Norwalk board hears budget reconciliation update as insurance and special-education costs widen gap

Norwalk School District Superintendent Dr. Alexander Estrella told the Board of Education on May 13 that district leaders are working to reconcile an administrative request for a 9.7% budget increase with the 4% figure the board approved and will present a final reconciliation on June 3.

Mr. Esmani, a district staff member who provided the finance update, said the process means “reconciling means getting, the 9.7% request to tie to the 4% that was requested that was approved by, by the board of ed.” He told the board the district has held a series of meetings with the mayor’s office and is monitoring state developments, including recently passed special-education legislation that staff hope could narrow the gap.

The board was given several specific cost drivers. Staff said the state employee insurance plan increased about 10.9% and that the Cigna plan — used by teachers who moved off the state plan two years ago — rose about 15%. Administrators said they had originally projected roughly $2.02 million to $2.3 million in benefits savings from reductions in positions, but recalculating those projections with higher insurance rates reduces that expected savings by “almost another million dollars or so,” in staff words.

Administrators also told the board that $2.5 million in one-time carryover funds that had been planned as an offset for next year will be spent this fiscal year because of rising special-education costs, and therefore will not be available to reduce next year’s budget gap.

Mr. Esmani reviewed the outreach and timeline: district leaders have met with the mayor’s team multiple times since November and expect another follow-up meeting “between now and next week.” He said the district will provide the board and the mayor with a detailed reconciliation of how staff propose to close the gap at the board’s next business meeting on June 3.

Board members pressed for more detail about next steps. One member asked whether the district could seek alternative insurance options; staff replied that the district and the city share a broker, and that the teachers’ plan is subject to collective bargaining. Staff said the district is in year two of a three-year agreement with Cigna and that the contract term means any change would need to be negotiated with the union. Administrators added the broker negotiated a 15% cap last year outside the contract for one year, while the state plan has no cap and is experience-rated.

Superintendent Estrella and staff also reported that schools already have implemented reductions and that central-office reductions earlier in the process were larger; the reconciliation presentation next week will include school-level reductions, positions removed, transfers to grant-funded positions where possible, and net impacts by school level.

The board and staff identified several next steps: staff will present a detailed reconciliation on June 3; the district will continue negotiations with the teachers’ union (referred to in the meeting as NFT) in the coming weeks; and staff will provide documentation of community engagement and the timeline of budget meetings at an upcoming retreat on request.

No formal budget vote was taken at the May 13 special meeting; staff characterized the session as an update and preparation for the June reconciliation presentation.