On Thursday, January 20, the New Fairfield Board of Education held a Special Meeting to allow the district’s Superintendent, Dr. Pat Cosentino, to present her 2022-2023 academic year budget. Though the town’s Board of Finance requested that the school submit a 0% budget, in light of the large tax increase that will occur due to debt service of approximately $2.21 million for the new school buildings, Cosentino defended the propo sed 3.98% increase as the “budget that supports our children, and it’s the budget that they deserve and that our community expects.”

There was a pre-recorded presentation of the budget, with Cosentino laying out the school’s accomplishments, plus plans for changes in the numbers of classrooms for some grades at the elementary level that flow with enrollment shifts. Director of Business and Operations Dr. Richard Sanzo followed with more information about the overall recommended spending plan for the year, stressing that there are many non-discretionary costs in the budget that can’t be reduced, as they’re driven by contractual obligations. He also emphasized that “the process to arrive at the superintendent’s recommended budget has involved many challenging decisions, weighing administrator requests, student needs, available grant funding, and the financial pressures on the community.” He noted that “to offset these non-discretionary costs, reductions were made to certain staffing positions based on student need, or operational efficiency, in addition to a variety of non-payroll items such as supplies, materials, and travel.” Specific reductions will be discussed further in upcoming Budget Workshop meetings. In addition, ELC tuition, pay-to-participate athletics, and building use fees are all proposed to increase. There is still federal grant money to be spent, but it is largely committed to staffing, curricular improvements, and ventilation upgrades. Sanzo explained that there has been significant savings due to “effective contract negotiations,” that produced a savings of over $336K to the district’s health insurance contribution for employees.

Board members, who had been given the budget in advance, didn’t discuss particular line items, likely opting to wait for upcoming Budget Workshops, but many did praise Cosentino, Sanzo, and others for their work on the budget. They were happy to hear about the points of pride Cosentino extolled upon, such as the new Strides Transition program for special education students who are 18 to 21 years old. Cosentino said she’s excited about “our mathematics program. This year we’ve taken steps to shift our instructional practice in our math classrooms. We have numeracy coaches that are working with students, but also with teachers as they develop their capacity to teach mathematics.” She also applauded the many efforts that are happening with STEAM instruction in the lower grades and Early College Experience classes at the high school.

Cosentino reminded the community that the district’s vision “is what we want to become…We want them to be motivated. We want them to be critical thinkers. We want them to develop empathy and creativity. We want them to be successful, productive citizens.” While she said, “the mission is the work we do every day” how educators engage students and the community to make sure that the district is achieving its vision in supporting each student so that they can achieve their passion. “I’m very prou d to say that we are on the right track and the right path in New Fairfield,” Cosentino said, “The budget presented tonight is the one we need to meet the expectations of our community and to make sure that we give our children the best education that they deserve.”

In addition to upcoming Budget Workshops, the district plans to hold Facebook Live sessions and access to all budget information is available on the district’s website, newfairfieldschools.org.

The next regular Board of Education meeting is scheduled for Thursday, February 3, 7:00 p.m. There will be Budget Workshops held on Tuesday, January 25 and Thursday, January 27 at 7:00 p.m. A joint Budget Workshop with the New Fairfield Board of Finance will be held on Tuesday, February 1, 7:00 p.m.

By Sarah Opdahl