The Board of Education (BOE) talked about education budget updates, along with calendar updates, in a brief meeting on Tuesday, March 17.

BOE Chair Alison Plante said they planned for a Celebration of Excellence honoring Sandy Hook Elementary School’s Scripps Spelling Bee winners at the meeting. However, Plante said the students could not make it, meaning the celebration will be postponed to a future date.

The Celebration of Excellence was originally scheduled for the BOE’s March 3 meeting, but was postponed due to the inclement weather causing the meeting to be held over Google Meet.

Plante started her report with a brief budget update. After the 2026-27 education budget passed at the BOE’s February 18 meeting, Plante said the Board of Finance (BOF) has since reviewed and taken action on the budget at its March 9 meeting.

She said the BOF moved to make a $125,000 reduction to the budget in a 5-1 vote.

“We met with the BOF and the Legislative Council last week, [Superintendent of Schools Anne Uberti] gave a full presentation of our budget. The BOF spoke to their reduction and their rationale, and now it’s with the Council for their consideration,” Plante explained.

The BOF was overall very complimentary of the education budget, adding how its members thought the budget was well-structured and well-defended, according to Plante.

She added that they did not see any material places to make reductions.

BOE member Melissa Beylouni asked when the Legislative Council will give their final take on the budget. Plante said the Legislative Council will hold a public hearing on March 18, with further discussion at their regular meeting immediately afterwards.

Plante said she believes the Legislative Council is expected to take action at their meeting next Wednesday, March 25.

Uberti shared that she presented an overview of the Board of Education budget for parents, PTA leaders, staff, and administrators at Reed Intermediate School on March 16. She thanked everyone who came out despite the rainstorm and high winds, and said several people were able to attend online as well. “There were a lot of great questions, and it’s appreciated that people are staying engaged, especially our PTA leaders who are working behind the scenes to keep the budget in the forefront of everyone’s minds,” Uberti said.

The BOE unanimously voted to set the Newtown Middle School Moving-Up Ceremony to June 15 and the Newtown High School graduation for June 16.

The last day of school, assuming there are no more weather events, is June 18, according to Uberti. Uberti added that they are now maintaining an updated calendar on the district website where any days that are canceled are in red. "So if you go to the website to the calendar, it will be up to date," Uberti said.

Reporter Jenna Visca can be reached at jenna@thebee.com.