A budget deficit is when the overall money the school will spend by the end of the school year is less than the money the school received from the government. Bridgeport School District has about 28$ million budget deficits. After multiple budget cuts, the school districts are now figuring out other areas to reduce funding.
The district originally faced a projected 67.9 million funding gap for the year of 2025-2026.This reduced the current amount of various cost-effective plans which included eliminating 80 positions. The budget cut did not meet the requirement, leaving the school district todrop all Bridgeport librarians, staff members, counselors’ transportation for 2400 students, and popular performing arts program. Officials claim to have saved $19.2 million through these measures. Superintendent Royce Avery asked the state committee to increasefunding and said that without sustainable investment from the city, the gap in the quality of education between Bridgeport and its neighboring communities “will only widen”. Thedistrict eliminated 44 kindergarten paraprofessionals in April 2025, to save about 1.3 million. However, after carefully evaluating grants and attendance programs, the school board brought back the paraprofessionals by reducing substitute teacher budget. The officials are hoping the teachers would support a consistent attendance since bringing back paraprofessionals makes work easier. Superintendent Royce Avery also considered following the 34 recommendations for the Bridgeport school proposed by CliftonLarsonAllen, the Shelton-based accounting firm that conducted a forensic audit of the district’s finances.
And finally, after many discussions, the district hired Public Works, LLC, a Pennsylvaniabased consulting firm to further aid in closing the budget gap. The consultants will work with the district, evaluating grants, positions, and budgets, to help them close the huge budget gap. According to superintendent Royce Avery, the consultants will also address the 34 recommendations that came from the financial audit. The State Department of Education has distributed $250,000 to pay for Public Works
