Ridgefield BOE Proposes Budget Increase

RIDGEFIELD, CT — The Ridgefield Board of Education has asked the school superintendent to revise the current budget proposal to a 4.23 percent increase. Board members expressed some reservations about a proposal that would've included a 3.1 percent increase because it would result in increased elementary class sizes and the elimination of additional psychologists.

Those working on the school budget are aiming to keep the increase at or under 2.5 percent minus any increases in special education funding.

"The 3.1% increase was not in the best educational interest of our students and did not allow the district to keep pace with the established BOE goals and priorities aligned with the mission and vision of the graduate and strategic plan," said BOE Chair Frances Walton.

Ridgefield still has the lowest per student expenditure and lowest administrative costs in the school system's demographic reference group, Walton said.

A public hearing will be held Saturday Feb. 24 to get community input about the proposed budget. The Board of Education will meet Feb. 26 for a public hearing and will vote on the budget afterward.

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