Some teachers, sports reinstated in New Britain school budget with extra state funding

Some teachers will get to keep their jobs in New Britain with a boost in funding from the state.

Gov. Ned Lamont announced that an additional $170 million in education aid will be included in the state’s budget. A spokesperson for the state Office of Policy and Management expects to release a list detailing how much money districts get before the weekend.

Based on estimates that the Consolidated School District of New Britain Superintendent Tony Gasper received, the district expects to receive $11 million from the state.

With those funds, Gasper explained the changes to the cuts he proposed last week. Some of the most notable included reducing the number of non-tenured teachers from 49 to 15.

Middle school athletics would also be reinstated, and only 10% of high school sports would be reduced, instead of 20%. Northend Elementary School was supposed to close this year, but now it’s slated to close in June 2028 to coincide with the opening of a new school.

“I will go to sleep at night knowing that this superintendent did everything he could in the most ethical and moral way to make sure that we keep our kids safe,” Gasper said.

The state funds aren’t enough to fully close the school budget gap, so the board of education unanimously voted not to renew the contracts of the 15 non-tenured teachers. But members said they believe there’s still time to find the money to keep them.

“We feel we cannot, in good faith, extend these contracts. Not yet,” Aimee Pozorski, (D) New Britain Board of Education secretary said. “Having said that, however, we have high hopes that we will have the funds needed to reinstate these lines.”

The city is still going through its budget process, so city funds for schools are not finalized yet.

A final school budget vote by the BOE is set for June.

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