New Canaan Town Council Reviews School, Human Services Budgets

Town Council · Meeting of March 31, 2026

New Canaan Town Council grills school officials over five years of staffing growth in FY27 budget review. Superintendent Dr. Lutzy told the council certified and non-certified school staff have grown by 47.48 positions since 2021, mostly in special education, while defending a $500,000 turnover-savings assumption and a projected $1.9 million March insurance claims month.

Council members questioned whether an additional $400,000 cut, on top of $1.6 million already trimmed, was achievable without hitting programs. Human Services Director Marcy Rand corrected her department's proposed budget from a reported $408,785 to $338,648, a 24.4 percent decrease, after part of her salary was reallocated to the Lapham Community Center. Health Department Director Amy Lehaney proposed a $545,397 budget, a 6.4 percent decrease, and confirmed a newly advertised "massage parlor" in town is unregulated by her department.

The council adjourned without taking any budget votes.

In the full story:

• The complete report — 1,032 words

Source: the Town Council meeting of March 31, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

The Full Article

NEW CANAAN — March 31, 2026 — The New Canaan Town Council spent nearly two hours Tuesday reviewing proposed fiscal year 2027 budgets for the Board of Education, the Human Services Department and the Health Department, taking no votes on spending but pressing school officials on five years of staffing growth and a possible $400,000 gap in the district's requested increase.

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Lutzy walked the council through year-over-year staffing changes since the 2020-21 school year, telling members the district's certified and non-certified staff combined have grown by 47.48 full-time positions, driven largely by special education. Council members pressed him on whether the Board of Education would formalize a public approval process before adding unbudgeted headcount in the future.

The Full Story

Dr. Lutzy told the council that non-certified staff have grown by 17.88 positions since 2021, including six van drivers and 7.73 special education instructional assistants, while certified staff grew by 29.68 positions, concentrated in elementary classroom coaches and special education across all five district buildings. He said the number of "complex learners" requiring vans, aides or nursing support in the district's special education program rose to 40 this year from 23 in 2020, even as overall identified special education enrollment held roughly flat at 514 students, compared with 512 in 2019-20. He said out-of-district special education settlements have fallen to about 40 students from roughly 65 five years ago, even as the average cost per placement climbs more than 6 percent annually, a trend he credited to in-district programs including a literacy intervention for young readers.

A council member pressed Dr. Lutzy on where the district found funding in recent years to hire more staff than initially budgeted, saying it "would be helpful to know about these so it doesn't surprise us next year." Dr. Lutzy said the district actually hired below its approved budget this year and that savings generally come from turnover, when retiring staff are replaced at lower salaries, and from special education transfer funds tied to the state's excess-cost reimbursement formula. He said the district assumes $500,000 in salary turnover savings in the proposed budget, up from about $150,000 before the pandemic, based on roughly eight expected retirements.

On insurance, Dr. Lutzy said March 2025 was the highest single month of health claims the district's self-funded plan has ever recorded, just over $1.9 million net of reinsurance, and that a recent two-day stretch alone produced $500,000 in claims. He said a revised claims forecast, expected by the middle of next week, should show savings once March 2026 figures roll in, in time for the council's final budget vote.

The council also questioned whether $400,000 in additional reductions, beyond the $1.6 million increase already trimmed from the district's original request, was achievable without cutting programs. Dr. Lutzy said the budget was built with little flexibility and that further cuts would likely mean delaying purchases such as textbook series rather than eliminating positions.

Human Services Director Marcy Rand told the council her department currently serves 228 senior clients and about 320 individuals in 169 youth and family cases, and that the New Canaan food pantry served 1,221 households and 92 shoppers through the end of March, numbers she said are running well ahead of last year. Rand initially told the council the department's proposed fiscal 2027 budget was $408,785, an 8.9 percent decrease, but corrected the figure later in the meeting to $338,648, a 24.4 percent decrease, after noting that part of her salary is now allocated to the Lapham Community Center budget because she has taken on oversight of that facility. Rand also detailed outside agency grant recommendations, including $50,000 for GetAbout, split evenly between the town and a matching Connecticut Department of Transportation grant, and $18,000 for New Canaan Cares, funded partly through the opioid settlement account, which she said the town can draw on through roughly 2039.

Health Department Director Amy Lehaney, who started in June, proposed a $545,397 department budget, a 6.4 percent decrease driven by lower salary, overtime and supply costs, partly offset by moving the department's part-time public health nurse fully onto the town payroll as a federal grant expires. She told the council the department oversees 106 food service establishments, 43 salons and 22 public and semi-public pools in town. Asked about a newly opened business advertised as a "massage parlor," Lehaney said it falls outside the health department's ordinance and is not regulated by her office.

"It was just the most powerful experience he's ever had in his life to be right there, right, and see this happen with his child." — Dr. Lutzy, Superintendent of Schools

"Those numbers, as you can see, are going to be considerably higher than last year. And last year's was considerably higher than fiscal year 2024." — Marcy Rand, Human Services Director

"That is not under the ordinance for the health department, it is not in the town code, so it's not regulated by the health department." — Amy Lehaney, Health Department Director

Why It Matters

The Board of Education's fiscal 2027 request remains under pressure, with the Board of Finance seeking an additional $400,000 cut on top of $1.6 million already trimmed from the district's original increase, a reduction Dr. Lutzy said would be difficult to absorb without delaying purchases. A revised, likely lower health insurance claims forecast due before the council's final budget vote could ease that pressure. Meanwhile, Human Services' corrected budget figure, a 24.4 percent drop tied to a staffing reorganization at the Lapham Community Center, and a food pantry serving more residents than in prior years, underscore the tighter accounting the council is applying across departments this budget season.

Key Motions & Votes

• Action: Meeting adjournment — Approved unanimously (voice vote; motion by Eric Tun, seconded by council member Marian)

No formal votes were taken on any budget line items at this meeting; the Board of Education, Human Services and Health Department budgets remain subject to further review, a public hearing scheduled for Thursday at 5:30 p.m., and a later final vote by the Town Council.

Source

Town Of New Canaan: Town Council meeting, March 31, 2026