Wellesley Public Schools: Fiscal Year 2026 Budget
The surplus funds in FY’22-FY’24 was primarily driven by increased state and federal funds associated with COVID mitigation and challenges with hiring staff post-pandemic. The FY’25 adjusted budget is balanced through the second quarter of the fiscal year. The Select Board guideline is 3.25% for fiscal year 2026. To be responsive to the School Committee’s budget guidelines, the district has included strategic priorities and other critical needs for consideration. Below is a summary of the FY’26 budget requests by level.
Amount Above Guideline (Cumulative)
Budget Architecture
$ Amount
% Amount
Level Service
$3,006,372 $120,567
3.30% 0.13% 0.07% 3.50%
$46,208 $166,775 $224,566 $224,566
Strategic Priorities Other Critical Needs
$57,792
FY’26 Budget
$3,184,730
The deficit shown in the table above for FY’26 represents the difference between the district’s budget submission and the Select Board guideline of 3.25%. The main driver for this difference is two-fold. The fiscal year 2026 negotiated salary increase is 3.00% for all units. This, along with the other salary-related financial impacts (turnover savings, lane changes, etc.) resulted in an increase of 3.86% - far above the guideline. In addition, mandated service increases account for an additional 0.94%. Enrollment calibration and other administrative decisions has allowed the district to present a budget for the School Committees review at 3.50% or $224,566 above the Select Board guideline. Key Takeaways: When building a forecast, we are conservative in our approach. The main drivers to the projected deficits are related to anticipated salary increases and contractual obligations. Out of district rate changes: Approved private day and residential school tuition rates are determined by the Executive Office of Administration and Finance, Operational Services Division, Special Education Pricing Unit. By October 1 of each year, the special education pricing unit notifies School Superintendents of the rate changes that will be applied to approved schools for the upcoming fiscal year. This is meant to help districts budget for this cost center. The projection anticipates a slight reduction of the current rate (3.67%) to 3.00% for each of the next three years. Salary adjustments: taking a conservative approach, the district has reviewed the enrollment projections K-12 and made staffing projections based on our recent enrollment projections. This results in an expected increase in classroom teacher positions (1.50 FTEs in FY’27-FY’29). Four of the five collective bargaining agreements with the Wellesley Educator Association will expire on June 30, 2026. The fifth agreement (Unit E: Technology Support Professionals) is being negotiated. With no known increases to the salary tables for FY’27 – FY’29, salary accounts are increased by 2.00% annually. Contractual obligations: multi-year contracts with our transportation vendors are reflected in the forecast.
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