Board of Education presents largely unchanged FY26/27 budget, cites transportation and special-education cost pressures

At the March 9 meeting, Coventry Board of Education Chair Jennifer Beausoleil and Superintendent Dr. David Petrone presented the BOE’s FY26/27 budget, telling the Town Council the district’s submission remains largely unchanged from earlier materials but reflects contract- and market-driven increases.

Beausoleil said the primary differences from prior presentations were related to health-insurance premium accounting after the district left ECHIP; she noted BOE employees bear a higher premium cost-share than town employees and that the employee contribution (not paid by taxpayers) is not shown in the town’s budget figures. She also said the BOE has received encouraging indications from the state legislature that Education Cost Sharing (ECS) baseline funding may rise and that any additional state funding would likely take effect July 1 of the fiscal year.

Superintendent Petrone and BOE Business Manager Charmain Bradshaw-Hill told councilors the budget includes increases driven by substitute-teacher needs and market adjustments for certain central-office positions. Councilors pressed for specifics: a listed 35.44% rise in one non-certified salary line was explained as roughly $17,000 total and attributed primarily to substitute coverage and competitiveness; a 19.46% increase for non-certified central-office salaries reflects market adjustments to address underpayment relative to surrounding districts.

Transportation costs drew particular scrutiny. Councilor Mark Wheaton and Councilor Matthew Kyer questioned a substantial increase, and Kyer pointed out that the current-year budgeted transportation amount ($2,124,000) already appears to be exceeded in actuals by Dec. 31, producing a year-end projection near $2,382,000. Petrone said contractual increases and specialized special-education routing explain most of the rise, and noted the district operates 17 buses under existing contracts.

Board officials also discussed mixed pension assumptions: Bradshaw-Hill said the employer-liability baseline for the pension plan is projected at 8%, but contractual contributions to employees increase the reported effective rate in some budget lines. The BOE clarified that "non-public tuition" typically refers to state-directed placements to private schools and that special-education placements, magnet or tech school placements can produce unanticipated costs; Petrone noted about $75,000 of recent unanticipated expenses tied to magnet and tech placements.

Councilor Kyer raised a longer-term concern about per-pupil spending: he said Coventry has fallen in its district reference group (DRG) rankings over the past five years and is now at the bottom compared with peers. Beausoleil countered that Coventry continues to achieve strong results despite lower spending but acknowledged the trend is concerning for sustainability.

The BOE concluded its presentation at 9:07 PM; the council did not adopt any BOE appropriations that night and reserved further deliberation for upcoming budget sessions.

The meeting proceeded to council deliberations on town staffing and other budget items.