Stonington ― The proposed $43.7 million for 2024-25 school budget is poised for an increase after school board members objected to staff cuts presented at Thursday’s school board meeting.

The board opposed cuts to support staff and faculty after Superintendent Mary Anne Butler said the $2.1 million or 5.1% increase, would balance economic factors and increased student needs as the district absorbs a loss of federal funding.

“We believe we need these resources in order to maintain the programming that we have and also keep our buildings safe and maintain some order,” she said, describing the budget as “lean.”

“There’s not a lot of fluff, there’s not a lot of frills,” she added.

Among the positions Butler’s budget proposes eliminating are a kindergarten teacher, a high school science teacher and three interventionist positions, which support students who need extra instruction in subjects like reading or math.

Butler clarified that eliminating a position does not necessarily equate to eliminating staff, as a teacher filling an eliminated position, like the kindergarten position, may be shifted to teaching a different grade.

Alisha Stripling, the school system’s director of finance and personnel, told the board the primary reasons for the increase were higher costs for health insurance, liability and property insurance, vendor increases, unfunded mandates and contractual obligations, but other factors also played a role.

The district reported a continuing rise in behavioral issues, disciplinary referrals and students requiring mental health service in all grades as well as an increase in needs for students receiving disability-related services.

“If you talk to any of the principals here today, they are going to tell you that the mental health needs and the discipline needs and the amount of families that are in crisis are on the rise, and that is why we made the decisions we have made about the resources that we are asking you to support,” said Butler.

Butler also explained that each year the district is required to set aside funds to provide services for each homeless student in the district, and noted that in 2017, there was one homeless student in the district.

“This year we have 13 homeless children in our district -- nine at one school,” she said.

The district is also facing significant reductions in federal grant funding, including Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund dollars, which paid for support positions to help districts recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The drop off in funding resulted in the district’s decision to eliminate the three interventionist positions.

Board members questioned the decision, noting that the district has stated the need for additional services has not diminished, and ultimately decided to ask Butler to revise the budget to retain the three positions as well as reinstate funding for a full-time science teacher position at the high school.

Butler told the board that she was uncertain the Board of Finance would approve funding positions that were intended to be temporary like the interventionists, but some members argued that their responsibility was to the students.

“We’re not here to do the Board of Finance’s job; we’re here to speak for the kids and work for them,” said school board member Meghan Blanchette, adding “that’s our only job.”

The board also agreed to have the district investigate how other districts handle funding co-op teams and what it would cost to partially fund them after a parent spoke about financial disparities between the district’s support of team sports like football and its support of the wrestling, swimming and ice hockey teams.

A co-op sports team is a team of students from two or more schools that may not have enough athletes or resources to field a team on their own.

The board is scheduled to meet again Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at the former Pawcatuck Middle School to continue budget discussions.