Milton Public Schools faces $2.83 million FY25 gap; officials weigh sports cuts, staffing and fee increases

Milton Public Schools officials told the School Committee that the district currently projects an operating shortfall of approximately $2.83 million for fiscal year 2025 and are preparing a list of possible reductions and offsets to present to the town Select Board before it reconvenes later this week.

District staff described several near‑term options that would reduce costs but carry operational or student‑impact consequences. Those options include moving to a centralized substitute coverage model at the middle and high schools (students supervised in a single space for one class period rather than an individual classroom substitute), prorating or freezing stipends, temporarily cutting or furloughing noncontracted HRS positions, raising community‑school tuition, negotiating lower out‑of‑district special‑education transportation rates and, as a last resort, canceling spring athletics.

District staff said the substitute coverage plan — negotiated with the union as a temporary measure — would place up to one teacher overseeing as many as 50 students for a single class period and would typically be used at the middle and high schools. Staff estimated the measure might reduce daily substitute costs from roughly $1,200 to a lower per‑day amount; using a rough implementation window to the…