New London —Superintendent of Schools Cynthia Ritchie is proposing a $72.4 million school budget for fiscal year 2019-20, a 3.1 percent increase from the district’s current $70.2 million spending plan.

The proposal, which would require an 8 percent increase in funds from the city’s general fund, will go to a public hearing at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Science and Technology Magnet High School. The Board of Education will begin deliberations on the budget Thursday.

The district released a 225-page budget document on its website on Monday following what has been a concerted push by Ritchie for increased transparency - three public budget presentations, social media notices, emails, coffee hours and robo-calls. The district has also solicited budget suggestions on its website.

In a letter accompanying the release of the budget, Ritchie said the new budget process “aims to reset how we, as a school organization, conduct business.” Ritchie started work for the district in July.

Ritchie said student achievement is the top priority and the budget restructures leadership and staffing to “ensure the district develops coherent academic curriculum and coherent magnet-themed pathway curriculum, K-12.”

The district has two major school construction projects on the horizon and is opening more grades to out-of-district students. The goal is an all-magnet school district with three magnet themes - Arts, STEM and International Baccalaureate - that will span grades K-12. Ritchie’s budget calls for creation of magnet-themed middle and high school enrichment courses for “major” and “minor” pathway tracks.

Roughly one third of the school district budget is funded annually through a mix of state, federal and magnet school grants. Due to the loss of several expiring district grants, Ritchie’s proposal anticipates a 4.7 percent decrease in funding – a drop from $27.1 million to $25.8 million.

Coupled with contractual increases, the losses have led to an apparent shortfall. Ritchie has proposed eliminating a vacant chief academic officer position and placing middle school and high school campuses to be on the same master schedule starting in the fall.

School board member Jefferey Hart, chairman of the board’s finance committee, said the shared schedules could lead to more efficient use of teachers across departments and pathways.

“She’s trying to break down the silos that exist between the schools and between the pathways,” Hart said.

The district is installing a new financial platform to match the city’s this year. Ritchie said it will more efficiently compile district data, track spending patterns and “shift towards group purchasing and the implementation of districtwide contracts instead of individual ones.”

The proposed budget would require $46.6 million in funding from the city, an 8 percent increase over last year’s request. The actual cost to taxpayers is unclear since more than half of the school district’s request to the city comes from the state in the form of Educational Cost Sharing grant funds.

The state contributed $26.4 million in ECS funds to the city last year. That number would increase by nearly $1 million under Gov. Ned Lamont’s budget proposal. The balance of the $46.6 million is funded through taxes.

g.smith@theday.com