SOUTHWICK — School Superintendent Jennifer Willard’s proposed fiscal year 2024 budget is built on hikes in the local education assessments of more than 6 percent each for Southwick, Granville and Tolland.

During a March 7 meeting, School Committee Chair Robert Stevenson offered his thoughts on the budget.

“It’s going to be a challenge and difficult year. [We’ve] got some costs that are out of control that are driving the excess in the budget,” Stevenson said during the meeting.

He was also hopeful that Southwick, Tolland and Granville residents will support the proposal.

“Hopefully, we won’t run into major issues when discussing it with the towns,” Stevenson said.

“Thankfully, our towns are very supportive of the school district,” said Willard in a telephone interview.

Willard’s budget represents a 3.09 percent increase from the current year’s budget, which totaled $26,678,162. The FY24 proposal is for $27,502,895.

A large portion of the budget comes from assessments that will be voted at each town’s Town Meeting. The proposed assessments for each town in the district are:

• Southwick — $11,545,571, a 6.3 percent increase from this year’s assessment, with another $1,394,855 to pay down the school building project approved in 2012.
• Granville — $1,849,776, a 6.6 percent increase, with another $220,421 to pay down the school building project.
• Tolland — $464,698, a 7.6 percent increase, with another $62,968 to pay down the school building project.

To make up the difference in revenues from the towns, there are a variety of state and federal funding sources, including Chapter 70 funding provided by the state based on a formula that cities and towns across the state have complained doesn’t provide small rural districts with enough to cover its increasing costs.

Southwick-Tolland-Granville is expecting $10,002,678 in Chapter 70 funding in FY24, up from $9,925,218 in fiscal year 2023, which is an increase of $77,460.

Willard highlighted several big-ticket items in her proposed school budget, including $650,000 for a new computer network that she called “a must-do,” and $700,000 to upgrade HVAC systems at Woodland School. The Woodland work, and a portion of the computer costs, will be taken from federal grants, not local assessments or state aid.

The district is seeing a substantial increase in how much it pays in vocational school tuition. Willard said she expects 44 local students to enroll at either Westfield Technical Academy or Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School next year, at an estimated cost to the district of $914,720, an increase of $253,672 from FY23.

Similarly, Southwick-Tolland-Granville is paying increased tuitions for special education students attending programs outside the district. In FY23, the district budgeted $535,000 for special education, but will finish the fiscal year spending $768,000.

To offset the cost of special education tuition, the district has been providing social-emotional learning programs at Powder Mill and Woodland schools, using federal COVID-19 relief funds. Next year, those funds will run out.

The program at Powder Mill is costing about $104,000 annually, but if those same students had to attend programs out of the district, tuition would cost $189,000.

The same program at Woodland costs $150,000, but if students went out of district, it would cost $350,000.

There is also a program to assist students diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum that currently costs $150,000, again using the federal funding that will stop flowing next year. If students on the autism spectrum were sent out of district, it is estimated that the taxpayers would be on the hook for $450,000.

Willard said these three programs being offered in-house would save taxpayers over $1 million annually.

The proposed FY24 budget eliminates 5.6 full-time equivalent positions.

Overall enrollment at district schools continues to decline.

In 2013, there were 1,791 students enrolled. The enrollment for 2024 is expected to be 1,281.

The School Committee is expected to approve the proposed budget at its March 28 meeting. The budget and the local assessments will appear as articles to be voted at the Annual Town Meetings in the three member towns.