Cromwell School District approves 2025–26 education budget after line-item corrections; board questions Open Choice funding

The Cromwell School District board approved the proposed 2025'026 education budget at a special meeting after staff corrected detail-page errors and answered board questions about grant-funded positions and Open Choice reimbursements.

Board members and administrators said the cover-page totals did not change when a staff member discovered and corrected errors on underlying detail pages; the corrections aligned the detailed pages with previously presented summary totals. The board then voted to approve the budget by voice vote.

Board members pressed district administrators about several line items before the vote. Questions focused on positions listed as "grant-funded," the district-wide role of instructional coaches, professional development costs, and the financial impact of the Open Choice program.

A district staff member who reviewed the budget said the detail pages had included carryover items that were incorrectly rolled into some sub-totals; after removing those entries the cover-page totals matched figures presented at the prior meeting and no dollar amounts on the cover page changed. The board accepted those corrections and proceeded with discussion.

On staffing, the board sought clarity about positions shown as paid by grant funds.…