Board of Finance Approves $500,000 Enrollment Contingency Fund
Board of Finance · Meeting of May 12, 2026
New Canaan Board of Finance sets aside $500,000 for a possible school enrollment crunch. Superintendent Dr. Lutzy told the board West Elementary School kindergarten enrollment is up 32 to 34 percent, prompting a plan to shift two prekindergarten classrooms to South School, while East School will avoid modular classrooms after all.
In a related Water Pollution Control Authority session, members unanimously approved a sewer connection for a 20,000-square-foot, 30-bed expansion at the Wave Life Care Network on Three Farm Road, assessed a $45,000 impact fee. The board also heard that the town's April 28 bond sale drew "17 biders," priced at 3.23 percent against a 3.6 percent average cost of capital, with New Canaan still AAA rated. Officials clarified the Waveny House elevator, delayed to an August completion target, is part of a $4.2 million project, not a "$4 million elevator" as rumored.
General fund expenses are projected to rise 1.91 percent for fiscal year 2027.
In the full story:
- The complete report — 1,205 words
Source: the Board of Finance meeting of May 12, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
The Full Article
NEW CANAAN — May 12, 2026 — The Board of Finance voted Tuesday to set aside $500,000 in case a surge of kindergartners forces New Canaan Public Schools to add classroom space next year, one of several actions taken during a joint session that also saw the town's Water Pollution Control Authority approve a sewer connection for an expanding senior care facility.
The finance board also heard an update on the long-delayed Waveny House elevator project, now pegged at $4.2 million overall, and a pitch from the New Canaan Museum & Historical Society to relocate the historic Gores Pavilion from Irwin Park to the museum's campus. Separately, the WPCA reviewed a proposed increase to the town's sewer use fees, which will go to a public hearing and vote in June.
The Full Story
The evening opened as a special meeting of the Water Pollution Control Authority, whose members largely overlap with the Board of Finance. A Department of Public Works engineering representative told the authority that a proposed 20,000-square-foot expansion and 30-bed addition at the Wave Life Care Network facility on Three Farm Road would increase sewer flow by about 4,500 gallons per day, but that the facility's existing private pump station and the town's treatment plant have sufficient capacity to handle it. The authority voted unanimously to approve the connection permit. The project was assessed a $10 sewer impact fee, adopted by the authority last November, which translated into a $45,000 charge on the building permit.
"So, there's an existing pump station. They're not proposing any modifications to the lift, anything of that sort. But the idea is that because there will be additional flows, they anticipate the pump station to run for a longer period of time, but you'll still have the same velocity going into our system." — Department of Public Works engineering representative
The authority also reviewed, without voting, a staff-recommended increase to annual sewer use fees for fiscal year 2027: a 3 percent increase for commercial users and an increase from $155 to $160 per bedroom, or 3.3 percent, for residential users. Officials said the increase tracks a 3.4 percent rise in projected sewer fund expenses. A public hearing and vote are scheduled for June.
The Board of Finance then convened its regular May meeting. Nancy, a representative of the New Canaan Museum & Historical Society, described a proposal, in development for about eight months, to move the Gores Pavilion, designed by architect Landis Gores at Irwin Park, to the museum's campus and restore it as a welcome center and event space. The museum purchased the adjacent 2.3-acre former St. Michael's Lutheran Church property, originally built as St. Mark's Episcopal Church, in May 2025. She estimated the move and restoration would cost about $1.25 million, to be raised as part of the museum's $2.5 million capital campaign, which is roughly half funded. The proposal still requires approvals from the town, the Historic District Commission and the Planning and Zoning Commission.
"You really had me at take another building that we need to maintain off our plate." — Robert Hamill, Board of Finance member
The board also heard an update from a town facilities official identified as Tiger on the Waveny House elevator project, first bid around 2017. Construction spending to date totals $1.75 million, with engineering costs of about $132,000, for a total of just under $1.9 million and a remaining construction balance of $359,000, putting the elevator's full cost near $2.238 million. Officials emphasized the widely repeated figure of a "$4 million elevator" is inaccurate; the $4.2 million figure covers the full three-phase ADA compliance project, including ramps, door and bathroom modifications and electrical rewiring. The contractor's current completion estimate is August 15, though officials are pushing for June or July.
Superintendent of Schools Dr. Lutzy told the board that projected fiscal year 2027 kindergarten enrollment, once feared to require portable classrooms, is now expected to be manageable without modular units at New Canaan's largest elementary school. Enrollment at West Elementary School is running 32 to 34 percent above prior years, however, prompting a plan to relocate two prekindergarten classrooms from West to South, where enrollment has eased. The $500,000 special appropriation approved by the board, drawn from the general fund, is intended to cover an estimated $200,000 playground refurbishment required under state law, about $50,000 in classroom setup costs, and a staffing contingency if needed.
"The numbers are not materializing in the way that the projections had predicted." — Dr. Lutzy, Superintendent of Schools
In financial business, officials reported the town's April 28 bond sale drew 17 bidders and priced at 3.23 percent, below the town's 3.6 percent average cost of capital, while New Canaan retained its AAA credit rating. The board reviewed a budget summary showing total general fund expenses rising 1.91 percent for fiscal year 2027, with town operating expenses up 1.3 percent and Board of Education expenses up 2.27 percent; the amount to be raised by taxation is projected to rise 2.97 percent, down from 3.43 percent a year earlier. The finance director told the board revenues are running about $2.6 million ahead of budget and could finish $4.4 million to $4.5 million over budget by year's end.
The board also approved renaming a fiscal year 2024 capital project from "Traffic Control Station" to "Security Booth" at New Canaan High School, and approved transferring $90,000 from two other bonded school projects, a playground rubber surfacing project and a ceiling tile replacement project at Saxe Middle School, to cover rising security booth costs.
Why It Matters
The votes taken Tuesday touch several pocketbook issues for residents. The proposed sewer fee increase, which residents can weigh in on at a June public hearing, would raise the typical three-bedroom home's annual sewer bill. The $500,000 school appropriation is a contingency plan against a documented birth-rate increase reshaping enrollment at West Elementary, with the town's mill rate for next year set to be finalized at the board's June 9 meeting. And the Waveny elevator, already years behind its original schedule and now approaching $4.2 million with lingering questions about whether the budget will hold, remains a closely watched capital project.
Key Motions & Votes
- Vote: Appoint Alan Bedane as alternate for absent WPCA member Chris Lee Tally: Approved unanimously
- Vote: Approve sewer connection permit for 20,000-square-foot expansion and 30-bed addition at Wave Life Care Network, Three Farm Road Tally: Approved unanimously
- Vote: Appoint Alan Bedane as alternate for absent Board of Finance member Chris Lee Tally: Approved unanimously
- Vote: Add Waveny House elevator project update to the meeting agenda Tally: Approved unanimously
- Vote: Approve $500,000 special appropriation for potential fiscal year 2027 enrollment-related expenditures Tally: Approved unanimously
- Vote: Approve renaming fiscal year 2024 capital project from "Traffic Control Station" to "Security Booth" at New Canaan High School Tally: Approved unanimously
- Vote: Approve three budget transfers, including $90,000 from two bonded projects into the security booth project Tally: Approved unanimously
- Action: Proposed sewer use fee increase for fiscal year 2027 — Continued to public hearing and vote in June 2026
Source
Town Of New Canaan: Board of Finance meeting, May 12, 2026