Board approves FY26 budget mitigation plan, including closure of Bridal Rogers

The Board of Education voted to accept the superintendent's FY26 budget mitigation plan at a special meeting, approving measures that the district says will close most of a projected multi‑million dollar shortfall and that include the planned closure of Bridal Rogers school.

Superintendent Dr. Negron presented the mitigation package, saying the district had faced an estimated $23,200,000 deficit before recent revenue additions. Dr. Negron said contributions from the city and the state reduced the gap to about $14,600,000 and described a mix of spending cuts and staffing changes designed to close the remainder.

The plan as presented includes: cutting $1,500,000 from contract services; $1,200,000 from security and custodial overtime; $400,000 from part‑time salaries; a $200,000 reduction in travel and mileage; and $5,300,000 in staffing reductions that the presentation said include $1,800,000 in voided vacancies, $820,000 in central office cuts and $1,700,000 from classroom consolidations. Dr. Negron told the board that closing Bridal Rogers would save $2,200,000 and that 132 students were registered at the school for next year, 34% (46 students) of whom are zoned for that building. The superintendent said staff displaced by elimination of 76 positions had been placed within the district.

Public commenters and district staff pressed the board on transparency and community impacts. Jenny Graves, executive vice president of the New Haven Federation of Teachers, said the district had “consolidated classrooms, collapsed vacancies, and voluntarily transferred teachers to fill voids,” and urged a collaborative mitigation process. Amber Green, family resource site coordinator at Bridal Rogers School, told the board the closure would remove family resource center programming that serves birth‑to‑3 families and provides diapers, food and after‑school programs. Parent Maria Harris Page said students had not been given an opportunity to say goodbye and encouraged families with 504 plans or IEPs under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to file complaints if transition requirements were not followed.

Cooperative Arts and Humanities Magnet High School music teacher Matt Chasen criticized the decision‑making process and flagged the planned elimination of an arts director position at his school, calling “the complete lack of transparency and absence of any communication with the coop community” unacceptable.

During deliberations, board member Dr. Joiner moved to accept the superintendent's budget and mitigation plan conditioned on a fiscal update: the superintendent must provide a fiscal update at the second board meeting in September with recommendations. Dr. Benitez seconded the motion. After discussion the board voted in favor; the chair announced the motion carried.

Board members and the superintendent repeatedly emphasized the district's dependence on external revenue sources. Dr. Negron thanked the mayor and state legislative support cited in the presentation; the superintendent said the district had received an additional $5,000,000 from the city and $3,600,000 from the state (described in the presentation as $1,700,000 in “Essex cost grant recovery” and $1,900,000 in special education support). The superintendent said those revenues reduced the district's projected gap but left a remaining shortfall the mitigation plan aims to cover.

The board's approval authorizes the district to begin implementation steps the superintendent outlined: offering displaced staff opportunities to select vacancies they are certified to fill and running a special lottery for the 132 families affected by the Bridal Rogers closure. The superintendent and board said the plan is contingent on the mayoral allocation being approved by the city's board of aldermen and on the district's ability to find the remaining approximately $780,000 the presentation said is still needed.

The meeting record shows the board accepted the plan and adjourned after the vote. Several speakers urged the board to continue public engagement and to form a broader budget committee to involve community stakeholders in mitigation planning.