The School Committee met Feb. 13 to workshop its proposed budget for fiscal year 2026, which, Superintendent John Robidoux said, will not require an override.
The proposed budget is a 5.05% increase from the FY25 adopted budget at $49,120,285. About $39 million of this proposed budget is solely for salaries.
“This budget is increased from last year… because there were students and services that were not necessarily properly identified in the previous budget,” Robidoux said
Some increases that are part of the budget proposal include 2% for cost of living adjustment for employees, 2% for supply and contract services, and 4% for utilities.
Robidoux added, “We also did a $200,000 investment in curriculum refresh stipends. This is something that we never really had in the budget, so to speak. We’ve always done it on the back end.”
“We are confident that the level services budget will allow us to move forward with this budget and provide all the services necessary to educate our students and make sure that our students and staff have the resources they need,” Robidoux said.
The School Committee’s next meeting to discuss the budget should be on Feb. 27, but it is not yet set in the calendar.
