Middletown board approves amended $2.2M-plus budget cut plan after public outcry over staff reductions

The Middletown School District Board of Education voted June 24 to approve an amended budget mitigation plan that the administration said reduces district spending by roughly $2,216,666 while restoring a manufacturing teacher and a STEM teacher after public and board member pushback.

The amendment reinstated the district’s proposed manufacturing/aerospace teacher position and kept a STEM teacher at McDonough School; the board approved the amended budget by voice and roll-call, and the motion carried.

The vote followed about an hour of public comment and a detailed budget presentation from Superintendent Dr. V and Natalie Forbes, the district’s executive director of finance. “Trying to make the best decisions possible for all students. Mitigating a $3,000,000 budget is not easy,” Dr. V told the board. Forbes summarized the administration’s proposal and said, “The total mitigation is $2,216,666.”

Why it matters: The changes affect staffing and student supports across elementary, middle and high schools, touching programs that parents and teachers said are central to student experience. Public commenters pressed the board to avoid cuts that would disproportionately affect small-school communities and specialized programs.

Public and staff concerns

Several McDonough parents and staff urged the board to preserve personnel tied closely to the school’s STEAM and extension programs. Paige McMullen, a McDonough parent, told the…