SEYMOUR – The elected members of the Seymour Board of Education unanimously approved a $43.3 million budget for the 2026 –2027 fiscal year on Tuesday (Jan. 20) that carries a $1.9 million — or 4.7 percent increase — over the current budget.

The budget now heads to the town’s board of finance for a review. A budget workshop has been scheduled for 7 p.m. March 9 at Seymour Town Hall. Voters are scheduled to go to the polls in the spring to approve or reject the school and town budgets.

Here is the breakdown of the requested $1.9 million increase:

*Certified staff salaries — increasing by a total of $738,069

*Non-certified staff salaries — $183,669

*Health insurance — $922,259

*Regular and special education transportation — $81,299

The board held two budget workshops earlier this month before adopting the budget presented by Superintendent of Schools Susan Compton.

The budget includes several new positions: a library/media specialist for Seymour High School, which has been without a librarian for several years, and a speech and language pathologist for Bungay and Chatfield-LoPresti schools, to meet an enrollment increase. It also includes three special education paraprofessionals, which Compton said are necessary to support program enrollment growth.

While all those positions are new to this budget, Compton said they are not causing an additional monetary impact. She said funding for the positions will come from attrition, with two teacher retirements whose positions are not being replaced. She also cited some savings through the return of some outplaced special education students to the district.  

Compton said that 78 percent of the overall budget is staff salaries, certified and non-certified ($25,340,917) and benefits ($8,688,347).

Other components of the budget include transportation costs of $1.2 million and tuition to out of district special education schools of $1.6 million.

If a local district can’t meet the needs of a student in special education, that student has the right to attend a school outside the district where their educational needs can be met. Tuition at those schools is expensive. The home district is legally obligated to pay.

The budget also includes $1.01 million for electricity and heating, $829,021 for technology, and $692,700 for facilities (water, sewer fees, building repair and maintenance, equipment, custodial supplies).

Compton and other school officials said the budget approved Tuesday (Jan. 20) is fiscally responsible.

“This is exactly what we need to take care of what we have, and it’s heartbreaking we can’t give our kids more,” Compton said. “I hope the board of finance listens to us and the town can support this budget.”A schedule of the finance board’s budget workshops, which are open to the public, along with a breakdown of the annual budget process, can be found on the town’s website.