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Newington board warns paraeducator benefits, programs at risk after $1.8M council cut
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Summary
At an April 22 meeting the Newington Board of Education heard a budget update from the superintendent who said a $1.8 million cut approved by the town council could force the district to cut paraeducator benefits and programs such as Nor'easter Academy and the school-based health center unless state or grant funds arrive.
The Newington Board of Education on April 22 received a detailed budget update from the superintendent warning that a $1.8 million reduction adopted by the town council could imperil proposed paraeducator benefits and require cuts to programs serving at‑risk students.
"That is absolutely inaccurate," Dr. Bramlett said in response to claims made at the council meeting, disputing an earlier assertion that the district employs "41 administrators" at town hall and clarifying that the district instead has 13 district‑wide administrators. He said the district expects planned technology purchases and other costs to largely exhaust the board's capital funds.
Dr. Bramlett told the board that, absent additional money, the district would have to consider removing the Nor'easter Academy and the student school‑based health center from next year’s budget and make other reductions. "In order to balance the cuts, we would have to reduce the Nor'easter Academy out of the budget and the student, school based health center out of the budget," he said, characterizing that scenario as a "worst case" if no grant or state funds materialize.
Board members asked questions about alternatives. One member reiterated that the nonlapsing reserve is not intended for recurring costs and warned against using one‑time credits to fund ongoing benefits. Members pressed whether the town council could make a special appropriation or whether state ECS/ESS funds might arrive; Dr. Bramlett said there are "strong indications" the district could receive some ECS/ESS funding but that distribution and timing remain uncertain.
The superintendent also provided specific figures and tradeoffs: technology purchase orders the district plans to place would largely deplete the CIP and a proposed $105,000 line for a paraeducator time‑work bonus would have to be removed without additional revenue. He said some state activity could bring about $300,000 in the coming year and $200,000 the following year related to acute mental‑health expenditures, but he cautioned that those sums were not guaranteed or yet allocated to the district.
Board members emphasized timeline constraints: the state legislative session ends in early May, and the district must finalize its budget by July 1. The board agreed it will continue discussion at upcoming meetings and said it would aim to finalize budget decisions well before the statutory deadline.
Next steps: the board will continue budget work at its scheduled meetings in May and expects to revisit potential adjustments once grant or state funding clarity arrives.
