E. Haven, CT: 21% of students have IEPs; 23% of kindergarteners

Jan 23, 2026, Greenwich Time: East Haven's interim school superintendent proposes $54.5M budget with special education savings 

https://www.greenwichtime.com/news/education/article/east-haven-schools-budget-plan-special-education-21307591.php 

EAST HAVEN — Even though East Haven’s special education student population is increasing, the school district’s interim superintendent has found a way to save money in his 2026-27 budget proposal when it comes to supporting these students. 

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At the Board of Education’s Jan. 13 meeting, Interim Superintendent Adam Swinney presented his requested 2026-27 budget, which stands at $54.5 million. This would be a 4.3% increase over the current year’s spending, which is $52.2 million. 

Although the proposed budget would include adding staff positions to support programs such as literacy and special education, Swinney said East Haven is able to save about $1 million by not sending as many special education students to other districts for services. 

“When we take a look at next year’s budget, we see that we have a reduction in 11 students (for) outplacement from when the budget was proposed last year,” he said. “Some students have been brought back over the course of this year successfully with a lot of the partnership, ongoing deep work with pupil services, working with families and our staff.”

For the current school year, Swinney said, about 21% of the student population has an Individualized Education Program, which lays out the special education services the student needs. About 23% of East Haven’s kindergarten class has an IEP.

From the first day of school to the beginning of the winter break, he said 81 students, ranging from kindergartners to seniors in high school, entered the district. One in three of them came with an IEP, he said. 

“That’s a significant amount of work for our case managers to review, to work with families and to make sure that we design a supported transition into our school district. … We’re really talking about individual children with unique needs, unique exceptionalities, unique assets, so every plan is highly specialized,” Swinney said. 

When a special education student is sent to another district, usually it’s “a response to not being able to experience success within the in-district placement,” he added.  

Creating programs and offering these special education services in East Haven is “better for kids and it’s better for our community,” Swinney said. 

The students “benefit from learning alongside their neighbors within their community,” he added. 

East Haven is also expecting to see a reduction in the cost of utilities next year because six of the buildings will have working

“We have been able to very conservatively reduce our electricity budget by 75% based on those projections, which equates to roughly a little over $200,00. … Those numbers could be higher, we will see how it produces,” said Richard Caponera Jr., chief of operations and fiscal oversight. 

The East Haven Board of Education is scheduled to meet Tuesday to possibly vote on the 2026-27 budget plan.