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South Country Central lays out three paths to close $5.9 million gap as special-act aid remains uncertain
Summary
District business official John Belmonte presented draft 4 of the 2026–27 budget and three options to cover a roughly $5.8–$5.9 million projected deficit: deep program cuts to meet the tax cap, raising the tax levy (example: ~13.7% levy), or a midrange mix of cuts and tax increase; administration warned that without special-act legislation the district may need short-term borrowing that would defer but not erase the gap.
John Belmonte, the district’s business official, told the School Board and the public that the South Country Central School District faces a structural budget problem that developed over several years and was made visible by the Office of the State Controller review. Belmonte presented draft 4 of the 2026–27 budget — a $150,738,000 plan — and said the district currently shows an $8.7 million shortfall for 2025–26 and about $5.8–$5.9 million for 2026–27.
Belmonte described three concrete options for closing next year’s gap: cut roughly $5.9 million to present a budget at a 5.52% tax-cap level (which he estimated would reduce the district’s spending and translate to about $341 per taxpayer per year in his example); pursue a higher levy that would fully fund programs (an example he gave was a 13.76%…
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