What’s in Darien’s Proposed 2026-2027 Budget?

The Darien Board of Education is requesting a $130 million budget, up 3.51% from last year—the lowest budget request since 2021. Meanwhile, the Board of Selectmen budget is projected for $40.1 million, a 5.5% increase from the year before. 

The entire town side, which includes the BOS operating budget, library costs, and the debt service fund, is up $4.8 million or an 8.2% increase for a total town budget of $63.1 million. In addition, the town is also projecting to bring in slightly less revenue from investment income, budgeting for just $2.4 million, compared to $3.9 million the year before. 

First Selectman Jon Zagrodzky said that he believed the budget was “adequate for meeting town needs,” while adding that they would have liked to see the increase close to 3.5% to 4%, but felt the “budget is pretty tight.” 

Board of Education Chair Robin Nelson said that on the school side the board and administration “ worked to ensure that the budget effectively allocates the resources needed to support our strategic goals and meet the needs of our students while maintaining fiscal responsibility to our taxpayers.”

What’s in the proposed budget?

On the school side, Nelson said the budget includes funding for adding five instructional coaches at the elementary school level to help “strengthen teaching and learning.” The district is also proposing to add a public information coordinator to “improve communication, community engagement, and create greater transparency.” The budget also calls for adding new software to help support “AI integration into teaching and learning.” 

The district is facing some of the same rising healthcare costs that others across the region are dealing with, but Nelson said they are transitioning to a self-insured health insurance model and changing the plan design to help mitigate some of the rising costs. Nelson said if they had stuck with the current health care plan, it would have added an extra $1 million to the budget.  

On the town side, Zagrodzky said that increases in salaries and health insurance costs made up about 50% of the projected increase. 

In addition, the town is adding a new $360,000 grant to Post 53, an EMS operator that uses “highly trained and state-certified Darien High School students, as well as adult advisors, to deliver emergency ambulance service” in the community. 

The squad had been self-funded through donations, according to Zagrodzky, but noted that they’ve seen a significant increase in call volume, up 25% since 2019. There’s also higher demands on students’ time meaning they have less time available for their work on the EMS squad. The adult advisors have been dealing with an increasing administrative burden, and they’ve been dealing with operating losses. 

Zagrodzky called them an “important part of the town fabric,” so when they came to request a “focused grant,” he and the Board of Selectmen voted to support it. The $360,000 would cover operating salaries for the full-time executive director, and then part-time hourly support staff of a CFO, repairs and maintenance, and IT services. 

“When they presented it, it felt compelling to us,” he said. 

The budget also calls for a new deputy fire marshal that would start in January 2027, which Zagrodzky said is “driven by the growth in commercial development” in town. Those properties all require fire marshal inspections so the “demands on the fire department have grown.” 

Zagrodzky did note that there could be potential savings for health insurance for the town that was not factored into the budget. The budget only includes the “worst-case scenario,” which is the most recent proposal from United Healthcare. He said the town is shopping its plan and is “evaluating a carrier change,” which could result in some savings as the budgets are finalized. 

What are the next steps?

The Board of Finance will hold a public hearing, where residents are invited to share their thoughts on the budgets for the town and school district on Tuesday, March 10 at 7:30 p.m.

From there, the Board of Finance will continue its review of the budget throughout March and into April before voting on it on April 7. The budget then goes to the Representative Town Meeting, which can only reduce the budget, for final adoption in May.

You can see the full proposed budget and schedule online.