New London — As his first major policy action as the city's superintendent of schools, Manuel J. Rivera on Thursday night presented the Board of Education with his recommended budget for fiscal year 2016.

The budget prepared and presented by Rivera on Thursday night would require from the city an appropriation of $43,722,280, which represents an increase of 5.98 percent over the current fiscal year's appropriation from the city.

The district's total operating budget, which includes more than $20 million of revenue from grants, totals $63,749,691 - an increase of about $4.16 million or 6.98 percent over the current year's total operating budget.

Rivera said his recommended budget is designed to ensure the district meets specific goals laid out in its Strategic Operating Plan, including the completion of the district's transition to an all-magnet school format and improvement of programs offered for students.

"As you put together a budget, you want to make sure it not only drives your plan but also is fiscally responsible," Rivera said. "You have to make sure you can justify the increase and if there are savings or efficiencies to be had, you had better go after those savings."

The increases in the budget are driven largely by an expected districtwide enrollment increase of 344 students, contractual pay increase for all staff members, an 8 percent increase in health insurance costs and other factors, Rivera said.

Of the total operating budget, 67 percent will be allocated among the city's schools, 18 percent will go toward districtwide services like professional development and occupational or physical therapists, 12 percent will be spent on out-of-district student expenses, and 3 percent will go to the Adult and Continuing Education program.

The district's total anticipated revenue is expected to come from three major sources: 36 percent from the state's Educational Cost Sharing grant, 32 percent from the city of New London and 31 percent from various grants. The remaining 1 percent is categorized as coming from some "other" source.

Rivera's budget presentation was well received by board members Thursday night.

"I think it's an excellent budget and now we'll have to look at it closely to see if we want to move anything around," board President Margaret Mary Curtin said. "I think he did a great job."

For Rivera, Thursday's budget presentation was his second in about a month. Before leaving his job as superintendent in Norwalk, Rivera prepared that district's budget and presented it to that city's board.

Rivera said he spent the last week to 10 days delving into New London's school finances with the help of Interim Finance Director Melissa Flores-Seijo, Chief Academic Officer Katherine Ericson and Assistant Superintendent Miriam Morales-Taylor.

"There is no better way to understand your organization than to dive into the numbers and gain an understanding of what you're funding," he said.

The Board of Education will hold a public hearing on the budget at 6 p.m. Monday in the Science and Technology Magnet High School lecture hall. Next month, the board will hold at least two meetings to go through the budget with school principals before voting on it. The Board of Education must have an approved budget submitted to the mayor by March 16.

c.young@theday.com

Twitter: @ColinAYoung