NORWALK — Education officials cite rising special education costs and depleting COVID-19 federal relief grants as they make their case for why the local public schools need a 12.7 percent increase in their operating budget next fiscal year
The Board of Education seeks a $245 million budget for next fiscal year, up $27.6 million from this 2022-23’s nearly $218 million budget, according to Norwalk Public Schools’ documents.
NPS Superintendent Alexandra Estrella outlined the main drivers behind the increased funding request in a meeting of the Common Council’s Finance and Claims Committee and the BOE’s Finance Committee on Thursday.
“Some of main drivers within the budget particularly are the increased cost associated with serving our students in special education, the (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund) being depleted at the culmination of this fiscal year as well as the increased costs around medical expenses to run our organization in an efficient and appropriate manner,” Estrella said.
Estrella and NPS Chief Finance Officer Lunda Asmani brought up social and emotional learning and special education concerns several times.
“Needs that have developed as a result of the pandemic will continue to exist for a period of time, particularly when we speak to the learning needs of our scholars and how to most effectively support them not only academically but socially and emotionally,” Estrella said. “We have made some positive strides over the course of this past year in bringing in supports that have yielded improved outcomes for our students, particularly in social emotional development as well as academic development, but the work that we have doesn’t culminate at the end of this fiscal year. When those funds deplete, the work continues.”
The BOE’s baseline increase request was 5 percent, to fund annual contracts, security and internet access, among other basic requirements, Asmani said.
Special education services account for a large portion of the budget request increase, as the school board reallocated funds in recent months for special education needs, Asmani said.
“Special education this year alone are $6.3 million over what they were last year,” Asmani said. “This year the budget is $9 million for special education, it’s probably going to be at about $10.2 million. The BOE has been approving transfers from as early as October, moving money between accounts because the anticipated approved budget has gone up.”
Estrella, Asmani and several school board members at the meeting critiqued the 0 percent school operating budget increase for fiscal year 2021-22. Now, according to Asmani, NPS is paying for the previous move not to increase the budget.
In April 2021, city officials approved a budget that included no increase to the school board’s operating budget, given that the district received about $27.5 million from the federal COVID-19 stimulus plan split between 2021 and 2022, Norwalk Chief Financial Officer Henry Dachowitz previously said.
“What we are proposing is a zero percent increase for the Board of Education, with the understanding that they would use their American Rescue Plan funds to somehow compensate the increase they’re anticipating,” Dachowitz said at the time. “The schools and their Board of Education determine how they utilize that $27.5 million.”
Dachowitz on Thursday depicted a grim state of the nation’s economy, with remaining American Rescue Plan Act funds used to offset factors not within the city’s control and, if necessary, dip into the city’s rainy-day fund of roughly $74 million.
Several Council members found fault with the critique of the city’s funding of NPS and the way the city’s rainy-day fund was compared to the surplus funds the school district may request to roll over into the next fiscal year’s budget.
“I take exception with the idea you’re talking about apples to apples when talking about your excess budget fund and the city’s excess tax fund,” Council member David Heuvelman said. “It’s not really the same thing and it reads to me as a disingenuous comparison. That’s money you didn’t spend in the given year and are asking for it not to go back in the general fund whereas the rainy-day fund has a larger, broader expanse for the city in order to allow us to maintain the AAA bond rating, allowing us to have money for emergency situations that may arise.”
Abigail Brone can be reached at abigail.brone@hearstmediact.com.
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