DERBY – Members of the Derby Board of Education on Tuesday (Feb. 3) approved a budget request that asks for an additional $366,000 to operate the schools next year.

The current budget totals $20,448,449. The newly proposed budget is $20,814,448 – a 1.79 percent increase.

The school budget will be sent to Derby City Hall and the Derby Board of Apportionment and Taxation (BOAT, or tax board), whose elected members have the final say over the school district’s bottom line.

The proposed budget covers the fiscal year starting July 1, 2026 and ending June 30, 2027.

The Derby Board of Education and the Derby Board of Aldermen recently approved a new teachers’ contract that gives educators a 21 percent raise over four years. Total teacher salaries in the proposed operating budget are increasing by about $504,000.

Total salaries in the proposed budget – all staff and teachers – are increasing by 1.8 percent, from roughly $13.4 million to $13.6 million.

The school board members walked into Tuesday’s meeting ready to vote on a budget-to-budget increase of just $66,000, which would have been a 0.32 percent increase.

But the board decided to increase spending by budgeting for the potential of two additional special education students who are educated outside of Derby Public Schools. That added $300,000 to the proposed bottom line. The money may not be spent if the students do not enroll. 

Budgeting for special education “out of district” costs can be difficult because it is hard to predict how many kids will move in or out of the district. 

Federal law says that kids whose educational needs can’t be met in their home district have the right to be educated elsewhere, with costs being handled by the home district.

This can be a costly option because specialized schools charge tuition which can be expensive. There are also transportation costs. The average out of district placement costs $151,828, according to the current school budget. The state is well aware of the costs and is working to bring those costs down.

The district spent about $3.2 million on out of district placement services in the 2024-2025 fiscal year. The current budget (2025-2026) forecasted spending about $3.4 million. 

However, the newly proposed budget allocates roughly $3 million for out of district costs. The dollar figure is smaller because Derby is planning to create a transition program that will enable older, out of district special education students to be taught within Derby. The district hopes to have six students enrolled in the program next year.

As of Oct. 1 there were 24 Derby students placed out of district.

A draft copy of the school budget summary was made available to the public before the meeting.

There were 1,245 students in Derby Public Schools as of Oct 1. That number is expected to decrease by three students next year.

Next Steps

According to the Derby Charter, Mayor Joseph DiMartino has to give the tax board his proposed budget by March 1.

The tax board will schedule a number of meetings to review spending plans, including an annual presentation from the superintendent.

Budgets do not go to public referendums in Derby but are voted upon by the tax board in the spring.

Derby’s budget season will be complicated this year because of a state-mandated revaluation of properties. The average assessment on a single-family house increased by 60 percent. About 8 percent of single-family homes are facing assessment increases of at least 100 percent.