Wellesley Public Schools: Fiscal Year 2026 Budget
These reductions are included in the “Level Service” category. Base salary increases are $3,517,027 or 3.86% increase over FY’25. With these large base salary increases, the enrollment-based savings are difficult to identify. This table provides the expected financial and FTE impact of these reductions. The distribution of staff and related changes proposed as part of the FY’26 Budget is described in more detail in Appendix A: Staffing Development and Appendix B: Enrollment. Full-Time Equivalents (FTEs) Changes Reflected in the FY’26 Budget: The table below provides a summary of full-time equivalent and headcount changes from the FY’25 Adjusted Budget to the FY’26 Budget by funding source. In Appendix A: Salary Projection Development, we have provided details around the FY’26 staffing changes (FTE and headcount). Below is a summary of the data:
General Fund
Grant Funds
Revolving Funds
Architecture Level
FTE Headcount 805.57 873.00
FTE Headcount
FTE
Headcount
FY’25 Base
37.70 0.00 (0.29)
39.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 38.00
2.98 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 2.98 0.00
4.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 4.00 0.00
Enrollment Changes
(8.10)
(3.00) (11.00)
Level Service (12.27)
Strategic Priorities Other Critical Needs
0.00 0.90
0.00 0.00
0.00 0.00
FY’26 Budget
786.11 859.00
37.41 (0.29)
Increase/(Decrease) (19.47)
(14.00)
0.00
The FY’26 Budget results in an overall FTE reduction of 19.76 FTEs and a headcount change of 14 across all funding sources. Level services changes are primarily the result enrollment calibration (-8.10 FTEs), the closure of FY’25 unfilled positions (-10.75 FTEs), a Multilingual Learner position (0.30 FTE), and the movement of the School Resource Nurse (0.29 FTE) from the Comprehensive School Health state grant fund to the General Fund. Under the Strategic Priorities category is the replacement of three (3) elementary reading intervention paraprofessionals with three (3) literacy specialist positions. This will result in two (2) literacy and two (2) math specialists at each elementary school. Other critical needs include the expansion of the family and consumer science teacher at the high school to full time. Demand for Family and Consumer Science classes has exceeded the number of available seats. In the school year 2024-2025, the number of students who requested enrollment in the Joy of Cooking and Food, Culture, and Society exceeded the current capacity by 184 students. In addition, to provide appropriate supervision of the high school library, the budget includes the expansion of an instructional library assistant. Property Taxes Wellesley relies heavily on local revenue sources to fund the public schools. In 1980, a ballot initiative in Massachusetts to limit the growth of local property taxes passed. This law, referred to as Proposition 2 1/2 3 , went into effect in 1982. Essentially, the personal property tax may not increase more than 2.5% of the prior year's levy limit, plus new growth and any overrides or exclusions. A community may vote to allow for a Proposition 2 ½ override vote to permanently increase the tax burden. Below is a table showing the historical property valuations and tax rates:
3 Massachusetts General Law Ch. 59 § 21C
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