Farmington Board recommends $83.24 million 2025–26 budget; discusses state excess-cost funding and special-education staffing

The Farmington Board of Education voted Feb. 3 to recommend a $83,240,983 budget for the 2025–26 school year — a 4.65% increase over the prior year — and discussed how potential state changes to excess-cost special-education funding could affect the district’s local share.

Board President Bill Beckert, speaking at the meeting, moved the budget recommendation to the Farmington Town Council; the motion carried. The board also approved the second reading of district policy 6,153 and 6,153a on field trips and established a personnel search committee to lead the superintendent search.

Why it matters: much of the district’s projected bottom line hinges on whether the state increases its contribution to excess-cost special-education funding. Superintendent Kathy and district staff described calculations and scenarios during the board’s budget review, and principals used the board’s post-workshop meeting to highlight classroom needs that informed the request.

District staff member Dan summarized internal estimates for how state funding would change the district’s budget calculations. “We did look at calculations if we, adjusted the, you know, the excess cost calculator and if we were getting fully funded, per from the state of Connecticut, at a %, we would probably be in the the I'd say low 3% in there,” Dan said, describing a hypothetical…