MONROE, Conn. — Superintendent Joseph Kobza’s proposals to absorb a $1.85 million reduction to the increase he had requested in next year’s budget for Monroe’s public schools includes proposals to move eighth grade to Masuk High School, eliminate STEM Academy, eliminate freshmen sports at Masuk, and eliminate eight-to-11 certified staff and five-to-seven non-certified staff positions, among numerous adjustments.
On Monday, Kobza told the Board of Education salaries and health insurance benefits accounted for 84 percent of the 5.16 percent increase he asked for, and another 14 percent includes increased costs for transportation and special education outplacements.
A $250,000 reduction by the Board of Education and another $1.6 million made by First Selectman Terry Rooney resulted in a $76,700,763 proposal for a spending increase of 2.68 percent for fiscal year 2026-27.
“Hopefully, we can get some relief right now, but hope isn’t a sure thing,” Kobza said of situations that may change, such as the final number for the health insurance increase coming in lower.
The Board of Education’s budget will come before the Board of Finance next week. The board can make adjustments to the Board of Education’s budget, including adding and taking away funds.
Kobza said moving eighth grade to Masuk and making Jockey Hollow a grade six and seven school will allow the high school to share resources with eighth graders.
“We pick up FTEs in world language and math,” he said. “It allows us to share staff with eighth grade. There are a lot of things to work out to get there. This allows us to maximize the staff we have to limit class sizes and maintain as many elective offerings as possible.”
At Monday night’s school board meeting, the superintendent told board members he eliminated the three new proposals in the budget, before working with principals and other administrators to find cuts that would have a minimum impact on students, though more cuts still had to be made.
“We met on the Tuesday of the second snow day last week and really kind of put everything on the table,” Kobza said of his administrative team. “It was a very emotional conversation. It’s the same story everywhere. It’s salaries and benefits that are driving these increases. We are not an outlier with our request.”
After leaving out outliers like Bridgeport and Danbury, Kobza said superintendents of the 26 remaining towns in Monroe’s District Reference Group B average budget request was for a 5.52 percent increase.
Here is a breakdown of the adjustments he proposed:
Eliminating proposals for new positions: a $142,397 assistant principal at Stepney Elementary School; a $16,600 0.2 full time equivalent (FTE) math skills teacher at Jockey Hollow; and a $33,000 0.3 FTE speech language pathologist at Fawn Hollow Elementary School — total: $191,997.
IT/maintenance: Phone/maintenance contract $26,975 (savings), toner/phone repair $5,000, Chromebooks: $75,000, maintenance summer help $30,000 — total $136,975.
“I’m not saying we push off Chromebooks,” Kobza said. “I suggest we hit a revenue line for both Chromebooks and summer maintenance.”
He said summer maintenance entails emptying every room in the district, stripping and waxing the floors, so they look like brand new. “We didn’t do it last year. We cut this last year,” he said. “We don’t want to continue doing that. I suggest using revenue lines to pay for that help there.”
Cuts found by principals going over all their budget lines: Masuk $45,000, Jockey Hollow Middle School $35,000, Fawn Hollow $$39,000, Stepney $30,000 and Monroe Elementary School $25,500 — total: $174,500.
Kobza also proposed eliminating current positions: $136,875 Masuk mathematics and $105,679 pre-k — total: $242,554.
“We have a late retirement at Masuk for mathematics,” he said. “We won’t replace it. It drives up class sizes a little bit, but [Masuk Principal] Steve [Swensen] was comfortable enough to say we could go without that position if we have to.”
Kobza said pre-K revenue should be enough to cover the pre-K position this year, but the revenue is not always enough to pay for a teacher.
Proposed reductions with a greater impact on programming: $27,000 for Masuk/Jockey Hollow stipends for clubs, $17,608 for middle school athletic transportation, and $19,800 for freshmen athletics — total $64,408.
“We will eliminate freshmen athletics,” Kobza said. “It still gives freshmen an opportunity to play. They can possibly make junior varsity teams. Freshman sports are in football, boys soccer, and boys and girls basketball. It’s not a huge saver, but when you look at the stuff we’re gonna have to do to get there …”
The superintendent said the district could reach out for alternative funding sources. “We could ask the booster club to do something to support any of those efforts,” he said.
All of this left the superintendent with $964,181, which would hit certified and non-certified staff with eliminations of Appoximately eight-to-11 certified and five-to-seven non-certified staff.
“I’m not getting too specific here,” Kobza said. “We will have conversations with staff. This increases class sizes throughout the district. Those reductions will be felt at every level, elementary, middle school and high school, with fewer electives and special offerings, and possible changes to world language.”
The superintendent praised the work of Monroe’s school principals for being fiscally responsible with their budgets. Aside from contractual obligations for salaries, benefits, transportation and special education outside services, as well as the three new asks in Kobza’s original budget request, he said every other line of the education budget added up to a $106,000 decrease from current spending.
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These cuts are short-sighted and undermine the aspects of Monroe that make the town worth living in. We pay the taxes we do for the beautiful surroundings and the great school systems, both of which keep property values steady. For the second year in a row we are being offered a budget that fails to prioritize education and the next generation. Very on brand with the national political climate but not something I will ever support.
I agree wholeheartedly with Stephen’s comment. The BOF needs to restore the BOE budget.
As a parent, I urge you not to move eighth graders into a high school setting. At 13 or 14, they are still developing the judgment and emotional control they need to handle intense peer pressure and greater independence. Research on adolescence shows that the brain systems involved in impulse control and decision-making are still maturing well into the later teen years, which means younger teens are more vulnerable to stress and poor choices in demanding environments.
Placing eighth graders alongside 17- and 18-year-olds widens the maturity gap in ways that directly affect their behavior. Older students set the social norms in high school—around dating, parties, substance use, and online behavior—and younger teens often feel they must imitate them to fit in. Studies of the transition into high school have found that students can experience drops in achievement, increased anxiety, and concerns about safety and bullying as they adjust to larger campuses and more complex expectations. Introducing eighth graders to that environment a year early only increases the time they are exposed to negative influences without the maturity to navigate them safely.
Keeping eighth grade in middle school also protects a crucial stage of growth. In middle school, they can be the oldest students, practice leadership, and build confidence before entering a much larger system where they might otherwise feel lost or invisible. Research on school transitions emphasizes the importance of strong buffers—supportive relationships, smaller environments, and clear structure—to help adolescents succeed academically and emotionally. As a parent, I am not asking you to shelter our children from reality; I am asking you to give them one more year in an age-appropriate setting so that when they do walk into high school, they are ready to lead, not just struggle to keep up.