In an effort to clarify Botelle School’s budget reduction, Superintendent Kevin Case is in discussion with officials from the state Department of Education about its Minimum Budget Requirement (MBR), he told the school board at its last meeting. The MBR prohibits local districts from budgeting less for education than the previous year.
Because Botelle had one fewer special education outplacement in the current fiscal year, its budget was reduced by about $103,000 from the 2024-2025 numbers. The state is asking for additional information about the reduction.
There are exceptions to MBR requirements that allow districts to reduce their appropriations. These include such things as a decrease in enrollment, a decrease in Education Cost Sharing aid, closure of a school or increased efficiencies. These need to be approved by the Commissioner of Education.
Alliance districts (Connecticut’s lowest-performing public-school districts) cannot decrease their appropriations, while, conversely, a district that ranks in the top 10 percent of all school districts is exempt from the MBR for that given year.
Numbers are currently being developed for the 2026-2027 budget proposal and will be presented to the school board in February.
In other business, the school board elected officers at its December meeting, with John DeShazo being named chairman;Virginia Coleman Prisco, vice chairman, and Amy Bennett, secretary.