Michael Grove, Assistant Superintendent for Finance, presented the latest figures for the 2012-13 school budget at Tuesday night’s School
Finance Committee meeting. Down $224,169 from the last version, the current budget totaling $104,145,965 represents an increase of 4.56 percent over this year’s budget of just under $100 million. The city has not approved a school funding increase in the last three budget cycles.

In a committee meeting that took place immediately before the full school board meeting, Grove explained that the latest decrease in the numbers comes mainly in two areas.

First, the Thomas Edison Magnet School lowered its tuition increase request to 1.2 percent from 3.2 percent, shaving more than $77,300 from the proposed budget. Last year, Edison was granted a tuition increase of less than 1 percent.

The other notable reduction is also related to a magnet-school arrangement. Wintergreen Interdistrict Magnet School in Hamden, which takes about 90 students from Meriden, has agreed to pay for 41 of those students. The continuing arrangement saves the Meriden School District more than $158,000, according to Grove.

“We just got confirmation that the Wintergreen deal will happen,” Grove told the board.

Though school officials continue to whittle away at the budget, Superintendent Dr. Mark Benigni has said that another year of flat school spending could mean closing an elementary school. The board has gone so far as to hire a consultant to study the possibilty.