Darien School Board Approves $114.5M Budget For FY24

DARIEN, CT — The Darien Board of Education on Tuesday night unanimously approved a $114.5 million budget for fiscal year 2024, which represents an increase of 3.5 percent over the current year's spending plan of $110.6 million.

The budget will now move through the discussion and approval process of the Board of Finance and Representative Town Meeting.

Tuesday's vote came after weeks of debate over the budget, and not without a few cuts.

Of note, the budget eliminates several full-time equivalent secretarial positions, reduces administrative time for an art coordinator position and slashes the robotics program.

Board of Education Chair David Dineen thanked the community for its feedback during the budget preparation process. He said one of the primary responsibilities of the Board of Education is to "deliver a budget that delivers education to our students and is fiscally responsible for the district and the community."

Dineen went on to say that the district "cannot keep increasing roles and responsibilities that do not connect and impact with our students and deliver education and services to them. These are the checks and balances that we as a board have a responsibility for. This is not about cutting classes, clubs, extra curricular or service; nothing that touches our kids' education that we want to deliver on a daily basis."

The school board received a lot of feedback over the reduction of the art coordinator position, especially as it relates to mental health and wellness.

Before the motion to reduce the coordinator position, board member John Sini said he had trouble with the connection and references to mental health "around an administrative .2 reduction," from the community in recent weeks.

"It actually cheapens the suicide crisis we have in the district to tie a modest change in administrative oversight," he said.

In a memo to the Board of Education last week, Superintendent of Darien Public Schools Dr. Alan Addley provided more information about the reduction of the coordinator.

"This reduction can be accomplished without affecting either the high school course offerings or staffing at Darien High School," Addley said. "None of our current art teachers will lose any portion of their current position and no teacher will be moved from the high school."

Next year, Addley said the district will hire a new art teacher at a .8 full-time equivalency. This person will teach at the elementary level and the additional .2 FTE for art at the elementary level will be filed by the art coordinator.

The cuts to the robotics program includes eliminating field trips, professional development, competition fees and equipment (iPads), which will now be funded through fundraising/donations.

The board approved a capital budget of $1,052,690 million.

The Board of Finance is scheduled to take up the school budget and first selectman's budget on March 7.

You can watch Tuesday's Board of Education meeting and budget discussions here.