March - April
FY26 Budget +Presentation to City Council
July
FY26 Budget commences.
For the FY26 school year, the City of Newton proposed budget for NPS is $292,963,623, a $10.3 million (3.65%) increase over FY25’s $282,647,007, with salaries and benefits comprising roughly 87% of total spending. Initially, in March 2025, NPS requested $297,508,631 —$4.55 million more than the City’s allocation — after reviewing enrollment trends, staffing and program needs, and contractual obligations, while aiming to meet students’ academic, social, and emotional ne eds. This proposal maintained mostly level services while addressing underfunded areas such as substitutes and professional development. In April 2025, the School Committee approved a reduced budget of $296,352,258 by removing funding for full-day kindergarten aides and assuming level federal Title Grant funding, yet it still exceeded the City’s allocation by $3.38 million. On May 19, 2025, the final FY26 budget of $292,963,623 —aligned with the City’s allocation— was passed by both the School Committee and City Council. This was achieved through additional one-time city funding from free cash and further NPS budget adjustments and savings. The FY26 budget reflects a restrained and strategic approach to financial management and prioritizing academic excellence, equity, and community engagement. It should be noted that this budget does contain areas of risk, particularly with a dramatically different strategy for Federal funding that has not been confirmed, and which may force significant reprioritization within the State's budget priorities. However, this budget aims to position the district for continued success in providing high-quality education to all students while striving for fiscal responsibility and sustainability. It must be asserted, very clearly, to our community: this budget does not yet achieve the aspired goals of the district or the vision that Dr. Nolin, the leadership team, and the community stakeholders who joined in a myriad of listening and planning sessions has articulated through the District Strategic Plan and Goals including the Portrait of a Leaner and strategic planning groups. The broader fiscal environment presents significant challenges. State funding through Chapter 70 has not kept pace with inflation, circuit breaker reimbursements remain incomplete, and federal pandemic relief funds have expired. Locally, NPS faces five major pressures: reliance on the $22 million Education Stabilization Fund (with $4.25 million allocated for FY26), growing and more complex student needs requiring 15.1 new special education FTEs, salary and benefit costs outpacing the 3.65% budget allocation (with health insurance costs up 11.2%), heavy reliance on one-time funds ($6.83 million in FY26), and continued rising expenses in transportation, tuition, and substitute coverage.
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