Weekly Message from the Superintendent

Superintendent's Weekly Message - February 21, 2025

Dear SPS Community:

On Tuesday night, the Board of Education approved a proposed FY26 operating budget of $350,526,867, an increase of 5.98% over the current FY25 operating budget. The Board voted to add $1.9 million in funding for school support staff, middle school family advocates, and school lunches to the superintendent’s proposed budget that was presented in January. The BOE also approved an additional $1.5 million in funding needed to cover the state’s updated insurance premium cost projections.

During the next few weeks, the BOE’s proposed operating budget will be reviewed and voted on by the Board of Finance (BOF) and Board of Representatives (BOR). The BOF and BOR can either approve the budget as submitted or cut the budget by whatever amount they deem appropriate. Any budget cuts made by the BOF or BOR will have to be reconciled by the BOE during budget reallocation in May. For instance, should the City Boards provide SPS with only a 3% increase for FY26—which is the 10-year average increase provided by the City Boards—the BOE will need to cut approximately $10 million in programs, services, and staff in May.

Your continued advocacy in support of the FY26 Operating Budget will be imperative in the weeks ahead. We will share information about upcoming meetings and how you can voice your support for the budget in future editions of the weekly message.

Cafe con la Super is Monday, February 24

Please join us at the SPS Welcome Center on Monday at 6:30 pm for Cafe con la Super, our monthly Spanish language community conversation. This month’s topic is the high school program of studies and course selection for the 2025-26 school year. This meeting is highly recommended for families with students currently in grades 8 through 11. Meetings are presented in Spanish with simultaneous English translation. Please note our new location at the SPS Welcome Center, which is located at 11 W. North Street in Cloonan Middle School. Please click here to register for this meeting.

High School Course Selection Continues through February 28

High school course selection for 2025-26 continues through next Friday, February 28. School counselors have been reaching out to students in grades 8-11 via classroom visits, individual meetings, and email to complete the course selection process. Students who have not started course selection yet should reach out to their school counselor ASAP for assistance. You can find your child’s school counselor in PowerSchool.

It’s very important for students to complete course selection before the deadline. Selecting courses now is the best way to ensure that students are scheduled into their preferred courses for 2025-26. The courses offered in each high school next year will be based, in part, on the number of students selecting a particular course.

Please refer to the AITE and Stamford High / Westhill Programs of Studies for graduation requirements and course descriptions. Counselors will have first drafts of student schedules in May. Student schedules will be posted in PowerSchool in August.

Hope Day

Please join Kids Helping Kids (KHK) tomorrow from 12 to 3 pm at UCONN Stamford for Hope Day, a free community event where attendees can learn about the youth mental health resources available in Stamford. This year’s event features more than 40 local organizations, refreshments, gift card and gift basket giveaways, and more. A special thanks to the Stamford Youth Mental Health Alliance (Stamford YMHA) for their support of this program.