Special Meeting on Administrative Finance and Law and Public Services: Board of Education Budget Presentation – May 7, 2026

This special meeting of the Committee on Administrative Finance and Law and Public Services was convened on May 7, 2026, at 6:30 PM to discuss the New Britain Board of Education's budget request for Fiscal Year 2026–2027. Superintendent Dr. Gasper, joined by Chief Finance Officer Ms. Alfano, presented the district's funding needs, recent state aid, and the potential impact of budget reductions. Council members and Board of Education members participated in the discussion.

Discussion Items

• Budget Request Overview: Dr. Gasper presented the district's total budget request of $146,971,610, an increase of $18,971,610 (14.82%) over the current $128 million budget. He explained that the budget was built in October 2025 with no expectation of additional state aid, leading to the large increase. However, the state recently allocated $13,292,120 in new education funding (flowing through the municipality), reducing the local funding request to $5,679,490 (a 4.4% increase locally). He noted that this is the lowest percentage local increase he has requested in his four years as superintendent.
• District Performance: Dr. Gasper highlighted significant academic improvements, including: reduction from five to two turnaround schools, higher elementary ELA and math scores (e.g., elementary math proficiency rose from 7.9% to 19.1% in three years), near doubling of college credit–earning students, and the district’s first Blue Ribbon School (Hales Academy). He acknowledged that middle school ELA remains a challenge and that overall performance still lags behind state averages.
• Funding Context and Comparisons: Dr. Gasper presented data showing New Britain ranks 162nd out of 165 districts in per-student spending ($17,518.90), despite being among the most challenged (36.2% tax-exempt property, high percentages of multilingual learners (21%) and students with disabilities (25%)). He compared local funding to inflation, noting that if 2020 funding had kept pace with inflation, the current budget would be $156.7 million. He also compared New Britain’s per-student funding to peer districts (e.g., New London spends $4,521 more per student, which would equate to an additional $45 million district-wide).
• Special Education and Outplacements: The largest driver of the increase is special education outplacement costs. Currently, about 160–180 students are placed in private facilities at an average cost of $189,000 per student per year. These costs are expected to rise 10% next year, and the district projects a jump from an effective $6.1 million (including special revenue) to $14 million due to more students, higher needs, and rate increases. Dr. Gaspar described the state’s special education funding system as “broken,” noting that the district historically receives only 62–70% reimbursement on excess costs, far below the statutory 91%. He warned that this uncertainty makes budgeting extremely difficult.
• Potential Reductions: Dr. Gasper explained that three rounds of reductions were considered as state aid became known. The most recent list (April 29, 2026) reduced non-renewals from 49 to 15, and after the $13.3 million state infusion, only three teacher non-renewals remain (along with cuts to coaches, custodial staff, central office administrators (three positions), extracurriculars, and high school sports). He emphasized that all reductions directly impact students and that the district has already eliminated non-classroom “fluff” in previous years. Council members questioned the possibility of further administrative cuts, but Dr. Gasper defended the current central office staffing given the scale of operations (1,500+ employees).
• Questions and Clarifications: Council members asked about: the exact impact of the $13.3 million state aid (procedurally how it flows), the still-rising cost of outplacements despite a slight decrease in outplacement rate, the role of non-instructional paraprofessionals, the need for middle school intervention (coaches), the use of communication and IT staff, and the planned phase-out of North End School. Dr. Gasper noted that North End would not close immediately but rather be phased out over two years due to declining enrollment, and that the building may be repurposed for special education programs to reduce outplacement costs.
• Discussion on Long-Term Funding: Several council members expressed frustration over decades of underfunding and the need for predictable annual increases. Dr. Gasper presented a “woulda, shoulda, coulda” chart showing that if local funding had increased by just 1.5% annually over 12 years, this year’s request would be only 1.01% rather than 14.82%. He and council members agreed that the city’s increased minimum budget requirement (MBR) and the state aid are steps in the right direction but that similar conversations will recur next year.

Key Outcomes

• No formal votes or decisions were taken at this special meeting; it served as a discussion and presentation of the Board of Education’s budget request.
• The district’s local funding request is now $5,679,490 to close the gap after the $13.3 million state infusion, contingent on the council’s separate action to appropriate those state funds to the board.
• Dr. Gasper indicated that if the city were to provide an additional $1.6 million (on top of the mayor’s proposed $1 million), it would restore most of the remaining cuts, though he could not guarantee specific positions due to enrollment and attrition uncertainties.
• The board and administration will continue to work on a phased plan for North End School and broader school restructuring once the Smith School reconstruction is complete (2028).
• Council members committed to further deliberation on the budget, with a focus on avoiding cuts to student-facing services and sports, while balancing property tax concerns.