The views stated here are those of the Regional School District 17 Board of Education and do not necessarily reflect those of the editors of this newspaper. We welcome supporting or opposing views on any published item. Received June 24, 2026.
Dear Neighbors and Fellow Community Members,
If you feel as though your household budget is being squeezed from every direction right now, you are not alone. Across Haddam and Killingworth, all of us – families, parents, retirees, business owners, and neighbors – are feeling the weight of the current economic climate.
When we look at our own family budgets, we see the same reality as you: the cost of grocery trips and utility bills have skyrocketed, and filling up the gas tank costs more than ever. We all live here; we all pay property taxes, and we share a collective concern about the rising cost of living in the towns we love.
When a school budget goes to referendum, it is entirely natural to look at the numbers and feel an immediate sense of frustration. It can feel like one more strain on your hard-earned money. We want to talk plainly and honestly, neighbor to neighbor, about the reality of our shared school system, how we have responded to your feedback, and why supporting our
schools is a vital investment in the stability and future of our entire community.
A Critical Update: The Mill Rates Are Set
We want to share an important fact regarding the upcoming school budget referendum: The mill rates in both Haddam and Killingworth have already been established. As a result, a reduction in the school budget will not reduce your taxes. The question before voters is not whether taxes will go up or down. The question is how much of the tax revenue already being collected will be invested in our schools.
If the budget is reduced, taxpayers will still pay the same tax rate, but a smaller share of those tax dollars will go toward educating our community’s children. Your only decision to make now is how you would like to see your money invested – whether we use our existing resources to sustain the high quality of our community’s schools or face the costs and
consequences of reductions.
A Shared Commitment to Open Communication
Connecting with the community is a top priority for both the District and the Board of Education. We know there is a feeling out there that voices can get lost in the noise, and we want to assure you that we hear you.
We want to build a bridge of continuous dialogue. To that end, we always welcome community members at our meetings, where your perspectives directly shape our direction. Furthermore, we are fully committed to being accessible and responsive outside of meeting rooms, ensuring expedient responses to all emails and phone calls. Your questions and feedback are vital to how we govern.
Responding to Feedback: How We Tackle Rising Costs
You asked us to scrutinize every dollar, and we took that mandate seriously. While public school districts are bound by macroeconomic pressures and an abundance of state regulations, we have done an immense amount of work to lower all operational costs where humanly possible.
A prime example of this collaborative effort is the way we handled transportation: Our contract with Student Transportation of America (STA) expires this June. Following the unionization of bus drivers, we were faced with an expected and massive 45% spike in the daily rate per in-town bus—driving a $1,235,575 increase just to get our kids to school. We didn’t just accept the first quote. We launched an extensive bidding process and rigorously evaluated every alternative. While STA ultimately remained the lowest bidder, we worked diligently to negotiate several components of the contract, and are actively and aggressively investigating further routing efficiencies to bring those costs down in the future without compromising student
safety. We applied that same microscopic lens to other massive, fixed-cost drivers:
- Health Insurance: To protect taxpayers long-term, the district previously joined a regional, self-insured cooperative. However, because regional claims far exceeded member premiums across the state, a mandatory 15% rate increase was forced upon us.
- Staffing and Enrollment Realities: Because our overall enrollment dropped, we carefully adjusted staffing levels rather than maintaining the status quo. The proposed budget does not include a single new position. Instead, we are reducing 15.7 full-time positions as well as trimming professional services, overtime, and stipends. We did this strategically through attrition—absorbing existing vacancies and retirements—to protect class sizes (anticipating twenty or fewer at the elementary level) while saving $1,167,118 to offset the mandatory insurance and salary hikes.
- Professional Development: We cut the budget for outside consultants, pivoting instead to a sustainable “train-the-trainer” model that utilizes our own internal teacher leadership.
Even with these intense economic pressures, the most recent State of Connecticut data show that our Per Pupil Expenditure stands at $28,369. That is lower than nearly all of our similarly sized neighbors, including Region 13 ($30,387) and Region 4 ($34,045). We are stretching every single dollar as far as possible.
An Investment in Our Collective Future
It is important to remember that strong, successful schools don’t benefit just the students inside them and the families who send them there. They greatly benefit our community as a whole. Our school district is the backbone of Haddam and Killingworth. A well-respected, high-performing school district is a primary driver that draws new families to our area, keeps
our communities vibrant, and directly protects and increases home values for every property owner. An investment in education is quite literally an investment in the financial and cultural future of our towns.
This isn’t a partisan issue, and it isn’t about politics. It is about protecting the collective equity we all share in our communities. The sole purpose of this budget is to find a responsible balance: maintaining the educational excellence we have spent decades building together, while respecting the real financial limits of the neighbors who fund it.
Every time a budget fails, it costs our towns approximately $5,000 to $7,000 just to run another referendum. More importantly, continued budget reductions increasingly require cuts to the programs, services, and educational opportunities that define the quality of our schools and support student success.
We understand the anxiety because we live it, too. We ask you to look at the genuine care, restraint, and hard work that went into managing these fixed costs. Let’s continue working together, talking to one another, and protecting the community we all care about so deeply.
Please remember to vote on July 15, 2026 at your regular polling location. Absentee ballots will be available at the Registrar’s Office July 1, 2026 – July 14, 2026. Email questions directly to the BOE at: boe@rsd17.org
With gratitude and shared commitment, The RSD17 Board of Education
