Lyme-Old Lyme's $41.5 Million School Budget Heads to May 5 Referendum

The board members are seated at tables set up in a U shape with a PowerPoint presentation projected behind them. — No members of the public spoke on the proposed $41.5 million spending plan following a presentation at the April 6 public hearing, which lasted approximately 8 minutes.

LYME/OLD LYME, CT – Region 18 voters will decide May 5 whether to approve a 4.61% increase to the Lyme-Old Lyme Public Schools budget driven by salaries, health insurance and special education.

The referendum will be held from noon to 8 p.m. at Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School, 53 Lyme Street, for Old Lyme residents. Lyme’s voters will cast their ballots at the Lyme Town Hall, 480 Hamburg Road.

The $41.5 million 2026-27 spending plan, approved by the Regional Board of Education in February, is up $1.8 million from the current budget.

Old Lyme will pay 82.7% of district costs in the coming year, while Lyme will pay 17.3%. The towns are billed by the regional school district based on enrollment.

The figure is calculated based on the average number of students over the course of the current school year using enrollment data from Oct. 1 and April 1.

Old Lyme’s share of the proposed budget is $33.59 million and Lyme’s is $7.02 million. That’s an increase in Old Lyme of $2.07 million, or 6.6%, and in Lyme of $57,601, or 0.8%.

Overall enrollment trends outlined in budget documents show the student population has fallen from 1,288 students in the 2022-23 school year to 1,245 currently, with numbers predicted to hover around 1,250 through 2029-30.

By the Numbers

The district budget proposal restores a part-time payroll clerk to full time and adds a part-time special education coordinator. It also includes permanent funding for an elementary music teaching position that was nearly eliminated last year but was saved through one-time budget adjustments.

The recommended budget reflects a decrease of five noncertified staff positions primarily affecting instructional assistants.

Superintendent Ian Neviaser at an April 6 public budget hearing said staff salaries remain the largest budget driver. He noted the current three-year teachers’ contract includes 4% annual increases from 2025 through 2028, which he said was in line with statewide averages at the time the contract was signed.

The $17.26 million salary line is up $635,323, or 3.8%.

Under the current salary structure, teachers start at $60,505 with a bachelor’s degree and can earn $110,616 at the top step after completing additional graduate coursework beyond a master’s degree.

Administrator compensation is also set under an existing contract, with salaries in the coming budget year ranging from $135,000 for the athletic director to $204,181 for the high school principal. Most other administrators fall in the mid- to high-$180,000 range.

The special education department’s $2.48 million proposed budget is up $513,213, or 26.1%, from the current year.

Director of Special Education Melissa Dougherty in January told the school board that out-of-school placements are a key factor in the increase. She said the district had eight students whose special needs require services outside the district, double the number originally budgeted for 2025-26. The total is expected to remain the same in the coming year.

Debt service accounts for $4.27 million of the proposed budget, up $54,003 over the current year. The figure includes payments for the ongoing renovation project involving upgrades to heating, cooling and security systems in four schools, plus the addition of new classrooms at Mile Creek School.

Public input

Neviaser at the public hearing said the region’s proposed budget change remains on the lower end compared with the six shoreline districts from East Lyme to Guilford, where school boards are presenting increases ranging from 4.24% to 7.99%. He said Lyme-Old Lyme’s figure is the second lowest in the group.

There were no comments from the public at the hearing.

The school board will meet Monday, May 4, at Center School to send the budget to a referendum vote. There will be an opportunity for public comment in person and virtually via Zoom. The meeting will also be live-streamed on the district’s YouTube page.

The proposal then goes to voters on May 5.

Turnout in school budget referendums over the past five years has ranged from a low of 347 voters in 2022 to 754 in 2025, when a 7.99% increase tied to the school renovation project drew higher participation. As of the Nov. 4 election, there were 6,250 registered voters in Old Lyme and 1,907 in Lyme.

Non-resident property owners with at least $1,000 in assessed value are also eligible to vote.