with the final vote on the budget planned for March 30.