Milford Board Passes 2024-25 Schools Budget: Report

MILFORD, CT — The Board of Education approved Superintendent Anna Cutaia's proposed $111-million budget for the 2024-25 school year, Hearst Connecticut reported. The board approved the measure in an 8-2 vote, with Republicans Christina Prete and Scott Firmender voting against it.

The board's Democrats released a statement supporting the proposed budget.

"This budget proposal continues to sustain and enhance the commitments made in previous years to provide programs, curriculum and resources that give our students the best possible opportunity to succeed in the future of their choice, whether at a university, in the workplace, at a technical school or in the military," part of the statement reads.

The budget represents a 4.7 percent increase, or $5 million, over the previous year. Cutaia noted that the request is "higher than we typically see in Milford."

"Milford Public Schools, like many districts in Connecticut and across the nation, finds itself in a post-pandemic teaching and learning environment that is different than just a few years ago," Cutaia wrote. "Students have many more social/emotional and behavioral challenges, gaps in learning are more evident, more opportunities for acceleration are needed, and families need additional support."

Much of the 2024-25 increase, nearly 3 percent or $3.1 million, will go toward salaries and benefits, which make up a total of 76.78 percent of the budget. The second year of the teachers' contract amounts to an increase of $1.87 million.

See related: Milford Schools Propose 4.7 Percent Budget Increase