Peter J. Light Superintendent of Schools
To:
Acton-Boxborough Regional School Committee
From: Date:
Peter Light, Superintendent of Schools
January 28, 2025
RE:
FY2026 Superintendent’s Preliminary Budget Message
Development of the FY26 Budget began with enormous gratitude to the residents of Acton and Boxborough for supporting the school’s significant budget increase last year. It also came with an understanding that there are limits to the two communities’ resources. We now have a greater understanding that the budgetary challenges of the last three years appear to be part of a longer-term state and national funding pattern for education. Despite the communities having supported a significant increase in the school budget last year, the current reality is that expenses continue to outpace revenues. We believe this trend will continue for at least several years - unless the state revises its funding formula. We also acknowledge in the FY26 budget that the district enrollment has declined by approximately 600 students since regionalization and current projections indicate a continued enrollment decline of an additional 300 students over the next 8 years. While enrollment has declined over the last 8 years, we have a greater total number of professional staff than when the district fully regionalized. This is explained by a significant increase in the number of support staff (special education, multilingual education, and intervention staff) that parallels increases in our high-needs student population. The enrollment reality signals a need to continue “right-sizing” our general education staff to the enrollment of the schools as we ensure adequate support for students with diverse needs. Budget Guidelines The school committee tasked the administration with a series of budget guidelines, and the FY26 preliminary budget reflects many of these. That said, it is not possible to meet all of the school committee’s educational goals within the established revenue limits. For example, there is no proposed reduction in Kindergarten tuition, and we have been unable to fund all of our Tier 2 & 3 supports at current levels.
The Budget Guidelines as adopted by the school committee are:
The school committee recognizes the significant contributions of Acton and Boxborough Taxpayers to funding our schools. As such, the school committee directs the administration to balance the needs of our students, staff, and taxpayers within the following budget guidelines: The school committee expects the administration to prioritize funding to ensure students have access to a robust, tiered system of supports for their: ● Social-emotional, mental, and behavioral health needs ● Academic needs ● Multilingual services ● Special Education supports and services
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