School Board Budget Season Kickoff

The Enfield Board of Education met on Tuesday, January 27, to receive the superintendent’s proposed budget for the coming year—a plan that reflects a 4.97 percent increase over the current year appropriations.

Superintendent Steve Moccio identified a priority of maintaining “sustainable and responsible funding.” Following the presentation, Board Secretary Janet Cushman made call for fiscal restraint between now and the budget approval, slated for the February 24th meeting, stressing that any savings identified in the budget process should not automatically be redirected toward new spending. Cushman warned of potential tax impacts, noting that residents may soon vote on a referendum regarding renovating or rebuilding all elementary schools and that a townwide real-estate revaluation this year could simultaneously raise property taxes. She urged that efficiencies be returned to taxpayers rather than be “reinvested”—a word she said too often becomes justification for new expenditures. Republican Minority Leader Philip Kober asked for a budget workshop so all members could review the proposal collaboratively, line by line. No response followed.

Earlier in the meeting, the Board unanimously accepted the Town Council’s termination of the 2024 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), a move expected to save about $340,000 annually. Kober asked that the quarterly financial reports required under the agreement continue and that the recommendations resulting from the internal controls audit continue to be considered and implemented. While the superintendent indicated support, there was not a strong response of commitment by the Board.

Earlier this month, the Enfield Town Council also appropriated an additional $285,000 for the school district for this fiscal year, which ends on June 30th. Republican board members pressed for details justifying the need for this, saying the explanation offered was vague. Kober and fellow Republican Rob Anderson discussed how the increase would be folded into the district’s Minimum Budget Requirement (MBR), a State guardrail which requires next year’s education funding can not legally fall below the total amount appropriated for this current year. Anderson sought clarification on how this additional funding even originated and was told the Mayor had raised it with the Board Chair and Superintendent before the holiday break in December. He argued that leaders had ample time to notify the full board and share out all the details, but instead the proposal surfaced publicly at the last minute with little explanation.

Kober added that this midyear infusion comes as the district is already projecting a year-end surplus. Last year the Board maximized its ability to carry over unexpended funds into a non-lapsing account, capped by state law at 2% of its total appropriation. The Board has this approximately $1.5 million available from last year’s budget as a running contingency fund. During discussion on how to revise this year’s budget with the additional $285,000, Kober proposed an amendment directing the funds away from property purchases and toward salaries for new hires instead. The motion failed. During the debate, one Democrat member exclaimed, “First of all, it’s not our job to decide how that money is spent!” Earlier Chairwoman Pickett invited the student representatives to speak during new business and the superintendent asked them to chime in on the recommended furniture needs at the high school. It emerged that some of the money allocated for property would go toward new chairs at the high school library. Republican members said they were not opposed to the purchase itself, if the need was really genuine, but to the process, noting they had not been told in advance that the library seating had deteriorated to such an extent. Not contested with the extra funding was the hiring of a 5th grade instrumental teacher, a program the district was already looking to restore.

Some board members questioned whether midyear funding increases should become routine, particularly when the Board itself does not initiate the request. They called for the same scrutiny as the regular budget process, including advance notice, detailed documentation, and public input. With a nearly five-percent increase proposed for next year and supplemental funding already approved for this year, calls for transparency and collaboration continue on the Board of Education.

As budget season moves forward, residents will be watching not only the numbers, but how openly—and thoroughly—they are debated.