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School committee trims FY26 budget by about $617,000, proposes higher family bus cap and late fee
Summary
The committee reviewed a revised FY26 budget that reduced the certified figure by roughly $617,000 and voted to raise the family bus fee cap to $450 and add a $25 late-payment fee to encourage earlier sign-up.
Business manager John Shea presented a budget update at the April 15 meeting showing the district's certified FY26 budget of $28,390,177 had been revised downward to $27,772,888, a reduction of approximately $617,000 after several budget subcommittee meetings with town finance staff.
Shea walked the committee through line-item changes: a reduction of $105,000 in regular pupil transportation (removing one bus), some increases in telephone and computer/device costs because of vendor pricing and tariffs, and changes in special-education tuition and transportation tied to student placement shifts. On salary lines he said the committee and town agreed to allocate $250,000 from school choice funds to help the salary budget.
Committee members praised the collaborative budgeting process between the school and town finance committee and said the revised budget balanced district priorities with townwide fiscal constraints.
On transportation user fees the committee reviewed a fee comparison with neighboring towns. The district's per-student bus fee remains $250. The committee voted to raise the family cap (the maximum charge per household) from $400 to $450 for FY26 and to add a $25 late fee for fees paid after June 30, intended to encourage families to sign up earlier and reduce last-minute changes.
Motion language recorded in the meeting called for a $50 increase to the family cap (from $400 to $450) and a $25 late fee for payments made after June 30. The motion passed by voice vote.
Committee members emphasized they considered, but rejected, a more sweeping change that would limit busing to students the district is legally required to transport because of the heavy impact such a rollback would have on families.
