4% Spending Increase Sought With $211 Million Fairfield Schools Budget

FAIRFIELD, CT — In his first budget proposal as Schools Superintendent, Michael Testani is looking to spend $211 million to operate Fairfield Public Schools in 2023-24, an increase of 4.1 percent over the current allocation of $202.5 million.

Calling it a "very fiscally responsible budget," Testani told the Board of Education this week that the spending plan puts an emphasis on the following:

• Hiring Multilanguage Learners
• Student Wellbeing
• Right to Read/Vertical Alignment of Literacy and funds for Early Literacy
• Critical Maintenance
• Educational Data Tools
• Technology Replacement
• Sustaining Class Size Goals
• Utilizing Existing Resources

The Board of Education will discuss the budget during meetings over the next several weeks before it is voted on and presented to the town for final approval.

Click here to view the full, proposed budget presentation.

Taking up more than half of the nearly $8.3 million spending increase next year is $5.2 million in salary increases for staff, primarily due to contractual raises. The cost of health benefits are also increasing next year, to the tune of nearly $2.4 million.

Along those lines, the district is looking to spend $1.8 million to improve its retention of substitute teachers and paraeducators, who currently flow in and out of the district at a high rate.

Testani hopes to increase pay in that area to make the Fairfield district more attractive for such employment.

"Right now, we are struggling, just like every other district, and we need to be more creative in managing our substitute recruitment," he said.

Testani said the district is also looking to expand the Early Literacy Academy, at a cost of about $450,000, which could save the district more than $500,000 if the 15 students who utilize the program had to be taught outside the district.

The program is for students with dyslexia and significant language-based disabilities, according to officials, and the expansion would add two special education teachers and four paraeducators.