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Ansonia Board of Education explores shared services with city and neighboring districts
Summary
At a March 11 special meeting, Ansonia school leaders reviewed past and potential shared services—food service, technology, utilities and SRO coverage—and agreed to pursue a follow-up meeting with city officials to explore shared IT options and other targeted partnerships.
The Ansonia Board of Education’s Shared Services Committee met on March 11, 2026, to review past attempts and possible new partnerships to share services with the city and neighboring districts.
Superintendent DiBacco summarized prior efforts and current arrangements, saying Ansonia previously tried to share Food Service with nearby Derby and that "the services between the towns was shared but then Derby hired our Assistant Food Director for their own." He noted successful joint contracts with the city for phone and electric service and cited the district’s participation in ACES for special-education services and a self-funded health-care consortium as working shared-service examples.
The board discussed additional opportunities, including joint contracts for records archiving and copiers, shared fuel and internet arrangements, and potential shared School Resource Officer (SRO) coverage. DiBacco used the Nolan Field Project as an example, saying joint planning with the city "could have saved 87% of the cost" had plans been shared earlier, to illustrate the scale of potential savings.
Board members raised practical concerns about capacity. Dr. Steven Adamowski and others flagged limited staff in key areas—IT, maintenance and central office—as a constraint on expanding shared services. Mr. Dave Knapp recommended outreach to surrounding towns to gauge interest; Mr. Rich Bshara urged a measured approach, saying the work "doesn’t have to be rushed" and should be researched and planned.
As a next step, the committee agreed to schedule a meeting with city officials to focus on shared IT options. Superintendent DiBacco suggested involving Vin Pastore to provide expertise and emphasized that proposals should include specific entry points and plans before any service-sharing is implemented.
There were no public comments during the meeting. A motion to adjourn at 7:10 p.m. was recorded and the meeting minutes were signed by recording secretary Cassie Venson.
