Milford schools propose $118.95 million budget as special‑education and retiree costs drive increase

Milford Public Schools presented a proposed operating budget of $118,952,091 — a 4.328% increase over the prior year — to the Milford Board of Aldermen during an April 16 budget hearing.

Dr. Kataya, superintendent of Milford Public Schools, told aldermen the increase is concentrated in personnel and mandatory costs. “The proposed budget that is before you is in the amount of $118,952,091, which represents a 4.328% increase year over year,” she said. She and other BOE members said roughly 77.04% of the district’s spending is for salaries and benefits and that the first year of a new teachers’ contract and rising special‑education needs are major drivers.

The presentation attributed about $1,500,000 of the increase to special education, roughly $800,000 to retiree health insurance, and about $250,000 to utilities. BOE members also said the district had identified about $1,750,000 in “savings, efficiencies, and deferrals” compared with earlier drafts of the proposal.

Board of Education member Miss Glennon framed the proposal as a constrained plan that had to “say no a lot this year” to maintain core services. She warned that the district deferred capital equipment, curriculum revisions and some professional learning to contain costs, saying “every nickel in this budget matters.” The presentation said the budget does not fully meet long‑term facilities needs; BOE staff said a separate long‑range facilities master plan will guide future capital requests.

Aldermen pressed for detail on line items. Alderman Bevan asked about how security staff were counted across budgets and whether the school security officers (SSOs) listed in the BOE budget are distinct from school resource officers (SROs) in the police budget. BOE staff said SSOs would be district employees and SROs are police officers employed by the Milford Police Department; the district expects a cost‑share when police officers are assigned to schools.

BOE officials also described a set of reductions and efficiency measures: two bus runs were eliminated after a route analysis, producing about $180,000 in transportation savings, and several one‑time or start‑up costs tied to prior program launches were removed from the current request. Assistant superintendent (unnamed) and BOE staff said some professional‑learning contracts and one‑time curriculum purchases are not being continued at the same level in the coming year.

The meeting produced no formal vote on the BOE budget; aldermen and BOE staff agreed to provide more detailed backup (legal‑services billing breakdowns, counts of due‑process cases, and any redacted invoices) as the aldermen review the appropriation before final action.

What happens next: the Board of Aldermen will continue budget deliberations and may request additional detail from BOE staff before any appropriation or line‑item decisions are made.