Wallingford committee reviews 2026 budget; contingency holds staffing for enrollment shifts

The Wallingford School District Special Operations Committee on Feb. 2 reviewed the proposed 2026 budget book, focusing on object‑level details and school‑by‑school allocations. Presenter Mr. Barone told the board a previous slide mislabelled an amount as retiree savings when it reflected severance payments; the digital presentation and printed packet have been corrected but the overall budget totals are unchanged.

The packet separates sustained requests (operations the district expects to fund going forward) from strategic asks. Mr. Barone described the sustained request as the level at which the board would adopt the budget and said three‑year projections are included to meet reporting expectations. "I put cost so that when I look at what I did last year, I'll remember that it's for a cost, not a savings," Mr. Barone said while explaining the corrected slide.

Certified salaries account for the largest single increase in the executive summary. The administration proposes adjustments for degree advancement and step increases and expects a net certified‑salary impact of roughly $1.6 million in the sustained request. The administration also proposes increasing the substitute teacher per diem to $120, a change the presenter and multiple board members said was intended to improve competitiveness with neighboring systems.

The contingency line was a focal point for members who asked whether the board has set aside enough capacity to add staff if enrollment or program needs require it. Mr. Barone described contingency funding that would cover an estimated four teacher positions (budgeted on a blended estimate of approximately $82,156 salary plus about $20,000 in benefits, or roughly $102,000 total per teacher), two pairs of positions with benefits and several part‑time aides. He noted the contingency balance will be monitored and adjusted as enrollment data arrive.

Special education tuition projections are higher in part because some approved private programs provided projected tuition under recent legislation, the administration said, giving the district more accurate numbers for budgeting. Presenter Mr. Barone also flagged utility costs — especially a surge in the power‑cost adjustment (PCA) and the end of a prior billing credit — as significant drivers for increases in property and service accounts.

Board members asked for additional line‑by‑line breakdowns (for example, special‑education outplacements and cell‑phone costs) and for a follow‑up analysis on whether raising substitute pay produced measurable increases in substitute availability. The administration agreed to provide further detail at the next session, which will cover food services and the capital improvement plan.