Bridgeport, CT: School budget problems; "officials worried about rising SPED costs"

Oct 5, 2018, Connecticut Post: Disputing the budgetary bottom line in Bridgeport https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Disputing-the-budgetary-bottom-line-in-Bridgeport-13285418.php BRIDGEPORT — City and school finance officials have spent the week at odds over the bottom line of the district’s $230 million operating budget for the current school year. District officials say the city short-changed the 2018-19 budget by $250,000. City officials said Friday that the apparent conflict — caused largely by the state’s late budget and budget rescission in 2017 — had more to do with confusion over last year’s school budget’s starting point — and that the school board would be made whole…. Beyond the $1.039 million increase from the city, the district expects a $1.4 million funding increase from the state. The adopted $230.3 million operating budget was millions less than the district said it needed, forcing the elimination of numerous staff positions and programs and leaving officials worried about rising special education costs. …