Politics & Government
Ridgefield Finance Board Flags $140K School Deficit, Special Appropriation May Go To Town Vote
Ridgefield finance officials reviewed an estimated $140K school deficit that could require a special appropriation and town vote.
RIDGEFIELD, CT — Ridgefield's Board of Finance learned Sept. 15 that the school district's final 2025-26 financial position is expected to shift from a roughly $20,000 surplus to an estimated $140,000 deficit after expenses tied to the prior fiscal year were charged to the current year's budget.
The development could require a special appropriation from town reserves and ultimately a vote at a Town Meeting, although town officials were seeking legal guidance on the required process and what would happen if voters rejected an appropriation for expenses that have already been incurred.
Board of Finance Chair Dave Rettger said the preliminary school report in the finance board's packet showed a roughly $20,000 positive balance. But at the Board of Education's Sept. 14 meeting, officials disclosed additional expenses associated with fiscal 2025-26 that had instead been booked in fiscal 2026-27. Rettger estimated the revised result would be a deficit of roughly $140,000.
The Board of Education did not approve its year-end report Sept. 14 and is expected to receive a revised version.
Related: Ridgefield School Board Defers FY26 Financial Report, Approves Request For More Pre-K Space
Superintendent Susie Da Silva told finance board members that the administration would return to the school board with corrected figures. Its next regular meeting is Sept. 28, although she said a special meeting could be scheduled sooner if necessary. Following approval, the school board would submit a request to the Board of Finance for an additional appropriation.
Rettger encouraged the school board to move the process forward sooner. Board of Education Vice Chair Jonathan Paradiso said members were already considering a special meeting the following week for another matter and could potentially address the financial report at the same meeting.
Town Meeting Could Be Required
Rettger said his reading of the Town Charter allows the Board of Finance to approve additional appropriations of up to $50,000 for a town agency, while larger amounts must go before voters.
Under the process he outlined, the Board of Education would submit its request and explanation to the Board of Finance and simultaneously provide it to the Board of Selectpersons. The finance board would then have 15 days to act. If it approves an amount above $50,000, the matter would move to a Town Meeting. If the finance board rejects it, Rettger said the matter would go to the Board of Selectpersons, which could send it to either a Town Meeting or referendum.
Rettger emphasized that the town was still seeking confirmation of that interpretation from its attorney.
Another unanswered issue is what happens if voters reject the appropriation because the expenses have already been incurred. Controller Kevin Redmond said he believed the invoices in question had already been paid.
Redmond said he would prefer to have any required Town Meeting completed no later than the end of October so the issue does not interfere with completion of the town's annual audit.
The adjustment would also reduce the town's overall projected year-end favorable result. Rettger estimated that a roughly $1.294 million townwide surplus projection would fall to about $1.134 million. He said the corresponding projected reserve ratio would decline from 11.9 percent to about 11.7 percent.
Rettger said the board should later examine how the school budget came so close to — and ultimately beyond — its appropriation, but members agreed they did not yet have enough information for that discussion.
Preschool Space Pressures Reviewed
The finance board also received a detailed presentation from Da Silva, Assistant Superintendent of Special Services Christine Sipala and Preschool Supervisor Christina Salvestrini on Ridgefield's preschool program and its need for additional space.
School officials said the district must have special education programming available for eligible children by their third birthday. Referrals can come through the state's Birth to Three program, community preschools, parents or child-find screenings, and eligible students can enter the district throughout the school year.
Ridgefield's preschool enrollment grew from 76 students at the beginning of 2025-26 to 99 by the end of that school year, Salvestrini said. Peer-model students — children without identified disabilities who participate in integrated classrooms — represented about 18 prcent of enrollment at the end of last year.
Sipala said the state target is for about 60 percent to 65 percent of preschool students with disabilities to spend at least 80 percent of their time in an integrated setting. She said Ridgefield had fallen well below that target in its most recent reporting year, which she attributed in part to growth among students requiring services without enough capacity to add peer-model students at a comparable rate.
The district began this year with 66 preschool students. Sipala said officials had already received 32 referrals by mid-September, compared with 66 during all of the previous school year.
Da Silva said the need for more space is being driven by a combination of increasing identification of children with disabilities, more complex student needs and the desire to expand integrated programming and longer school days where appropriate. She said some children who could benefit from extended- or full-day programming cannot currently receive it because of space limitations.
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The preschool currently has five classrooms and several support spaces at Barlow Mountain Elementary School and one classroom with support space at Veterans Park Elementary School. Da Silva said the district has renewed its request to First Selectperson Rudy Marconi for the town's help finding additional space.
No specific expansion proposal or cost was presented to the finance board.
Board Sends $67,579 State Funding Recommendation To Selectpersons
In separate action, the finance board voted without opposition to forward a recommendation to the Board of Selectpersons concerning $67,579 in supplemental state funding provided under Public Act 26-130.
Rettger said the money consists of $44,831 for town operations and $22,748 for school operations. The state had allowed communities either to use the funding to modify their mill rates or incorporate it into their budgets, but the July deadline for a mill-rate adjustment had passed.
Rettger said the remaining option is to increase Ridgefield's fiscal 2027 revenues by $67,579 and increase the town and school expenditure budgets by the corresponding amounts. The Board of Selectpersons has authority to take that action and must do so by Dec. 31 or the funding would be lost, he said.
Some board members questioned why the finance board needed to make a formal recommendation when the authority rests with the selectpersons. Redmond said a formal motion from the Board of Finance would help move the matter forward. The motion passed with all members voting in favor.
Town Eyes New Fixed-Asset System
Redmond also recommended that Ridgefield move its fixed-asset accounting from spreadsheets to a module integrated with the town's Munis financial system.
He said the software would cost about $24,000 upfront and $7,500 annually. Fixed-asset accounting has appeared as an issue in the town auditor's management letter for several years, and Redmond said he plans to propose the software as part of the coming budget process.
Board members did not take a formal vote, but several expressed support for the change, citing spreadsheet version control and the need for a system that would be easier for future finance personnel to maintain.
Debt Policy Work To Continue
The board also continued developing a potential policy for evaluating Ridgefield's long-term debt as the town considers future capital projects.
Rettger presented historical and projected measures comparing debt, annual budgets, debt service and the grand list. His scenarios included possible future spending for existing five-year capital plans, a golf clubhouse and turf field, a roughly $55 million public safety facility and approximately $70 million in potential school infrastructure work, including about $20 million associated with the Ridgefield High School auditorium. Those figures were used as stress-test scenarios, not approved spending plans.
Members discussed moving away from rigid debt limits and instead establishing financial measures that the Board of Finance would consider when reviewing capital plans. Rettger agreed to revise the draft to focus on those parameters and add debt per capita as another measure. Further work on the policy is expected to resume in December.
The board also began planning topics for its upcoming Tri-Board meeting, including preliminary mill-rate scenarios, inflation and major cost drivers, and the potential effect of future capital demands on debt and debt-service costs.
The Sept. 15 meeting was convened by Rettger. The board approved its Aug. 18 minutes without opposition and adjourned with all votes in favor.
