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Milton pauses hiring for 8.5 positions to shore up FY26 budget
Summary
Superintendent John Phelan told the Milton School Committee that administrators will not fill 8.5 vacant positions this school year, freeing about $772,279 to cover projected shortfalls and shore up underfunded lines while preserving jobs for current employees.
Superintendent John Phelan told the Milton School Committee on Aug. 20 that the district will pause filling 8.5 vacant positions this year to reallocate about $772,279 to budget lines that closed FY25 short. The committee voted to support the administration’s direction.
Phelan said the move is intended to prevent a repeat of recent fiscal-year shortfalls and give the district time to “recast” the FY26 budget after the close of FY25. “To be able to make up a $2,500,000 deficit in 5 months is quite a feat,” he said, praising the town’s override and district staff who closed last year’s gap.
School officials say the vacancies are existing, unfilled posts; no current employee will be laid off as part of this action. The administration identified $772,279 in salary savings by pausing hiring for a set of roles and reallocating those dollars to lines such as utilities, contracted services and certain payroll accounts that finished FY25 underfunded.
Most of the paused positions were ones district leaders judged either nonessential for this school year or positions that can be temporarily reorganized without forcing employee separations. The list included a director-level technology post, an equity coach, one float nurse, a high-school/team-chair reorganization instead of an additional team chair, an assistant director of student services (vacant), a vacated special-education position at the Glover, a reduction of one speech-language pathologist to 0.5 FTE, a building substitute in preschool, and a planned reduction in custodial overtime. Phelan said many vacancies were the result of resignations earlier in the summer.
Phelan and the administration emphasized that the decision reflects a one-year pause, not a permanent elimination. “These positions will be reevaluated during the FY27 discussion and potentially put back in place next year,” he said. Several committee members and the finance subcommittee said they supported the short-term step so the district has funds available early in the fiscal year rather than waiting until midyear adjustments are required.
The school committee’s finance subcommittee met over the summer and brought the plan to the full committee for approval of the general direction; the committee then voted to support the administration’s approach. The administration said a subsequent, detailed vote will be required to move the reallocated dollars into specific budget lines after quarter‑1 closeouts and further review.
Officials said the district will continue to monitor enrollment, caseloads and service needs during the year and will return to the committee if conditions require restoring any of the paused positions. Phelan said the district will post the memo with the vacancy list and savings and will send additional communications to families and staff.
The committee’s step preserves current employees’ jobs while shifting how vacancies are used to stabilize the FY26 budget; members said the pause is intended to be temporary and to allow time for fuller FY27 planning and community engagement.
Less urgent operational items discussed at the meeting included approvals of minutes, student handbooks and vendor warrants; those votes were taken during the Aug. 20 meeting and are recorded in the committee minutes.
