Racial Justice Coalition Questions Sanchez Budget Proposal

By the New Britain Racial Justice Coalition,

The New Britain Racial Justice Coalition (NBRJC) is raising serious concerns about Mayor Bobby Sanchez’s proposed FY27 budget, stating clearly that it reduces overall education funding while failing to meaningfully invest in libraries and community services.

Despite public claims of increased support for schools, the full budget shows that total education funding actually decreases. Total education funding drops by approximately $1.6 million (-1.24%), while the operating budget increases by approximately $1 million (+0.78%). The net impact is that New Britain Public Schools will have fewer real resources than last year.

Alicia Strong, NBRJC co-director, former New Britain student and current public school teacher noted,

“This is not an increase. It is a decrease in total education funding, and our students will feel the consequences.”

As a result of this reduction, schools will be forced to absorb rising costs with fewer resources. Students will face larger class sizes, reduced programming, and cuts to arts, sports, and enrichment opportunities. Educators will be stretched thinner, and schools will be unable to maintain current levels of support.

The proposed budget also fails to adequately fund the New Britain Public Library. Library funding increases by less than one percent, which does not keep pace with inflation or growing community demand. In practice, this results in continued strain on staffing, programming, and access to services.

At the same time, the budget increases funding in other areas. Police funding rises by $1.32 million (6.39%), fire funding increases by $744,000 (4.28%), and building enforcement grows by 13.85%. Community services remain effectively flat, and the health department sees only modest increases despite expanded responsibilities related to housing instability and public health response.

Taken together, these choices reflect a set of priorities that invest more in enforcement and administration than in the systems that support families and prevent harm.

“We are choosing to invest more in responding to problems than in preventing them,” said Jacob Pudlin of the New Britain Racial Justice Coalition.

NBRJC is calling on the Mayor and City Council to revise the proposed budget to restore and increase total education funding, provide meaningful investment in libraries, expand community services and youth programming, and invest in housing stability and public health infrastructure.

New Britain’s students, families, and residents deserve a budget that reflects their needs and invests in long-term stability.