Milton schools propose higher community‑schools and activity fees; theater fee to rise per production

The Milton Public Schools Finance Committee on a morning meeting reviewed proposed FY26 fee changes, including a 17% increase for the district’s community‑schools before‑ and after‑school program and a proposal to change theater fees to $100 per production with a $500 family cap.

The committee was told the 17% increase is intended to keep the community‑schools wraparound program self‑sustaining. Staff presented a three‑year projection showing an end‑of‑year surplus of about $895,000 under current assumptions; with a $250,000 operating chargeback and a 17% fee increase for FY26, the program’s projected surplus would fall to about $225,000. With additional hypothetical increases in later years the surplus could decline to $60,000 and then turn into a deficit absent further adjustments.

Why it matters: community‑schools operations are funded through fees and program revenue rather than the district’s operating budget. Staff said the program previously drew more than $500,000 from the operating budget in one year and that the proposed increase aims to avoid repeated chargebacks that pressure the town operating budget.

Committee members asked for more detail on enrollment and wait lists, and asked staff to return with a fuller program update. Martha Sandoval, identified in the discussion as the community‑schools director, was credited by staff for work on program expansion and managing capacity; speakers asked staff to provide updated wait‑list and registration numbers to judge how a fee change would affect access.

Student activities and theater: staff recommended holding most student‑activity fees steady for FY26 while doing more analysis of stipends and participation because student activities vary widely in time and material costs. Staff proposed treating theater productions differently, moving from a $25 user fee to $100 per production to reflect the time and materials for music/drama productions. The presenter said a family cap similar to athletics (staff proposed $500) would be considered.

Committee members suggested interim, limited adjustments to club fees because many club fees have not changed since FY2018. In discussion staff offered specific, draft adjustments to be reflected in the fee schedule for the committee’s next review: a $40 fee at one secondary school activity line (to align with a $37.50 baseline elsewhere) and a $27.50 line referenced for high‑school clubs; staff also agreed to update the fee schedule to show recommended changes and to return the full document to the committee for final review.

Other fees: staff identified rental fees and a high‑school security fee that have not been updated since earlier years (some not updated since 2013) and said they will review those fee lines next year because they feed a facility revolving fund.

Committee direction and next steps: staff agreed to prepare an updated fee schedule for the full committee meeting the following week, provide a fuller community‑schools program update (including wait‑list and capacity data), and perform a deeper analysis tying specific stipends to program frequency and cost before proposing broad student‑activity fee increases.

Ending: The committee scheduled a follow‑up review of the fee schedule at its next meetings and asked staff to return more granular stipend, participation and wait‑list information before any final FY26 fee adjustments are adopted.