By Linda Conner Lambeck

WESTPORT–After an hour-long presentation and another hour of questions, the Representative Town Meeting’s Finance Committee voted unanimously Tuesday to recommend approval of the school board’s 2026-27 budget proposal of $157.8 million to the full RTM when it meets in two weeks.

Increase questioned

The 7-0 vote came at the conclusion of a Zoom meeting during which most committee members sprinkled praise in with their questions about the whys behind the 4.98 percent increase.

“A very sincere thank you, it was an excellent presentation,” RTM Finance Chair Seth Braunstein told Schools Superintendent Thomas Scarice and his staff.

Rejected ideas

Still, Braunstein took note of a slide in the presentation that listed budget reductions that were considered but rejected by the administration. The list included things like an Early Retirement Incentive for staff, a so-called Pay to Play for sports and the idea of finding sponsors willing to pay to have their names on school sports fields.

“Why not look at sponsors for athletic fields,” Braunstein asked.

School Board Chairman Lee Goldstein–not in favor of creating a “Pepsico Arena” of any kind in town–said before sponsorships could be considered, the district has to take a step back and assess what it does now.

“We will investigate,” Goldstein told the committee.

In any case, RTM Committee Member Nancy Kail, of District 9, said she liked seeing the board’s rejected ideas list and wanted to see it continue.

Assistant Facilities director

Kail asked the board for the rationale behind its request for an assistant facilities director–a new position. She was told it was due largely to the large number of capital projects the district has undertaken.

Health care costs

“Let’s talk about health care,” Kail then added.

This year, the district was facing the threat of a 15 percent hike in medical insurance costs through the State Partnership Plan. That would have meant spending $25.2 million of the total school budget on insurance. 

To help soften the blow, the plan was to take $750,000 from an insurance reserve kept by the board.

Goldstein said that plan had a mixed reception when the budget was presented to the board of Finance.

Subsequently, Goldstein said the board was told by the state that the insurance increase will be closer to 12.5 percent. As a result, the board now plans to take just $220,000 from the $2.5 million reserve.

RTM Finance Member Joseph Carson, of District 7, asked if the reserve earns interest.

It does not, he was told, but Elio Longo, the school district’s chief financial officer, said such options are being considered.

Carson said in general he was supportive of everything the town’s education department was doing.

“You got to support education,” Carson said.

Still, he said he was concerned about the town’s debt service and worried about enrollment remaining strong.

RTM Member Jimmy Izzo, from District 3, who listened in but does not sit on the Finance Committee, called the presentation “top notch.”

Outside money

He said he liked the idea of the board looking into advertising opportunities to bring in revenue and offset costs.

Kail asked how aggressively the district goes after grant money. 

Scarice said district administrators seek entitlement grants but generally do not have the bandwidth to actively apply for competitive grants.

Final budget approval for the schools and the town is expected to happen during the RTM’s meetings during the first week of May.

Linda Conner Lambeck

^{_{Linda Conner Lambeck covers education for Westport Journal. She was a reporter for more than four decades at the Connecticut Post and other Hearst publications. She has covered education throughout Fairfield and New Haven counties. She is a proud member of the Education Writers Association.}}