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Bridgeport School District to address $38 million budget gap

Bridgeport City Hall
Molly Ingram
/
WSHU
Bridgeport City Hall

The Bridgeport School District is looking at ways to close its budget gap of about $38 million.

The district’s Finance and Facilities Committee met Tuesday to find solutions to the shortfall. The district announced the gap was due in part to the end of COVID funding from the state and federal government.

When the 2024-25 school year budget was adopted, there was already a $26 million gap, but the plan was to use money from the District’s reserve to close that gap. However, it also did not account for certain special education costs, which have increased due to unfunded state and federal mandates.

In a statement, acting superintendent Dr. Royce Avery said the district will work diligently to resolve the financial issues. Avery said the priority is to continue providing high-quality education for its students.

“While we foresee several cuts to the budget during the 2024-25 school year, we intend to make as few changes to academics as possible, which includes staffing and programs. We are committed to transparency and will keep the community informed throughout this process,” Avery said.

The district plans to review its financial practices comprehensively to prevent future gaps. The committee suggested solutions to close the 2024-25 gap and provide budget relief for 2025-26.

"We understand the concerns this budget gap raises for our community. Our goal is to address this gap responsibly and sustainably," Chief Financial Officer Nestor Nkwo said.

The district will consider solutions like “downsizing and reevaluating all positions, programs, and services,” which could mean layoffs and reducing programs. By “reverting” personnel and programs to pre-COVID operation levels, they estimate to save $10.3 million within the last six months of Fiscal Year 2024-25.

Instead of their initial suggestion of $26 million, the district now believes using $14 million of its reserve fund would help. They estimate that would save them more than $10 million by May 2025. The committee also considered consolidating schools and using in-house special education services instead of sending students to programs outside of Bridgeport.

The district plans to address closing the budget gap for the 2025-26 school year at their next board meeting on Monday, Nov. 25, and provide additional details.

Jeniece Roman is a reporter with WSHU, who is interested in writing about Indigenous communities in southern New England and Long Island, New York.