The coming fiscal year’s New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) general fund budget will cover the “bare bones” of district costs and make up a funding gap without laying off employees.
So stated members of the Board of Education as the unanimously approved the budget at their biweekly meeting Monday night.
The $195 million budget will keep the status quo and allow no changes in programing next school year despite seeing a 2.38 percent increase in costs of $4.5 million from the 2021 – 2022 budget. This is because the district is seeing price escalations in utility costs like transportation and building maintenance and contractual raises for educators.
Schools Chief Financial Officer Linda Hannans presented the final proposed budget to the board with mitigation plans to make up for the difference between the Board of Alders’ approved budget contribution increase of $4.5 million and the $9,345,087 increase originally requested by the board to “keep the lights on.” (Click here to view the budget presentation)
The mitigation plan will aim to leave the district with a balanced budget this time next year, Hannans said, though she warned that the mitigation plans are not long-term solutions and do not cover unforeseen emergencies, continued increases in utilities, or extra repairs of aging buildings.
Hannas noted that utility increases particularly have been “hitting us really hard.”
The plan will avoid the need for layoffs by maximizing the district’s outside grants amounts and ultimately reprograming costs originally denied in initial applications for federal pandemic-relief under the American Rescue Plan’s Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund.
“We need to find other sources of nonrestrictive revenue along with engaging our stakeholders at the state and local level for adequate funding or changes in the current funding structure, including any of our unfunded mandates,” Hannans said of future years’ budgeting.
The newly revisited and approved ESSR money plus federal Title I dollars can help cover the costs of substitute teachers, par- time workers, and summer school.
The mitigation plan also includes savings realized in a lease reduction for the Gateway Center’s eighth floor at 54 Meadow.
“It was depressing to see when you put a budget together, there was nothing to do anything with,” Hannans said.
The mitigation plan will relieve several costs from the general funds budget and reallocate them to the special funds budget. This is similar to the $7.2 million of ARP ESSER funds that were recently revised to incentivize full and part-time staffers as part of the district’s strategy for retention and recruitment. (Click here to read more about those reallocated grant dollars.)
Board: State Not A Team Player
In response to the mitigation plans, board members Darnell Goldson, Matt Wilcox, Justin Elicker, and Edward Joyner suggested that the board apply pressure on the state to fully fund its Educational Cost Sharing formula to increase support for urban school districts.
“The reporting I saw, it would have brought $19.4 million into the district, which would allow us to do things like provide assistance in those pre‑K classrooms and special ed classrooms like we heard in public comment,” Wilcox said, referring to public testimony at Monday’s meeting from special education pre-school educator of 12 years Jennifer Graves. Graves said that educators like herself have been functioning in “crisis mode” with a lack of caseload caps. She asked that there be an increase in special education services to address increasing needs while working to relieve burnt-out teachers with doubled caseloads.
“I think we need to make a case for asking a very wealthy state to face up to the unique challenges that exist in cities, especially poor cities, and if they have a formula, to be faithful to that formula,” Joyner said. “I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired.”
Goldson suggested that the district look into selling or renting out its vacant school buildings like the old Strong School.
Board member OrLando Yarborough encouraged the district to put together what the ideal fully funded school budget would look like to consider for next year, rather than requesting a “bare-bones” budget.
“If people are going to cut something in half, let them cut in a half a big request,” Yarborough said.
Student representative Anthony Fiore added that the district should educate students about these issues to allow them to join the fight for fully funded schools
“When I was the leader of this board, I decided I didn’t care about deficit anymore; we were going to provide the services,” Goldson recalled. “We shouldn’t be beating ourselves up over a deficit we didn’t create. This deficit is created by the lack of state funding.”
"Utilities" bill should be easing up since they are mostly 'out of order'.