Middletown board rejects proposed budget mitigation after hours of public comment on staffing cuts

The Middletown Board of Education voted down a proposed budget mitigation plan on June 17 after a long public session in which parents, students and staff urged the board to preserve STEM, special-education and career-technical positions.

The board had been presented with a mitigation package intended to close a $2,216,666 shortfall created by a reduced municipal contribution and falling one-time federal funds. Natalie Forbes, the district’s executive director of finance, told the board the district was showing a modest surplus for 2024–25 but faced “pain points” in certified and classified salaries, substitute services and out-of-district special-education tuition that together drove the need for reductions.

Forbes said the district has seen large, unexpected costs in certified sick leave and in contracted services for psychologists and speech-language pathologists. “We are looking at creative ways,” she said, referring to plans such as a proposed Legacy Academy designed to bring some students back in district and reduce out-of-district tuition and transport…