New Haven committee: 2023 staffing study shows 709-position gap; district added 14 positions since

Unidentified Speaker 7 reported that a March 2023 staffing-guidelines study identified a need for 709 additional positions across 43 job types, a shortfall the district estimated then at more than $55,000,000 when salaries and benefits are included.

That analysis examined roles from principals and assistant principals to PE teachers, special education staff, nurses, restorative-practices coaches, custodians and security. Speaker 7 told the committee the district added 10 positions in fiscal year 2024 (cost: $750,000) and four security positions in fiscal year 2025 (cost: $180,000), for a net increase of 14 positions since the study.

"If we were going to provide the staffing based on the national guidance, clearly, we would have needed back then 709 additional positions, which equated to a total cost of over $55,000,000," Unidentified Speaker 7 said.

Committee members asked staff to produce an updated slide that reflects the current 2025 gap (subtracting positions already added) and to append the original 2023 committee presentation to the budget materials so board members and the public can see the underlying methodology and union input that informed the original recommendations. Unidentified Speaker 1 said the slide will help make the connection between the dollars and the front-line positions those dollars would fund.

Staff told the committee they expect to carry the staffing analysis into FY26 budget discussions and estimated the district will need to mitigate roughly $18,000,000 in the next budget cycle; staff committed to providing an updated, consolidated slide for 2025.

The committee did not take a formal vote on staffing changes at the meeting; staff said the information will inform the budget process and be revisited at future meetings.