Board of Finance backs $11.7M starting offer for Bristol School District; members warn of closures, cuts and pink slips

The Bristol Board of Finance on April 27 put forward $11.7 million as the starting city allocation for the Bristol School District’s 2026–27 budget, while members and school officials debated a menu of reductions that school leaders say are needed if state aid does not materialize.

Chair (Speaker 1) opened the meeting by outlining city‑side reductions and then framed the board‑of‑education ask: “The last number that was proposed to the board … for our budget was to give $11,764,070 to the board of ed,” he said, calling that figure a practical starting point for the joint budget work. He and others noted that the city’s projection produces an estimated 8% mill‑rate increase without additional state aid.

Iris, speaking for the school side, reviewed larger‑ticket cuts that officials say would be necessary to reach a lower city contribution. She told the board one potential action is closing a school, which she estimated could save about $1 million. Other options she listed included moving from 181 to 180 school days (citing roughly $475,000 in transportation savings), eliminating middle‑school sports (about $306,297), delaying negotiated stipends (around $275,000), and implementing step freezes that would need to be negotiated with unions (an amount discussed in the meeting was revised to $2.3 million).

Joseph Grabowski, human resources director, said contractual pay pressure and benefits are major drivers on the general‑education side. “The contractual increases on the general‑education side is about $3,400,000,” Grabowski said, adding that insurance and related costs contributed roughly $5.9 million to the total general‑ed increase.

Several board members pressed staff on the arithmetic behind competing totals. Members noted the district at one point sought about $17 million to maintain current services, then described a $14 million “maintenance” figure and the $11.7 million offer; questions focused on which positions and programs were removed to bridge those gaps. Finance staff explained that some capital and grant‑funded projects were retained while proposed new positions were removed from the current ask.

The board discussed how possible state assistance might change the tax impact. Officials offered scenarios: if the city receives $2 million in education cost‑sharing (ECS) aid and uses it to offset the city allocation, the projected tax increase would drop from roughly 8% to about 6.67%; $4 million would reduce it to about 5.48%; an earlier $4.95 million projection would yield about a 4.89% increase. Board members repeatedly said any state dollars that arrive should be used to lower the mill‑rate impact rather than expand spending.

Committee members also raised personnel process questions. Staff clarified that state rules require non‑renewal notices for non‑tenure teachers by May 1; distributing so‑called pink slips is a procedural step to preserve options depending on final budgets and is not the same as immediate layoffs.

Several members signaled conditional support for entering the upcoming budget adoption with $11.7 million as the city’s starting figure while leaving room to amend the number after the legislature finalizes aid. Mayor (Speaker 4) said the city is prepared to adopt a budget and then make amendments once state aid is known.

No formal appropriations or final joint votes were taken at the meeting; the board did move and approve adjournment at the end of the session.

The Board of Finance is scheduled to adopt a proposed budget at its next meeting, with a joint meeting of city and school leaders expected on May 18 where the final allocation and any amendments tied to state aid will be considered.