WELLESLEY PUBLIC SCHOOLS 40 Kingsbury Street • Wellesley • Massachusetts 02481 781-446-6200
Dr. DAVID F. LUSSIER Superintendent of Schools
SANDRA A. TRACH Assistant Superintendent, Teaching and Learning
CYNTHIA D. MAHR Assistant Superintendent, Finance and Operations
December 10, 2024
Dear Members of the Wellesley Public Schools Community,
I am pleased to present the Administration’s recommended budget for FY2026. This document reflects the work of our staff at the school and district levels to maintain the Wellesley Public Schools’ commitment to high standards of equity and excellence for all of our students. This budget, for School Year 2025-26, is grounded in the WPS Strategic Plan, which continues to frame the district’s work through four priority areas:
Priority #1: Ensuring high expectations teaching and learning for all students Priority #2: Supporting and strengthening our workforce/high-quality professional learning Priority #3: Building community partnerships and enhancing engagement Priority #4: Improving facilities and optimizing resources
As in prior years, the Administration developed the recommended FY2026 budget using the familiar budget model of maintaining level service, while also proposing investments in the WPS strategic priority areas and other critical needs. Given the realities of increased non-discretionary costs, however, and the budget guidelines adopted by the Town, this proposed budget is primarily a level service budget, allowing us to maintain a consistent standard of service next year based on adjustments such as contractual increases, changes in student enrollment, out-of-district tuition inflation, etc. A key driver of this budget is student enrollment. The district’s elementary enrollment, which has been in decline for more than a decade, has now stabilized, and the district is forecasting that elementary enrollment will begin increasing each year over the next four years. There are no reductions in elementary sections forecasted for FY2026. The middle and high schools are slated to see enrollment declines until larger cohorts of elementary students progress through our K-5 grade levels and begin arriving at the secondary level. This budget includes staff reductions at WMS and WHS calibrated to those student enrollment adjustments. The collective bargaining agreements with the five units of the Wellesley Educators association (WEA) are also an important driver of staffing costs of the FY2026 budget. Competitive compensation remains vital in allowing the district to recruit and retain high quality staff in a very competitive labor market. The result is that rising compensation costs in FY2026 increase the district’s base budget by 3.86 percent before any other proposed adjustments. The Administration is proposing important investments to support the district’s teaching and learning focus. This includes the addition of literacy specialists at the elementary level as well as increasing support for multi-lingual learners. The district is also maintaining its investments in staff training and professional development, which remain critical in supporting and developing our workforce and meeting the needs of our students. In special education, the district is expecting significant increases in expenses related to out-of-district student placements. Students continue to present complex profiles and the district strives to serve as many students as
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