Citizen Portal
Sign In

Committee approves $200,000 special appropriation to preserve Norwalk free school meals

Norwalk City Finance & Claims Committee · November 14, 2025
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

The Finance & Claims Committee approved a $200,000 special appropriation to Norwalk Public Schools lunch fund and noted a matching $200,000 contribution from the McChord Foundation to restore a program the board had proposed reducing.

The Finance & Claims Committee on Nov. 13 voted unanimously to approve a resolution recommending a $200,000 special appropriation from the general fund balance to the Norwalk Public Schools lunch fund to preserve the district’s free meals program.

Jared Schmidt, the city CFO, explained that the appropriation is a special item that comes through the Board of Estimate and Taxation and the Common Council. The total restoration effort discussed during the meeting called for roughly $500,000 to cover the full program: $200,000 from the McChord Foundation, $200,000 from the city, and the remainder from the Board of Education.

Schmidt and Chair Jim Frayer said the appropriation reverses a post-budget reduction the Board of Education had proposed and reflects public and mayoral support for restoring school nutrition programs.