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Norwalk CFO outlines FY27 request, mayor's recommendation and a $3.8M reconciliation challenge
Summary
Chief Financial Officer Lunda Osmani reviewed the FY27 budget cycle, saying the board requested a 6.5% increase (~$15.9M) to ~$263M while the mayor recommended 4% (~$9.8M) to ~$257M and a city preliminary cap would yield ~4.9% (~$12M). The district plans to preserve school budgets and reconcile an estimated $3.8M by reducing non‑school costs.
Lunda Osmani, chief financial officer for Norwalk School District, presented the district’s budget book and timeline and summarized the FY27 funding picture for the community session.
"We typically begin the process in September and October by looking at how we ended the year before and also starting to build assumptions moving forward," Osmani said, outlining how department requests feed the superintendent’s recommended budget and then the board’s tentative approval before city review.
Osmani said the board approved a tentative FY27 request that sought a 6.5% increase (about $15.9 million) for a total request of roughly $263 million. The mayor subsequently recommended a 4% increase (about $9.8 million) for a total recommendation of about $257 million. The city council set a preliminary cap that would allow a 4.9% increase (about $12 million), putting the likely appropriation near $259 million. Because each of those figures differs from the board’s initial request, Osmani said the district must reconcile about $3.8 million and intends to protect school‑based budgets by making reductions in centrally managed, non‑school budgets where possible.
Osmani walked through a school budget example (Fox Run) to show typical components: a school’s local budget (example: about $5.3 million in FY26), centrally funded supports (about $2.4 million), and grants (about $728,000) for a combined FY26 figure around $8.5 million for that school. She noted that many COVID‑era grants have expired, reducing the grant portion available to schools.
Osmani reviewed the remaining calendar for FY27: public hearings and finance committee meetings through May, a board presentation on April 13, a Board of Estimate and Taxation review tonight (April 15) and a BET finalization expected April 20. She encouraged community members to use the budget book (posted online) and to contact school leaders or the finance department with questions.
Next steps for the district include finalizing reductions to non‑school budgets to reconcile the appropriation level the city sets and continuing student‑based budget meetings with principals.
