New Haven Public Schools seeking funds amid projected deficit of nearly $19M

Board of Education members in New Haven continue to work on approving a final budget for the upcoming school year amid a projected $18.9 million deficit for 2026-2027. 

On Monday, the school district’s chief financial officer gave an update during the district’s budget workshop on the budget’s status and what is being proposed for the following year. 

CFO Amilcar Hernandez said NHPS has a current budget of $213 million. 

He said the district has already spent $8.9 million over budget and is projecting to spend $ 10 million on contractual increases, leaving them with a $18.9 million deficit. 

During Monday’s budget workshop, Hernandez presented two budget proposals: a requested amount and an adjusted request.

The requested amount for FY2027 is $252 million, according to Hernandez.

“That will not only keep us status quo, it covers the deficit, it covers the contractual increases, but it also gives us $20 million to try and bring back some of those programs, services, and staffing,” Hernandez explained.

Meanwhile, the adjusted requested amount is $232 million, but Hernandez said that amount will only keep the district afloat. 

He said that before the district considers cutting programs, it is first looking to secure additional funding.

“Our focus is how we can bring the resources that we need in order for us to not only keep but to increase our service to our students,” Hernandez said. 

Hernandez added that a large portion of the budget is spent on administrative and personnel salaries.

As NHPS and school districts across the state work to balance their budgets, representatives from 11 cities and school districts will head to the State Capitol on Wednesday to advocate for Senate Bill 7. 

New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker is one of the many education advocates attending Wednesday’s education committee hearing. 

“Inflation happens. We have to be realistic about that, and our hope is we can get this across the finish line, get more money for our kids to help address a lot of the challenges for public schools,” he said.

Senate Bill 7 (SB7) proposes to increase the foundation of the child education cost formula by $1,975 per student. 

The current foundation amount is $11,525 and has not been increased since 2013.

“It’s an acknowledgement that we need to raise the foundation amount, and they’ve also proposed that that will continue to go up in future years, which is really important. We need a significant amount of money now,” Elicker said. 

Hernandez said he is hopeful the current projected deficit will decrease through different revenue avenues.

Elicker is proposing allocating an additional $5 million to NHPS from the 2027 general fund budget; that vote will be held in June. 

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