Ridgefield, CT: Supt proposes budget increase "to address growing needs for students receiving special education instruction"

Jan 29, 2026, CT Insider: Ridgefield superintendent's 'proactive' $125.3M schools budget would boost spending by 4.6%

RIDGEFIELD - Superintendent Susie Da Silva has proposed a $125.3 million 2026-27 schools budget – a 4.6% boost over current spending that she said increases support for students whose needs are growing and responds to shifting enrollment patterns across the school system.

The proposal represents a roughly $5.5 million increase over the district's current $119.8 million budget. It largely maintains existing staffing and services, according to Da Silva, while introducing some new positions to address growing needs for students receiving special education instruction.

Da Silva characterized the request as fiscally responsible and driven by the needs of Ridgefield students.

"The goal is to protect the core instruction, meet special population mandates, and assure safe and well-maintained facilities while preventing burnout and reactive staffing," she said. "Investing now allows us to be proactive rather than remedial, which is both educationally and fiscally responsible."

The new staffing Da Silva proposed includes part-time special education and department chair positions at Ridgefield High School, which she said would help address increased caseloads, prevent staff overload and ensure students "receive the mandated instruction they deserve."

Da Silva also proposed additional staffing across the elementary schools, which include two board-certified behavioral analysts, to address student behavior and social emotional needs, as well as six additional special education paraeducators. The superintendent said the latter positions are in the current budget but scattered throughout different funding lines. . . .

She noted funding the district's current operations comes with a 3.4% increase in costs. The new staffing and investments she proposed accounts for the remaining 1.1%.

The salary-related costs to retain existing certified staff will increase by just over $1.5 million. Noncertified staff salaries are another $614,736 increase. The cost jumps reflect contractual salary increases that were negotiated with the district's labor unions, Da Silva noted. Additional costs include employee health insurance and other benefits, and student transportation.