East Haven officials outline $2 million gap, staffing cuts and program delays after funding changes

District officials for the East Haven School District told the Board of Education that a town "medical guarantee" and a partial state increase in special-education funding have altered the district—s budget picture and allowed the district to rework earlier reduction scenarios.

The district—s presenter said the initial budget allocation included $3,000,000 for medical and that a subsequent town commitment to guarantee medical costs freed about $3,100,000 in the district—s request. "They will fund dollar for dollar," the presenter said, describing the town—s guarantee and explaining that the district would provide written documentation of the guarantee.

Why it matters: the change does not eliminate a roughly $2,000,000 shortfall in the district—s preliminary plan, but it does shift which line items district leaders proposed to adjust. Board members repeatedly pressed that any reductions should not reduce services to students with disabilities or exacerbate inequities in counseling and social-work coverage.

What officials proposed and why

District staff outlined a package of adjustments aimed at covering the $2 million gap while minimizing immediate disruption. Major elements discussed included: - Delaying funding for new requested positions totaling approximately $240,000 (the presenter said these were new positions requested by school leaders). - Postponing a Chromebook replacement lease of about $200,000 for one year and reassessing distribution by grade level to repurpose devices. - Anticipating roughly $499,000 in additional state "excess cost" funding (state special-education reimbursement) tied to a legislative appropriation; staff said the funding has not yet been signed and thus remains provisional. - Administrative reductions estimated at about $122,000 and savings from coach retirements of roughly $205,000 by not replacing certain positions. - Finding about $100,000 in savings in the district—s share of adult education (staff said the district carries about 45% of that program—s cost; the other 55% is grant-funded).

Officials described further steps including examining stipends for clubs and sports based on participation, stopping short of an across-the-board elimination of extracurricular programs. The presenter said the district would ask athletics staff to identify teams and clubs with low participation so leaders could target reductions where necessary without cutting high-participation sports such as track.

Board concerns about special education and staffing

Board members repeatedly raised concerns that proposed reductions could harm students with the greatest needs. One board member said, "I have a big problem with the social worker position because it's been grossly inequitable," and urged the district to correct an imbalance in coverage at the Academy, which the speaker said has a 0.5 social-worker allocation compared with other schools that have two.

Staff repeatedly stated that special-education services would remain in compliance with state requirements for students and supports, though they acknowledged the district is not meeting an administrative-to-teacher ratio tied to earlier eliminations of special-education positions. The presenter said the district typically receives a percentage of excess-cost claims (staff estimated prior reimbursement rates around the mid-80s percent range) and that a February reduction in that allocation had initially cut roughly $1 million from the district—s expected reimbursement for the current fiscal year.

Operational and longer-term planning

Officials said some of the staffing reductions would rely on retirements and voluntary resignations (attrition) rather than mandatory layoffs. The presenter said the district would follow seniority and contract procedures for any staffing changes and noted legal and union notification obligations.

Board members and some staff expanded the discussion to consider longer-term structural options, including reconfiguring grade assignments across buildings to concentrate grade levels (for example, combining multiple elementary grades in fewer buildings). Speakers urged district leaders to prepare enrollment and building-capacity numbers so the board could evaluate multi-year reconfiguration scenarios in the summer or next fiscal year, while recognizing such options would require careful attention to developmental and transportation impacts.

Other items mentioned

- Website redesign: staff said the district is building a new district and school website using ParentSquare/SmartSites templates and may reduce reliance on stipended webmasters once the system is streamlined. - Grants: staff reported a Perkins supplemental federal grant submission for about $50,000. - Community and extracurricular impacts: board members warned that proposals such as pay-to-play for sports would likely reduce participation and be inequitable; members emphasized preserving access to athletics and music where possible.

Next steps and staff directions

District staff told the board they will: - Provide written documentation of the town—s medical-cost guarantee. - Bring more detailed staffing scenarios, retirements/resignations data and enrollment/building-capacity reports in the coming weeks and before the board—s formal budget approval. - Continue to monitor the pending state action on excess-cost funding and reflect any enacted changes in updated budget models.

There were no formal votes recorded during the discussion. Board members directed staff to refine scenarios and return with specifics before the board adopts a final budget.

Ending

District officials framed the meeting as an early-stage review: they said the proposals are fluid and that they expect to present a more detailed package to the board in the month or two before the formal budget adoption. Board members asked staff to prioritize preserving special-education services and to provide clear documentation of the town—s medical guarantee before the board finalizes the spending plan.