Milton Public Schools outlines FY26 budget, warns of program cuts if override fails

Milton Public Schools leaders outlined the district's fiscal picture and possible program reductions in a neighborhood information session, saying the school allocation in the town's proposed override is $5.7 million and that, without voter approval, the district will implement staffing and program cuts next year.

"The mission of our district, of the Milton public schools, is to educate, challenge, and empower all students to be productive, caring, and contributing members of society," said Lizzie Carroll, chair of the Milton School Committee, opening the session and framing the budget discussion around student impact.

The district presented a FY26 "level-service" budget (the cost to maintain current services) that the team said would require an 8.4% increase to fully meet projected recurring costs. Mark Loring, School Committee finance chair, said the select board set the town-wide override at 9.5% and allocated $5.7 million to the schools, down from the district's original request of $6.4 million. "With the reduction in that amount, we will need to reduce programming, slightly to to accommodate for that $700,000 cut," Loring said.

Why it matters: district leaders said the reductions will affect programs, staffing and services that directly touch students and families. Dr. Peter Burrows, who presented the list of proposed non-override reductions, warned of operational and…