Budget

Superintendent'S FY27 Budget Transmittal

Thank you for working to balance the critical needs of our school system with financial constraints and the impact on taxpayers. Once again, we enter a challenging budget season shaped largely by costs outside of the district’s control. Throughout this process, staff will continue to work diligently to develop a budget that supports student learning while aligning with the Board’s goal of being thoughtful stewards of community resources.

The Superintendent’s Proposed FY27 Budget reflects a 6.28% increase and focuses on reducing costs where possible while maintaining the programs and services necessary to continue improving teaching and learning across our schools.

Key Drivers of the FY27 Budget
The primary drivers of this year’s proposed increase include contractual salary and financial obligations, another large increase to health insurance costs, special education outplacement and transportation costs required by law, a new transportation contract that reflects market increases, and utility costs. All other areas of the budget account for 0.10% of the total requested increase, despite rising costs.

 

 

Contracted Salaries
Over the past 18 months, contracts for all educators and support staff have been negotiated. While settlements are lower than average compared to districts around the state, increases reflect ongoing workforce shortages and hiring challenges throughout Connecticut and the country. Paying competitive salaries is imperative to recruiting, hiring, and retaining talented employees. 

Health Insurance
Our self-funded insurance partnership with the Town has been beneficial overall, with a ten-year average renewal rate well below state and national trends. However, last year’s budget included a 20% increase in health insurance costs, and this year’s recommended 11.5% increase from our broker adds 1.39% to the proposed budget.

Special Education Tuition and Transportation

We continue to be very aggressive in working to develop in-district programming that better meets student needs while reducing reliance on costly outplacements and transportation. This includes partnering with an agency to help provide therapeutic support for students with needs within our district. While the cost to do so is significant ($162,000), we believe it will save money in the process and thus project a 0.6% increase to our overall budget in this area. The increase would be much higher without this new program.

General Transportation

For the past five years, Suffield’s transportation costs have been extremely low compared to other districts. This resulted from favorable timing of the negotiation of the previous contract with our bus contractor.  The contract was signed prior to inflationary trends in labor costs and equipment acquisition costs.  We anticipate a new contract beginning next year, which will more closely reflect current market conditions and adds 0.48% to the budget.

OPEB, FICA, 401(a) expenses

These costs reflect employer-paid benefits and payroll obligations required by law or contract, including retiree health obligations (OPEB), employer share of Social Security and Medicare contributions (FICA), and retirement savings contributions (401(a)). Last year our projections were below actual costs, accounting for some of the increase in this area.

All Other

The national inflation rate for goods and services is approximately 3.0%, placing a continued strain on school district budgets. Despite this, the increase resulting from all remaining budget areas totals just 0.10%.

Looking Ahead

We are early in the budget process, and additional information becomes available each month. We are hopeful that updated health insurance claims and enrollment data may help reduce projected insurance costs. In January, we plan to launch a supported special education program at McAlister School, which has the potential to reduce outplacement expenses over time. While no retirements are currently anticipated, staffing changes could further mitigate salary-related increases.

The district will continue to examine all areas of the budget for potential savings and will make adjustments as more information becomes available. Thank you for your thoughtful consideration and continued support of Suffield’s students and schools.

Matthew Dunbar
Superintendent of Schools

 

Budget Documents

• 1/5/26 BOE Presentation FY27 Budget Book
• Supt. Proposed FY27 Overview

Please Note: These dates are subject to change. Official notices will be posted on the Town of Suffield website.