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CFO warns of tighter budget, potential $24M–$30M gap and transportation funding uncertainty
Summary
The district’s chief financial officer told the finance committee that earlier budgeted attrition savings are unlikely after hiring, federal Title grants face possible cuts of about $3.8 million, and one-time state transportation relief of $5 million is nonrecurring — creating a potential $24 million to $30 million funding gap for next year.
The Bridgeport Board of Education chief financial officer told the finance committee that the district faces significant fiscal pressure for the coming year because previously budgeted attrition savings and one-time funds will not recur.
The update, presented at a virtual committee meeting, drew questions about staffing, special-education funding, and a state-negotiated transportation arrangement that staff said is being subsidized by one-time legislative funding.
Esther, the district’s chief financial officer, said the adopted budget included approximately $6.5 million in anticipated attrition savings — the result of regular attrition plus an assumed elimination of 20 teacher positions — but that many positions, including special-education posts, have since been filled. “The budget is tight,” Esther said, adding that the attrition savings “will not be there because most of the positions have been filled.”
Esther told the committee the district used $22 million of its internal-service fund balance last fiscal year rather than $26 million that had initially been contemplated; however, she said the board also used roughly $9.5 million of the remaining internal-service fund to balance the current year’s budget. Taken together with automatic recurring cost increases — including a projected roughly 4 percent transportation cost increase, an 11 percent rise in state health insurance, and salary and step increases estimated at about $17.5 million — Esther said the district could face a $24 million to $30 million budget shortfall in the next fiscal year if no new revenues or savings are identified.
The CFO also highlighted federal grants as a risk. She said the district faces a potential reduction of about $3.8 million across Title I, II, III and Title IV funding next year, and cited a $920,000 portion tied to a lighthouse program that would affect pre-K services if cut.
On transportation, staff and the superintendent described negotiations between the state and the city that, according to district leaders, have produced an agreement to restore original mileage and relieve the district and students from longer walk distances. Superintendent Dr. Avery said the state and city “told us they would take care of the cost” to revert mileage and that the district has communicated restored mileage to families. Nestor (district staff) and Dr. Avery cautioned the committee that the $5 million the state allocated to Bridgeport for transportation is nonrecurring and administered by the state commissioner; the district is not guaranteed recurring state support and would have to identify funding for continuation beginning in the following biennium.
Board members asked for a preliminary audited close of last fiscal year and additional detail on where expansion or seed grants were applied. Esther said the ledger has undergone a “hard close” and that audited figures are produced on the timeline required by the controller’s office and external auditors; unaudited preliminary numbers will become available at the standard reporting milestone in October. Staff said a finalized report will be provided to the board following the controller’s entries and auditors’ review.
Committee members repeatedly pressed for clarity about which positions were charged to which funding sources, whether special-education seed-development funds of about $2.6 million could be reallocated, and whether the restored transportation costs would reappear as a district expense in a future year. Staff responded that the $2.6 million seed-development grant was intended for development of new special-education programs and had already been applied in budget balancing through program redesign, and that the state legislature’s $5 million allocation for transportation is a one-time, nonrecurring amount that the district cannot rely on for future budgets.
No formal budget action was taken at the meeting; the presentation was informational and staff committed to supply more detailed, ledger-level reports and to follow up individually with board members as requested.
