Foreword: Next month (March, 2025) will be the five-year anniversary since the District issued a 30-year bond to pre-fund the design and construction of what is now the Douglas, Gates and Carol Huebner schools at the Boardwalk Campus. The bond was sold at what was considered a historically low (extraordinarily so) rate of interest, locked in at an effective fixed rate of 2.1%. The budget message for FY26 is to identify educational needs and the available means to fund them, exemplified in the following observations and related questions: • FY2026 is the fourth of four consecutive trying budget years, cutting positions throughout the District’s organization; we have successfully delivered a budget within available means. • Our non-negotiable fixed costs have well exceeded the proposition 2½ levy limits in many communities across the Commonwealth, ours being of no exception. • District reserves have dwindled and budgetary surpluses and turn backs have reduced over the past few years. • At the state level, many districts are arguing there should be more funding for Special Education costs and are doing everything in their power to try to be heard. FY2026’s Recommended Budget represents the following changes from FY2025:
• Operating Budget (Appropriation) of $116,135,080 ....…….… 1.53% increase • Total Assessment increase $1,602,690 • ACTON Assessment increase $764,760 • BOXBOROUGH Assessment increase $837,930 • Overall net reduction of 18.64 staff FTE
Rationale for the key components of this Recommended Budget are presented in Superintendent Peter Light’s report contained in this Budget Binder, as well as during the February 8 th Budget Workshop. Data analysis of the District’s staffing and enrollment projections underlying the Recommended Budget is contained in Deputy Superintendent Andrew Shen’s report, also contained herein. The focus of this memo will be “the numbers”; it will include analysis of variances, trends and other statistical budgetary metrics, and support for the key assumptions and estimates underlying the Recommended Budget. On behalf of the District, we appreciate your support, as well as your thoughtful attention to the material contained in this memo and binder. Please feel free to provide any constructive suggestions for future reports in this space.
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