Derby finance director outlines 2025-26 budget enhancements, benefit enrollment timeline and budget-priority process
Summary
Director of finance Pam Kelly reviewed the district budget adopted earlier in the month, described salary and benefits changes included in the budget, and outlined the budget-priority process for next year, including staff survey and review steps.
Pam Kelly, Derby Public Schools' director of finance, updated the board on Oct. 27 about the district's recently adopted budget, benefit-enrollment timelines and the district's budget-priority process for the 2026-27 budget year.
Kelly said the district's adopted budget included a 4.62% salary increase and additional targeted investments: added special-education teacher positions and paraprofessionals, increased elementary counseling and math specialist capacity, an additional assistant principal at the high school, continuation of the PRIME Fit program at two schools, an added RISE program, and a new director of teaching and learning. She told the board the health-benefit employee out-of-pocket increase was limited to under $40 per month regardless of plan.
Kelly said the district is completing required audits, including the KSDE special-education audit and the annual CPA audit. The superintendent's organization report (SO66) and Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) reporting requirements have been completed or are nearing completion; benefit-enrollment for employees runs Nov. 3–14.
She described the district's budget-priority process: an online submission and survey of staff beginning in November, building-level review in December, district-team prioritization in January, vetting and ranking through March, and final board recommendations in the late spring after the state legislative session and funding levels are clearer. The process includes a stronger emphasis on identifying budget efficiencies and separating general-fund from capital-outlay requests.
Board members asked process questions about how to submit efficiency ideas; Kelly said the survey will include examples and a dedicated path for marking and describing efficiency proposals. No budget decisions were reversed at the meeting; the report was informational and intended to guide next steps.
