Groton ― Superintendent of Schools Susan Austin on Tuesday presented her proposed 2023-24 education budget of $83 million to the public.

The proposal represents a $3.9 million or 4.98% increase over the current budget.

Inflation is a major factor driving the increase, Austin said during a public hearing that was held via Zoom due to an uptick in illness across the school system.

Transportation costs, which are going up across the state, also are expected to rise in Groton, after the district received a bus bid with a 21% increase, Austin said.

Prices are escalating in other areas, from electricity to software, Austin said in a phone interview before the presentation. Austin said out-of-district tuition for special education services is decreasing, with the district providing more services in-house.

The salaries portion of the budget is set to increase by more than $1.3 million, or 2.7%, due to raises and competitive wage adjustments to retain staff. Benefits also are increasing, including due to an anticipated 4.6% increase in insurance claims costs, according to Austin’s presentation.

Site budgets, the spending plans for each school’s supplies and needs, typically increase by about 2% each year, but principals kept increases to about 1%, Austin explained.

Austin said the district will see additional dues and fees for the Educators Rising program, which will help the district have teachers who mirror the community, and the Navy National Defense Cadet Corps program.

According to the presentation, the proposal would retain all curricular and extracurricular offerings. The district plans next year to continue to enhance reading programs and implement Next Generation Science Standards, keep up with rigorous math instruction, expand the International Baccalaureate program at Fitch High School and Groton Middle School, and support community partnerships for the five elementary intradistrict magnet schools.

The district also plans to continue to upgrade technology and support school resource officers at Fitch High School and Groton Middle School and DARE officer partners in the elementary schools.

Austin explained that taxpayers are responsible for about 63% of the education budget, while the rest comes from state and federal funds.

During the hearing, resident Patrick Kohr said he heard that it was packed at Groton Middle School, and he was concerned if the district was hiring enough teachers or staff to help out.

Resident Ian Thomas, who is also a Representative Town Meeting member, raised concerns he’d like to see addressed in the budget, including that he had called for continuing free lunch for all students beyond the initial emergency funding and was disappointed to see that it has not continued.

He also spoke about equitably funding athletics and mentioned that parents of students participating in smaller sports are required to fundraise to make up the gap in funding.

The Board of Education held a budget work session after the hearing and is slated to continue scrutinizing the proposal over the next few weeks.

By town charter, the board has to vote on and submit a budget to the town manager and Town Council by Feb. 28. After council approval, the town and education budgets are sent to the Representative Town Meeting.

k.drelich@theday.com