The Essex Board of Education approved a proposed $8.1 million budget, a $283,236 or 3.6 percent increase from the current spending, for the 2022-’23 school year at its March 10 meeting. The budget moved to a public presentation before the Board of Selectman and Board of Finance on March 30, and next goes to a public hearing on April 14 on its way to a May town meeting.

At $4,766,752, salaries account for 58.5 percent of the budget, with a proposed $177,012 or 3.86 percent increase from current year. The teacher salaries line shows a 3.03 percent decrease; the paraeducators line also is dropping $29,401 or 6.57 percent from the current year.

Despite these cuts, the overall increase in salaries is primarily due to a budgeted line of $101,843 for salaries that are under negotiation, a figure not found in budgets from the previous three school years, and is a trend also seen in budgets for Deep River and Chester.

According to Superintendent of School Brian White, the figure reflects the potential impact of six labor contracts that were under negotiations during the budget processes for all three towns in the district, resulting in a delay for potential new salary increases.

There will be an increase in the salaries for coaches and others leading extra-curricular activities, with a $3.770, or 17.21 percent increase, as well as increase in salary for custodians from the previous year, with a $35,784, or 16.09 percent. The increase in custodial salary for Essex Elementary School is due to a request to make permanent a custodial position that has been grant funded during the COVID pandemic through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund, according to White.

In the category of employee benefits, the second-largest portion of the budget at $1,774,429 or 21.79 percent of overall spending, health insurance has remained unchanged at a rate of $1,056,808 funded. However, allocations to the Health Insurance Reserve Fund have dropped 100 percent from the current year’s rate of $33,524, while the benefits of unemployment compensation have been cut by a quarter of this year’s rate.

“The reduction in health insurance was attributed to, in part, our experience during the past year,” said White. “Going back three years ago, we had a low balance in our insurance reserve. One of the strategies we employed to increase the reserve was we budgeted a supplemented amount to the insurance reserve as a way of reestablishing it. This year, because our reserve levels are healthier, we no longer had a need to budget for that additional reserve contribution. As a result, that reduced the budgeted amount for insurance next year.”

Supplies in reading and language arts are receiving a significant boost, with $3,156, or 176.91 percent, and $5,975, or 108.64 percent, increases, respectively. These boosts in funding for the two programs are intended for the purchase of new and replacement textbooks and other supporting materials for their instruction.

The same objective is applied to funding for kindergarten, which is seeing a 104 percent increase. Expenses for staff travel and conferences were among higher recipients of funding, with a $10,094 or 437.35 percent increase in funding proposed. The large increase represents a return to pre-COVID-19 days for teachers.

According to White, there is a contractual obligation to provide staff with professional development, and after two years of remote learning opportunities for staff development, the travel budget was increased in anticipation of a return to in-person training and development.

“During COVID, for certified staff, many workshops and training seminars just didn’t run. If they did, they switched to a remote platform,” said White. “We didn’t have a need to provide for travel costs because our teachers, if they were able to participate in professional development opportunities, were typically accomplished remotely. Next year, many of the conferences and training [seminars] we send our staff to will likely involve travel. We are anticipating that shift.”

The budget also points out the increased need for supporting the mental health student that can be everyday issues, as well as those exacerbated by the effects of the pandemic. One of the priorities for the district carrying over from the current year is social emotional learning, with its main focus on the mental health of students.

The budget cites mental health as a critical focus in light of the many stressors of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, and that pathways for improving the emotional health of students is an integral part of performance.

The annual budget town meeting for the town and schools budgets is currently scheduled for Monday, May 9 at Town Hall at 7:30 p.m. For updates on future schools budget actions, visit www.reg4.k12.ct.us/district.