East Haven School Board Rejects Superintendent's Budget Request

By Jack Kramer, Correspondent

EAST HAVEN, CT – The Board of Education, by a 3-2 vote, rejected School Superintendent Dr. Portia Bonner’s proposed $49.42 million 2017-2018 budget, which would have represented a 4.25 percent increase over current expenditures.

The vote was taken at the board’s January 24th meeting.

Board members who opposed the budget said they didn’t believe the Town Council would approve a budget increase that large, especially in light of the fact that the state has been cutting education grants to towns.

East Haven will have to come up with another $145,230 it hadn’t anticipated for this coming school year, to help the state balance the 2017 budget.

East Haven was slated to receive $19.74 million in education funding from the state for 2017. It is now being told in a letter it received recently it will receive $145,230 less – or $19.59 million.

This week, Mayor Joseph J. Maturo said it was his intention to come up with a no tax increase budget for 2017-2018, despite the fact that the state is likely to continue to cut municipal aid.

Latest projections have the state running a $1.5 billion budget deficit.