By Sarah Opdahl

On Thursday, January 16, New Fairfield’s Superintendent Dr. Ken Craw presented to the Board of Education (BOE) his proposed budget for the 2025-2026 academic year, a 3.81% or $1,838,949 incre ase with a total budget request of $50,083,039. Factors contributing to the increase are contractual salary and benefit obligations, increased special education needs, new positions and arts investments, and the next tier in decreasing an education turnover assumption that was previously embedded in each year’s budget.

Going through each segment of the budget increase, Craw outlined the  staffing needs, which are largely the same due to flat enrollment, which “from a budgeting perspective, that is extremely helpful,” he said. Though the number of classrooms per grade fluctuates, the same number of instructors is needed. The elementary class sizes are all targeted to be within BOE goals of 17 to 22 students. He explained that a request for one full-time bilingual teacher is in response to an increased need in the school system, “we are seeing a rise in the number of multilingual learners…particularly at the elementary school.” Craw later clarified, “because of the number of multilingual learners within the Spanish subgroup, we now need to have a bilingual teacher to support those students.”

Regarding special education, Craw said, “In recent years, the number of students with IEPs has increased just like it has in many districts across the state.” He went on to say, “the number of students with IEPs was at 352 at the time of the October 1 enrollment and it has increased to 365 at this point in the year.” An additional part-time teacher is requested for the Strides transition program, which is seeing growth in both students and programming. Craw reminded the BOE that “it is actually at a cost savings to the district to keep students in district, as oppo sed to having to be outplaced.”

Craw explained that arts funding requests are in the budget to support the continued forward movement of the strings program, which will now make the leap to provide an orchestra at the high school. Another strings teacher will deliver classes and lessons in both the high and elementary schools. He said that the “bare bones” program will be able to provide ensembles, mirr oring off erings that are available for the band program. In addition, the budget includes a modest investment in theater programming to ensure continuity from elementary through the high school with theater productions.

The schools will adjust staffing in a number of ways to ease pressures in areas such as high school English, nursing, increased secretarial support for special education, and more. There are also a number of cost-cutting efforts planned, such as a move to paperless Individualized Education Plans (IEPs), locked in oil rates, and more. Revenue offsets were also listed, such as tuition for Sherman students and the Early Learning Center.

Reviewing capital requests, Craw outlined seven projects, including the oil tank removal, addressing academic and music space needs at the middle school, and the pool HVAC and dehumidification unit. Funds  are also requested to put toward the future Marty Morgan turf replacement and to replace a vehicle. Finally, there are some school security improvements that are needed.

Craw praised his administrative team, who has worked together in “refining this budget request to bring in a budget that is suitable for educating all children in New Fairfield and doing it in a fiscally responsible way.” He charged his staff to be “forward thinking” and to “think about the next level of work.”

While Craw said that he and his staff worked line by line to examine the budget for cost cutting measures and efficiencies, he added that he looks forward to the BOE’s input on the 3.81% increase, which is the leanest budget proposed in recent years.