Botelle School has resolved the differences with the state Board of Education that grew out of a reduction in the school’s current budget.
The state has a Minimum Budget Requirement regulation mandating that school districts cannot budget lesser amounts than they did in the previous year. Because Botelle had a sharp reduction in special education services this year, the budget was lower and the state threatened to withhold Education Cost Sharing funds in the 2027-2028 budget year.
School Superintendent Kevin Case and school board Chairman John DeShazo, accompanied by Representative Maria Horn, BoF chair Michael Sconyers and First Selectman Henry Tirrell, were able to negotiate a deal by which the town will allocate another $58,000 to the school for this year’s budget. The money will not be used and will be returned to the town’s surplus fund in July.
“We need to submit this to a town meeting and allocate the funds before the end of the [fiscal] year,” Sconyers told his board Tuesday.