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Cheshire superintendent outlines $100.15 million Board of Education budget as enrollment climbs by 225 students
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Summary
Superintendent Jeff Solon presented the Board of Education’s adopted 2026–27 budget of $100,149,080 (a 7.54% increase), citing enrollment growth (+225 students), rising special‑education outplacement costs and medical benefits as primary drivers; Solon described cuts already made and warned further reductions would likely affect classroom programs.
Superintendent Jeff Solon presented the Cheshire Board of Education’s adopted 2026–27 budget to the council on March 11 and explained why the board settled on $100,149,080, a 7.54% increase over the current year.
Solon said Cheshire’s enrollment rose from 4,257 at the end of the prior school year to a midyear high of 4,372 and that the projection for next year is 4,482 students — an increase of about 225 students. He attributed much of the budget pressure to contractual wage and benefits increases and a substantial jump in tuition outplacement costs, which he said are projected to rise from roughly $2.8 million to $3.5 million next year.
"Our recommended budget ... is designed only to meet the expected claims rate," Solon said when explaining medical benefits planning, and he noted that more than 95% of the approved budget funds contractual or mandated items; roughly 4.8% is discretionary. Solon said the board had already reduced the superintendent’s original request by $1.2 million through deliberation.
Solon described personnel changes embedded in the budget: three teacher positions cut, roughly ten paraeducator reductions, elimination of a library media clerk, and the addition of about eight net positions accounting for new‑school staffing needs (including added positions at the new Norton School). He noted the district had to carry some costs for existing buildings until new schools formally turn over to the town and that energy‑efficiency and solar projects funded by state grants (about $6.5 million in grant support) aim to reduce long‑term utility costs at new facilities.
Council members questioned the size and drivers of special‑education spending and the district’s per‑pupil spending metrics. Solon said Cheshire’s per‑pupil expenditure last year was $20,008.16 (below the state average cited in his slides) and that special‑education and outplacement costs are significant and only partially reimbursed by state excess‑cost programs. He offered to publish comparative data on the website and to meet with councilors to provide line‑level detail.
Solon cautioned that finding another $300,000 in reductions — a suggestion from the town manager — would likely require cutting elective or student‑facing programs and could increase anxiety among staff until final decisions are made during the council’s deliberations. He said the board had tried to protect classroom resources and had already targeted reductions away from core instruction where possible.
The council agreed to continue budget deliberations at scheduled workshops and to press the state delegation for increased educational cost‑sharing support.
