Stratford superintendent proposes modest, stability-focused 2025–26 budget; no staff cuts

Acting Superintendent Heather Burgess presented the Stratford School District’s proposed budget for the 2025–26 school year at the finance committee meeting on Monday, Feb. 3, emphasizing stability and no reductions in staff.

Burgess said the proposal is “not just a budget. It's a commitment to advancement, to excellence, and to ensuring that the Stratford Public Schools is positioned to thrive.” She described the plan as a modest increase over the current year and said it prioritizes contract commitments, staff wages and services for students with disabilities.

The superintendent’s office identified three primary drivers of the increase: staff wages (a $4.2 million, roughly 3.2% increase tied to negotiated contracts and step movement), benefit costs (about $2 million, or 1.5%), and special-education services (about $1.2 million, or 0.9%). Burgess said administrators are not proposing cuts to positions for 2025–26.

Special-education tuition and the district’s budgeting methodology drew detailed questions. Burgess told the committee that the district’s method reduces the budgeted tuition line by roughly $3.0 million and that the district would request the remainder through the state’s…