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Avon schools seek 4.29% operating increase amid rising benefits and special‑education costs
Summary
The Avon Board of Education presented a $72.97M gross request for FY2025–26 and said benefits (including a 10.2% HSA/health-insurance increase), salary obligations and special-education tuition are the main budget drivers. Superintendent Dr. Bridget Carnemolla highlighted staffing and student metrics.
The Avon Board of Education's proposed FY2025–26 gross budget figure presented April 7 is $72,965,963, a 4.29% increase driven largely by benefits, salaries and outplacement tuition.
Superintendent Dr. Bridget Heston Carnemolla detailed drivers: "Benefits - $995,260 — contribution requirement increases in Health Insurance/HSA (10.2%) and OPEB," and noted tuition and transportation pressures. The district said it currently budgets 286 certified teachers and about 20 administrators and will provide a per-pupil expenditure figure for 2023/24; Dr. Carnemolla said the 23/24 per-pupil expenditure is about $20,452.
On health-care costs, resident Neil Rudolph asked whether employee contribution shares could be shifted to lower the town’s cost. Susan Russo, the district business manager, explained that contribution levels are typically negotiated with unions and compared to regional averages. "We do that as a part of our negotiations when we work with every one of our union groups," she said, and noted the district uses HSA incentives and other tools to contain costs.
Dr. Carnemolla also explained that recent title adjustments (for example, the HR director title change) did not add administrators and that modest IT staffing increases were driven by device-management demands after issuing student devices districtwide.
