Granby Schools Project $847,000 Budget Shortfall Ahead of FY27 Town Meeting

GRANBY — March 31, 2026 — Granby schools project an $847,772 deficit for fiscal year 2027 against a $12 million operating budget. Superintendent of Schools Mary Jane Rickson and the district's Director of Finance and Operations presented the preliminary figures to the Finance Committee at a public hearing Tuesday, stressing that all numbers remain subject to change because the town has had four town administrators in the past year and key municipal appropriation figures have not been confirmed. Chapter 70 state aid is projected to grow less than 1 percent for FY27 while the required local contribution rises 4.46 percent; federal entitlement grants including Title I were budgeted at 85 percent of expected levels due to a revised federal poverty formula, reducing offsets by roughly $450,000. A first round of cuts worth approximately $253,000 — including a shift from a registered nurse to a licensed practical nurse, reductions in Chromebook replacement, and deferred athletic and maintenance spending — brought the deficit to $594,000, but Rickson warned that further personnel reductions may be required to close the remaining gap and that a level-funded budget could jeopardize the district's maintenance-of-effort status for future federal grants.