Weston board discusses 3.91% operating increase as health insurance jumps

The Weston Board of Education held a budget workshop that closed its public comment period and moved into detailed budget questions after public speakers urged the board to avoid staff cuts and to protect existing grade configurations during a planned middle‑school project.

Superintendent Eric Forte told the board the administration had prepared updated figures after new information surfaced this week about health insurance, positions and other unanticipated reductions. Phil, the district finance lead, said the state’s current projection for the partnership health insurance plan indicated a likely 15% premium increase for Fairfield County; after accounting for anticipated employee cost‑share, the net additional cost to the district was presented as about $168,000.

Phil also told the board the budget reflects other adjustments: an early‑retirement payment the board previously approved will begin in fiscal 2027 (first of three payments, approximately $84,000), and selected special‑education adjustments could yield about $170,000 in savings. The administration proposed adding a position it says would create operating efficiencies (combined salary and payroll taxes estimated at about $88,000). Taken together, administrators presented a net operating increase of approximately 3.91%.

Board members said they were uncomfortable with the direction of insurance costs but recognized the practical limits on further cuts without reducing staff. "3.91% is still higher than I would like," said Sharon (board member), but she and several colleagues warned that deeper cuts would likely mean layoffs or program reductions that would harm students. Other board members argued the district must preserve its instructional capacity and that many residents move to Weston for those schools.

Administrators told the board they had asked contractor First Student to re‑evaluate bus runs for possible efficiencies and that a vendor report was expected before the next workshop. They also said they would continue to look for natural attrition and other non‑disruptive efficiencies to avoid layoffs.

Next steps: the board has scheduled three budget meetings next week and a capital budget workshop; administrators will return with any additional adjustments, and the board indicated it would consider the operating budget for final action after those sessions.

Ending: Board members moved to adjourn after expressing general agreement to continue refining the budget and to revisit capital items at the next workshop.