Duxbury educators and students urge ‘yes’ on override as committee outlines potential staff cuts and fee options

Stephanie Madden, president of the Duxbury Teachers Association, told the School Committee that without additional funds the district would face deep cuts that would harm students’ classroom experience. “Without additional funding, their overall educational experience will look vastly different,” Madden said during public comment ahead of the March 22 town election.

The appeal was echoed by students from Duxbury High School. Ella Deacon, speaking for multiple student groups, said the district could lose staff and program offerings if the override fails: “If the override fails, these core elements of our education will be in jeopardy,” she said, and listed an estimate of “24.5 staff cuts” attributed to the student speaker’s summary of the district projection.

Why it matters: committee members and administrators framed the vote as central to the district’s ability to maintain current staffing levels, electives, and co-curricular opportunities. In public remarks and later committee discussion, administrators said some cuts and capital deferrals are already planned and that additional reductions would follow a failed override.

School leaders told the committee they had trimmed the district’s “real needs” budget before the override request — including $141,992 in expense reductions and 5.8 positions identified for possible elimination in the proposal posted for town review. Superintendent-level staff cautioned that additional choices would need to be made if voters do not approve the override, including possible adjustments to activity fees, family caps, and athletic program staffing and supervision.

Committee discussion emphasized process and next steps rather than decisions. The superintendent said no final choices had been made: staff “will need to come and just say, with looking at our athletic programs, are we being as cost effective as we need to be,” and added, “Nothing’s been decided, deliberated on, nothing’s been voted on.” Committee members repeatedly urged turnout at the March 22 election.

The public comment period included two different estimates of likely staff losses if the override fails: Madden warned of “a loss of 18 staff members” in her prepared remarks for the Duxbury Teachers Association, while the student representative cited a district figure of “24.5 staff cuts.” Committee materials posted before the meeting list a 5.8‑FTE reduction already included in the district’s trimmed “real needs” budget and $141,992 in expense reductions. The meeting transcript does not show a single unified final staffing total beyond those statements.

The committee approved routine business under a consent agenda during the same meeting. The motion to approve the consent agenda — which the chair described as including approval of the Feb. 5 meeting minutes, a Duxbury High School overnight trip to Spain in April, the assistant superintendent contract extension, and policies slated for second reading — was moved and seconded and accepted by voice vote.

What remains unresolved: administrators said they will return to the committee after the town election with concrete recommendations depending on the outcome. They listed topics that could be considered, including fee increases, family cap adjustments, and prioritization of capital maintenance projects such as field and lab furniture replacements. The committee asked staff to continue public outreach and to clarify budget items regardless of the election outcome.

Ending: Committee members closed the meeting by reminding residents to vote on March 22 and by scheduling follow-up committee work after the election to present specific options for further reductions or investments.