Shepaug Valley Regional School District 12 board adopts $29.13 million budget for 2026–27

The Shepaug Valley Regional School District 12 Board of Education voted unanimously March 23 to approve a $29,128,139 budget for the 2026–27 school year, a 3.11% increase over last year, and approved requesting $27,282,967 from the three towns at referendum (a 2.96% increase).

The budget adoption follows a review process the superintendent described earlier in the meeting that included building-level requests, meetings with instructional leaders and PTOs, workshops with the board and individual sessions with each town’s board of finance. Board members moved and seconded the motion to adopt the budget; no votes against or abstentions were recorded.

The budget's passage sends the district’s proposed tax requests to the three constituent towns for local referendums and sets the next procedural steps: the annual district meeting on May 4, 2026, and a possible referendum on May 5, 2026, both of which the board approved unanimously.

Treasurer Alex McNaughton said the district’s 2024–25 audit produced “no findings,” and he reported that $684,108 will be returned to the three towns and that the pension fund is approximately 94.02% funded. McNaughton also reported current enrollment of 812 students in Region 12.

Board members discussed public engagement steps used during the budget process, including meetings the superintendent and staff held with selectmen and boards of finance in each town, and public budget workshops the district held earlier in the cycle. The board noted those outreach efforts as part of the rationale for presenting the budget for town referendums.

The board also approved a short schedule of next steps: posting the adopted budget, holding the annual district meeting on May 4, and proceeding to the possible May 5 town referendum. The meeting adjourned after those votes.