Finance committee approves $39,000 transfer to shore up school lunch fund; CFO outlines FY26 status and FY27 reconciliation plan

The Norwalk School District Board of Education Finance Committee on April 15 approved a transfer of $39,000 from an operations summer nursing account into the district's food-service fund to help cover a projected deficit, and received a detailed FY26 budget update from CFO Linda Osmani.

The transfer was presented by a district staff member identified in the record as Miss Karman, who described the $39,000 as coming from a surplus in a grant-funded nursing account and said it would be used to offset the food-service (910) deficit. "The shortest transfer list in history," the presenter added. The chair asked for a motion; Garrett Oliver moved to approve the transfer, Diana Karpio seconded, and the motion passed.

Why it matters: the food-service fund relies on a mix of federal USDA school-meal reimbursements and transfers from the general fund; Osmani said the district has made recent transfers, including a $300,000 transfer posted this month and earlier support from the city and the McCord's Foundation, but still projects roughly $320,000 remaining to address the year's deficit. The committee was told the district is targeting roughly $1.5 million to $1.6 million in total transfers to the food-service fund for the year.

Osmani then reviewed FY26 year-to-date financials as of March 31 (end of third quarter). She reported the general fund at about $162 million, salary spending at $97.6 million (roughly 59% of the overall budget), benefits funded from a separate account (with an expected full-year transfer of about $39 million), and professional/technical services up year-over-year to about $7 million—largely driven by outsourced special-education services the district must provide. Property services were at about $8 million against an $11.3 million budget; Osmani noted seasonal spending patterns and a year-over-year decline in electricity costs tied in part to adding solar at some buildings.

On FY27, Osmani said the board had earlier approved a 6.5% increase (roughly $15.9 million) that would have put the budget near $263 million. The mayor's recommended budget reduced the increase to about 4% (roughly $9.9 million), bringing the working total near $257 million and creating a reconciliation gap. The district has pursued three main approaches to close the gap: enrollment-based "right-sizing" (saving about $1.2 million), targeted reductions in non-school budgets (about $3.1 million), and reductions on the school side (about $2.5 million). Those figures account for an initial $6.9 million gap that, according to Osmani, was reduced as the appropriation and caps were adjusted by the council and BET.

Board members asked about a separate policy question: media reports that the state and governor may fund breakfast but not universal lunch. Osmani said the district will present options next week, including reverting to a charged model for families who do not qualify for free meals or continuing universal free meals, which would require larger general-fund contributions. "We will be presenting those options to the board," she said.

Next steps: Osmani outlined the schedule for final appropriations and caps. The Board of Estimate and Taxation (BET) met earlier this month and will finalize and send its proposed appropriation to the city on April 20; the city council is scheduled to make a final recommendation on April 28; and BET will set a final cap in early May. The district plans to return to the committee next week with proposed reductions and requests board direction before final approvals.

The committee adjourned at 6:20 p.m.