The views stated here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the editors of this newspaper. We welcome supporting or opposing views on any published item. Received June 2, 2025.
The defeat of the May 6, 2025 school budget referendum for Regional School District 17 marked a significant shift in local voting patterns. For the first time in recent years, voters in both Haddam and Killingworth rejected the proposed school budget presented by the Board of Education. In response, the Board of Education revised the FY26 plan, reducing the total town assessment by $450,000, from $50,030,031 to $49,580,031. This represents a 0.90 percent decrease.
What this means for our towns:
- Haddam’s monthly payment would decrease by $22,185, from $2,466,481 to $2,444,296
- Killingworth’s monthly payment would decrease by $15,315, from $1,702,689 to $1,687,374
Where the savings came from:
- Capital reserve fund contribution reduced by $277,500
- Health insurance projections reduced by $82,500
- Property and liability insurance reduced by $50,000
- Smaller reductions made to audit services, retirement payouts, and equipment purchases
Administrative compensation has drawn renewed attention:
- Superintendent: $216,460
- Assistant Superintendent: $184,000
- Combined: $400,460
At the same time, enrollment has declined by more than 300 students in the past six years:
- FY19 enrollment: 2,029 students
- FY25 enrollment: 1,719 students
- This represents a 15% decline, while the overall district budget increased by 28%, from approximately $40.4 million in FY16 to nearly $52 million today
With just 1,719 students, do we still need both a Superintendent and a full-time Assistant Superintendent?
Other districts have proposed streamlining similar roles to reflect current realities. For example, Region 20, a newly formed district combining Litchfield with the former Region 6 towns of Morris, Goshen and Warren, proposed eliminating its Assistant Superintendent along with related support positions. This decision was part of a broader effort to reduce overhead and better align staffing with current enrollment and financial realities.
If Region 17 were to take a similar step, removing the Assistant Superintendent position could reduce the town assessment by at least another $184,000. That would bring the revised total to approximately $49,396,031, which represents a 1.27 percent decrease from the original proposal.
Could the budget be defeated again?
The recent budget defeat, especially in Killingworth where first-round approvals have usually been the norm, came as a surprise to many. But it reflects more than frustration over rising costs. Many residents feel their voices are not being heard and that the Board of Education has not fully addressed the concerns of those they represent. This is a pivotal moment. Voters are asking for transparency, accountability and a budget that reflects the realities of a district with fewer students and growing expenses. This local response mirrors a broader national trend. Taxpayers are paying closer attention to how public funds are spent and are calling for more responsible, community-focused leadership.
With declining enrollment and growing costs, it is time to ask whether our current administrative structure still serves the best interest of our district. This is not about assigning blame or undermining our commitment to quality education for our children. It is about building a system that reflects our values, respects our taxpayers, and meets the needs of students today.
While a mill rate increase is inevitable, the more pressing issue is trust—whether this budget earns that trust and reflects the priorities of the families and taxpayers who must pay for it.
Please Note: This vote is separate from a future financial request from RSD17 for a new high school, which is currently estimated to cost Killingworth approximately $100 million. That would be an additional expense beyond the current budget.
RSD #17 BOARD OF EDUCATION BUDGET REFERENDUM
Date: Friday, June 6, 2025
Location: Killingworth Elementary School
Referendum Question:
To adopt a regional education gross budget of $51,798,789 for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2025.
Absentee ballots are available. Please contact your Town Clerk for more information.
Eric Nunes, Selectman, Town of Killingworth
A deeper dive into administrative costs indicate a savings of closer to $200k with the elimination of the Asst. Superintendent (includes budgeted salary + health insurance + continuing education costs + employer SS/Medicare taxes, retirement contributions and WC insurance costs). And do we really need a Principal each with an Admin. Asst at every school? Could the duties not be shared between the elementary schools?
Thank you for your thoughtful comment, Pamela. I completely agree that a closer look at the full cost of administrative positions is important. You’re absolutely right that the potential savings from eliminating the Assistant Superintendent role go beyond base salary. When factoring in health insurance, continuing education, payroll taxes, retirement contributions, and other related expenses, the total cost could very well exceed $200,000. I appreciate you pointing that out.
You also raise a valid question about administrative staffing at the school level. As enrollment continues to decline, it makes sense to explore whether responsibilities could be more efficiently shared between schools, especially at the elementary level. Other districts have implemented similar strategies to reduce overhead while continuing to support students and teachers.
These are exactly the types of conversations we should be having. This is not about cutting corners on education, but about ensuring our structure reflects current realities and makes the best use of public funds. Thank you again for contributing to this important discussion.
Eric–From looking at the RSD 20 website, it seems that they have 20 percent fewer students than RSD17 and have 2 assistant superintendents. It’s really hard to compare staffing across districts–staff functions are divided up differently; jobs have different titles; student populations have different needs.
As I understand it, our assistant superintendent’s role is basically to make it easier for our teachers to focus on teaching–to streamline record-keeping and reporting processes, to ensure that state and federal requirements are met, and generally to enhance learning for our students.
Our school board members spend many, many hours trying to provide as good an education as possible for as reasonable a cost as possible. Since our schools are highly successful and our per-pupil costs are well within the range of other Connecticut districts, I trust that the board made careful choices in constructing this budget, and I vote yes.
Thank you for your thoughtful and well-articulated response, Cathy. You are right that staffing comparisons across districts can be complicated. Titles, responsibilities, and student needs vary, and even within RSD17, those distinctions can be somewhat nebulous.
My reference to Region 20 was not meant to suggest a one-size-fits-all solution, but rather to highlight that some districts are actively reevaluating their administrative structures in response to enrollment and fiscal pressures.
By and large, I believe many voters are simply unaware of what the Assistant Superintendent actually does. That lack of clarity may be contributing to the calls for cutting the position or restructuring leadership.
The larger picture, in my opinion, is that the first-round defeat of the school budget, conversations like this, and the growing chatter on social media all reflect a breakdown in the trust that, in the past, allowed RSD17 to present a budget and see it approved with relatively little resistance. That trust has eroded, suggesting that the Board of Education may need to do more to rebuild it. As I mentioned in the letter, this also reflects a broader shift. More people are now paying closer attention to how their tax dollars are being spent, and in some cases, misspent. Voters now want to verify before they trust.
Thank you again for being part of this important conversation. These kinds of respectful, constructive exchanges are exactly what help our community stay informed and engaged.
p.s. I do appreciate that RSD20’s website puts a link to budget information in front of you when you first open the page! I strongly recommend that RSD17 make it easier to find budget information.
Great point. I agree — budget info should be front and center. RSD17 could take a page from RSD20 to make things easier to find and help start rebuilding that trust.