OLD LYME — On Monday, April 4, starting at at 6:30 p.m., the Regional School District 18 Board of Education will hold a public hearing on its proposed $34.8 million budget request for the fiscal year July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023.
The hearing will be held in the Board of Education Conference Room at Center School. All interested parties are invited to attend and present their comments or questions.
In a letter to the Lyme and Old Lyme Communities, Lyme-Old Lyme Schools Superintendent Ian Neviaser and Region 18 Board of Education Chairman Steven Wilson commented, “This $34,830,464 budget represents a 0.13% decrease from the adopted budget for the current year.”
They add, “In fact, when comparing this budget to our budget from four years ago (2019-2020), we are proposing to spend $254,294 less than what we spent in 2019-2020. This represents a 0.7% decrease over four years.”
Neviaser and Wilson continue, “Employee contractual obligations are the main drivers for this budget based on our enrollment growth,” noting that these costs are offset by reductions in:
- health insurance costs
- special education
- debt service
- transportation.
They state, “We have developed a budget that continues to maintain all of our award-winning academic and extracurricular offerings, which are commensurate, and oftentimes superior, to both public and private schools throughout Connecticut.”
The commitments that Neviaser ad Wilson contend that this budget supports are:
- continued adherence to class size guidelines
- continuance of existing academic and extracurricular activities
- adjustments for anticipated changes in the special education population
- adequate funding for maintenance and repair of buildings and grounds
- scheduled replacement of technology and equipment
- program improvements consistent with high academic and operational standards.
Region 18 includes both of the Towns of Lyme and Old Lyme. The region-wide referendum on the proposed budget is scheduled for Tuesday, May 3.