On Thursday, January 18, New Fairfield Public School’s Superintendent Dr. Ken Craw presented the proposed 2023-2024 budget. The proposed operating budget is $45,551,674, which amounts to a $2,573,922 increase, resulting in a proposed 5.99% increase. Roughly one-third of the increase is due to ten positions that the district is hoping to grandfather in that were initially created with federal funds during the pandemic’s height.

Craw pointed to a stable enrollment—there are projected to be a couple dozen more students district-wide—as a reason to maintain the same number of certified staff members, despite the funding for the ten aforementioned posi tions being depleted. “Before the budget process began, we knew we had to bring these ten critical positions above the line,” he said. The positions include two elementary teachers, two secondary special education teachers, a speech pathologist, a behavior analyst, interventionists for math and reading, a STEAM teacher, and a secondary gifted and talented teacher. There is a proposal to increase staffing with six special education paraprofessionals, a .5 occupational therapist, and added responsibility for the Middle School Strings Teacher to allow that program to grow. A decrease is proposed in the preschool program, bringing the classrooms down in number from four to three, allowing for six half-day sessions.

Primary budget drivers beyond staffing include contracted wage increases, utilities, special education, and more. Director of Business and Operations Ms. Carrie DePuy explained that  line items for conferences and travel, professional development for administrators, equipment, technology, materials, supplies, and more were heavily cut to bring a much higher original percentage down to 5.99%. She stressed, “there’s nothing to be cut in there.”

Regarding the capital improvement plan, she said, “this is a very small bucket…we have done a great job of kind of prioritizing what we need but due to State mandates and State requirements we have significant needs that we have to address.” She went on to say, “our vehicles are aging and we have a middle school that is twenty-eight years old and we are going to see year-over-year increased costs associated with that score. This is just the beginning.”

In the lead up to the financial information, Craw was eager to point out the many positive accomplishments of the year, from academic growth and well-received new programming and curriculum to arts and sports achievements. He reminded everyone that the district’s primary aims are to promote a healthy learning environment, engage in high-quality instruction, and realize continued academic growth.

All budget documents are available to review at Newfairfieldschools.org. Budget Workshops were held on Tuesday, January 24 and Wednesday, January 25, with a future workshop date to be determined.

By Sarah Opdahl