Thomas Breen file photo
Budget Director McCue (right), with Mayor Elicker: $3M designed to help address "learning gaps, student well-being, and staff retention."
The Elicker administration has formally proposed setting aside $3 million in surprise state aid as “contingency funding” to help the school district close a budget deficit and avoid teacher layoffs.
That proposed ordinance amendment is included as a communication on the agenda for Monday’s full Board of Alders meeting. The proposal now heads to an aldermanic committee for review before returning to the full board for a final vote.
The proposed ordinance amendment calls for the “assignment of $3 million in additional state aid to the general fund balance for educational purposes,” per the title of the submission.
City spokesperson Lenny Speiller described this proposal as a “one-time, single-year commitment to help close NHPS’ projected budget gap for this school year,” which he said is around $3.78 million. He said that this $3 million proposal “would not amend NHPS’ annual minimum budget requirement.”
Instead, it would see the city assign $3 million to the city’s fund balance — which refers to municipal government’s operating surplus — “to cover any cost overruns by NHPS.” Speiller said expenditures for the budget year ahead would remain as $703.7 million, even as the city’s actual revenues for the fiscal year are now $706.7 million.
The aldermanic submission comes less than a week after the Board of Education took a final vote to adopt a $220.7 million budget for the fiscal year that started July 1. That NHPS budget will see the closure of Brennan-Rogers School due to its declining enrollment, the elimination of 76 vacant teacher and central office positions, the reduction of funding for athletics-related travel, and a number of other cuts in order to avoid a previously pitched plan to lay off up to 129 student-facing school staffers.
Mayor Justin Elicker first announced hours before that July 1 school board meeting that the state had come through with an unexpected $3 million bump in aid — $2.5 million from the Supplemental Revenue Sharing Grant and the rest from the state Office of Policy and Management (OPM). This proposed $3 million bump is in addition to the $5 million increase in schools funding already included in this fiscal year’s city budget.
In a letter dated June 26, city Budget Director Shannon McCue explained that the purpose of this $3 million proposal “is to provide contingency funding to improve educational outcomes in the New Haven public school district (NHPS) by addressing key challenges such as learning gaps, student well-being, and staff retention.”
McCue continued: “The assignment of $3 million from the City’s General Fund balance will help address any potential budgetary pressures while enhancing academic performance, supporting mental health initiatives, and ensuring the retention of essential educators and staff to create a more effective and supportive learning environment.”
The text of the ordinance amendment states that, if this proposal is approved, the alders “shall review the use of these funds annually during the budget process to ensure alignment with the City’s educational priorities.”
A “Fiscal Impact Statement” submitted as part of the ordinance amendment proposal states that this item will have no fiscal impact on the Fiscal Year 2025 – 26 (FY26) budget.