Bay Path presents FY26 budget; adds diesel vocational program funded by capital grant as state lottery proposal looms

Bay Path Regional Vocational Technical High School presented its FY26 proposed budget (accepted by the school committee March 3) and described program expansions that the district says are funded largely by state grants and existing reserves. The FY26 assessment to member towns is proposed at $30,298,721 (total budget including school choice is listed as $30,592,510); Chapter 70 and Chapter 71 preliminary estimates from the governor's budget were cited as $14,565,806 and $1,375,375 respectively.

The presentation matters to the school’s 10 sending towns because the district’s required minimum municipal contributions collectively increase by $388,016 and transportation assessments rose by $345,176, the district said. The budget includes a $1,552,003 debt-service assessment (listed as $845,000 in principal and $707,003 in interest) and proposes using $500,000 from excess and deficiency (E&D) funds to reduce a prior-year net-school-spending shortfall.

Key program and personnel changes are front-loaded in the FY26 plan. The district plans to expand a newly created…