Members of the Board of Education voted unanimously Thursday to adopt Superintendent Kevin Smith’s proposed $100.5 million spending plan for FY 2027.
The $100,459,485 budget is a 3.6% increase over the current year’s budget, which school officials say balances the district’s commitment to students, teachers and staff with fiscal responsibility.
“This is no longer the superintendent’s proposed budget,” Board Chair Ruth DeLuca said. “This is our budget.”
The Board of Education has made questions and answers about the budget available online.
Vice Chair Nicola Davies said the budget meets the district’s needs and goals as it sustains its core services and maintains class sizes.
“Costs have risen and our needs have risen, and the budget reflects that,” Davies said. “We’re keeping our promises to our town to deliver on a quality education while being fiscally responsible.”
Davies noted an article that appeared this week in Travel + Leisure magazine, which cited Wilton as one of the 10 best Connecticut towns to live in, according to real estate experts.
“It was listed in no particular order, but Wilton was on there. So the school budget is a community budget,” Davies said. “Strong schools help kids, families and property values. And one quote from that magazine said, talking of Wilton, ‘it’s been one of the hottest markets I’ve seen in recent years.’”
Board member Pam Ely said she liked the process the board followed coming up with the budget this year by “talking to the staff, listening to the administrators about their priorities — what they wanted from how they were designing their next year, and how they were thinking about helping their staff be better and have more tools,” Ely said. “I just think this process has been very good and thoughtful.”
BOE Member Mark Shaner said he agreed with the majority of the budget, and added that even though he identified a few things he would do differently, the budget overall “feels like a reasonable compromise.”
DeLuca thanked Smith and other administrators for their work on the budget. She said this year is the first one that administrators used the government budget software program called ClearGov to put the proposal together, adding that new systems take time and patience.
“And the budget book is clear, transparent and digestible and will also improve with time and really promotes meaningful understanding and discussion,” DeLuca said.
DeLuca said the budget is a responsible one, but then referred to the district’s fiscal needs that are outside of the BOE’s purview — namely infrastructure.
“While our operating budget fulfills the board’s commitment as tenants, we cannot bond and we cannot carry multiple, multimillion-dollar, multi-year expenditures,” she said. “We look forward to working with the Board of Finance and the Board of Selectmen as bonding priorities are set and funds are secured for much needed school infrastructure projects and improvements. This budget, with thoughtful cost avoidance strategies, strategic resource management and position shifts, also demonstrates this board’s and the district’s commitment to responsible stewardship of tax dollars.”
The Board of Education will present its budget to the town’s Board of Finance at its public hearing scheduled for Wednesday, March 18 at 7 p.m. in the Middlebrook Auditorium.