Spending Increase Proposed For Wallingford School Budget

WALLINGFORD, CT — The Wallingford Board of Education will begin discussing Superintendent of Schools Salvatore Menzo’s proposed $110.3 million budget Wednesday (Jan. 29) at 6 p.m. in the Board of Education conference room at 100 South Turnpike Rd. Menzo unveiled a budget proposal last week that could increase school spending by as much as 6.63 percent for the 2020-21 fiscal year.

Each year, the school board in Wallingford is presented with a two-pronged budget — a Sustained Services Budget and a Strategic Plan Budget. The sustained services budget represents the estimated costs needed to maintain the current services to the next year while the strategic plan includes funding needed to meet school district's goals.

The initial sustained services budget was calculated to be around $108 million, representing an increase of 4.31 percent. The plan also represents a reduction in staff based on enrollment decreases.

The strategic plan budget was calculated to be around $2.4 million for an increase of 2.32 percent, according to Menzo. The combined Sustained Services and Strategic Plan requests represent an increase of 6.63 percent.

Among the top priorities listed for the strategic plan budget include new staff, such as an assistive technology specialist for the district for around $80,000 a year and increasing instructional coaches for Math and English.

There will be additional budget meetings on Feb. 5 and Feb. 12 and the Board of Education is expected to approve the final budget to send to the mayor on Feb. 24.

Read details on the proposed budget here and click here for Menzo’s budget presentation.