Monroe superintendent pitches roughly 6% budget increase, prioritizing MLL support, special‑education staff and cybersecurity

Superintendent Joe presented the Monroe School District’s proposed budget, saying the baseline would carry a roughly 6.02% increase driven largely by contractual and benefits costs and by growing special‑education and multilingual-learner needs. He framed the proposal around four priorities: meeting increasingly complex student needs, addressing staffing inefficiencies that force teachers to travel between buildings, expanding 1:1 technology into the high school while bolstering cybersecurity, and replenishing maintenance reserves after last year’s cuts.

Joe said district MLL (multilingual learner) enrollment has grown sharply over the last decade and is currently at 88 students speaking about 15 languages; he told the board that, with two MLL teachers now, students receive about 30 minutes of MLL instruction per week regardless of level and that adding one elementary MLL teacher would allow more intensive small‑group work (he estimated some groups could reach roughly 45 minutes). "We are efficient to a fault sometimes," he said, describing how staff travel between schools reduces instructional time and equity for programs such as band.

On special education and mental‑health supports, Joe proposed converting a 0.5 school‑psychologist line to a full‑time position to reduce reliance on outside contractors and to address heavy caseloads — he described Fon Hollow as an outlier with roughly 50–54 students on a single case load and dozens of pending evaluations. He said special‑education enrollment has risen about 73% over ten years.

The administration requested three elementary math specialists (one per building) and a 1.0 assistant principal at the high school to handle discipline investigations, IEP oversight and evaluation duties currently consuming building leaders’ time. For arts and scheduling equity, the superintendent proposed a part‑time (point‑4) music position to reduce the need for traveling band staff that currently forces early starts for younger students.

On technology, the proposal includes two half‑time positions shared with town services: an inventory/technician to support the district’s One‑to‑One device rollout and a cyber‑security analyst to respond to credential‑phishing and other vulnerabilities. Joe noted the district’s increasing reliance on online state assessments and the sensitivity of student and family data.

He identified key assumptions behind the proposal: insurance and benefit costs projected conservatively at 12%, stable utility and winter‑service patterns, and no required increases in section counts despite modest projected enrollment growth. He also said the district intends to restore the emergency repair line to $95,000 after a one‑year reduction to $20,000. Joe asked the board to aim for a board vote on Jan. 21 so the first selectman and Town Council can complete their review before the May referendum.

Next steps: the board scheduled budget workshops in early January (Jan. 6, 7, 9 and additional dates) and will take subsequent votes in January leading to the first‑Tuesday‑in‑May referendum timeline.