A Balancing Act The efficient use of resources and the most effective use of resources are not necessarily synonymous. Creating a budget that meets our students’ needs within our available resources requires careful consideration of both efficiency and effectiveness. Reductions over the last three years have strained elements within our system. As we continue to maximize the efficient use of our resources to best serve as many students as possible, we understand that many of our educators feel they are not as effective as they want to be and are being stretched thin. The budget presented works to maximize the use of our resources, but cannot maintain all of the programs and services at the level we have previously provided. Budget Drivers Based on the school committee budget guidelines of an overall 3% budget increase, the available maximum budget for the school district is $116,135,080. Maintaining the same services in FY26 that were provided in FY25 would require a total budget of $118,122,784, an increase of 4.76%. The primary drivers of this increase include:
1. Personnel and the Cost of Contractual Obligations 2. Special Education Services, Tuitions & Transportation 3. Utilities and Maintenance of Buildings 4. Health Insurance
There are four significant finance changes impacting the budget:
1. Health Insurance (1% Increase) The enormous success of implementing an employee health insurance opt-out program that saved nearly $600K is negated by a state-wide increase in MIIA health insurance rates of 12%. In addition, the district’s runout claims from the Acton Health Insurance Trust are largely paid off, and allowed for our health insurance budget to be reduced by approximately $450K. Fortunately, these two savings offset much of the 12% increase in health insurance. This is a positive story emerging from one of the significant structural changes the district undertook last year. Notably, after the budget was developed, MIIA increased the health insurance rate based on the state-wide average to 14.84%, which will cost the district approximately $300K beyond what is reflected in the Preliminary Budget. This increase will need to be incorporated into the Superintendent’s Recommended Budget which will be released in late February. We are hearing from the industry that we may anticipate a similar or greater increase in health insurance rates next year as well. 2. Retirement of Excluded Debt ($1.6M Savings) FY25 represented the last debt payment for prior renovations to the Junior and Senior High Schools. The elimination of this debt from the budget represents a savings of approximately $1.6M. Because this debt was excluded from Proposition 2 ½, there is a corresponding decrease in town revenues, meaning the savings from this is unavailable for use on our budget.
To develop engaged, well-balanced learners through collaborative, caring relationships. WELLNESS • EQUITY • ENGAGEMENT
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