New Haven School District proposes $252.6M FY27 budget, cites rising special-education and transportation costs
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Summary
Superintendent Dr. Negron and CFO Amilcar Hernandez presented a proposed $252.6 million FY27 operating budget that the district says is needed to sustain student gains; officials highlighted rapid growth in special-education enrollments and a transportation line projected to approach last year’s $33–39M range.
Superintendent Dr. Negron on Tuesday presented a proposed FY27 operating budget of $252.6 million for the New Haven School District and asked the board to support what he described as a “status-quo” request to protect recent progress in student outcomes.
"On behalf of the students of the New Haven Public Schools who deserve an education that is both high quality and stable, I urge you to support the fiscal year 27 budget," Dr. Negron said, opening the presentation and introducing the district’s budget book to the public.
The most immediate pressures driving the request, CFO Amilcar Hernandez told the board, are personnel costs, a marked rise in special-education needs and sharply higher transportation spending. Hernandez said special-education services now account for roughly $72 million of the district’s general fund — about 33% — while students with disabilities make up about 18% of enrollment.
"Special education students make up about 18% of our enrollment, yet that 18% requires 33% of our general fund budget," Hernandez said, adding that outplacement tuition totaled about $6.3 million over the last five years and that some high-cost placements can run between $80,000 and $250,000 per student depending on services required.
Hernandez walked the board through enrollment and staffing trends, saying special-education enrollment increases over recent years were 24, 34, 57 and 101 students in successive years — the last-year increase he called “almost doubled.” He said the district currently operates 43 specialized classrooms and has about 290 students in district-operated specialized classrooms and 278 resident students in outplaced settings that require tuition payments beyond state funding levels.
Transportation costs are another major driver. Hernandez said the district’s total transportation spending has been in the $33–39 million range and that FY25 budgeting had been set at about $32 million but actual spending pushed closer to the higher end of that band. He noted special-education transport alone is a large, fluctuating cost: the district has 64 vans costing about $93,000 each and contracts with a mix of large and small providers for varied routes and door-to-door services required by Individualized Education Programs (IEPs).
Board members pressed administration on options to reduce fixed operational costs that do not scale with declining enrollment, including potential realignment of the facilities footprint, shared services with city departments and renegotiated vendor contracts. Chief of School Operations said the district is assessing partnerships with city departments (snow removal, custodial support) and modest-scale shared services in IT and health services; Hernandez said the finance team is pursuing procurement and RFP strategies to create efficiencies without disrupting student services.
Other details presented to the board: - The district’s proposed operating request is $252,600,000; an adjusted figure using some allowable special funds would reduce the general-fund ask to about $232,100,000. - About 899 district FTEs — roughly 34% of staffing — currently rely on grant or special-fund allocations, Hernandez said, a figure the administration highlighted as a sustainability concern. - Staffing-guidelines compliance would require an additional roughly $26.8 million beyond the amounts in the current request. - Projected contractual increases for bargaining units (teachers, paraeducators, administrators and others) total in the neighborhood of $7–8 million next year; teacher increases were listed at about $6.1 million in the presentation.
Board members repeatedly urged that the budget book and presentation be shared with state legislators; several members said inequities in state funding formulas (ECS) and flat alliance/priority allocations are squeezing high-needs districts. The superintendent said a public budget hearing is scheduled in April and that the board will continue public engagement as state numbers become clearer ahead of a June vote.
The board did not take a final budget vote at the March meeting; the presentation was framed as the administration’s formal request and a step in an ongoing process that will include a public hearing and further review at finance committee meetings.
