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Boston Public Schools proposes $53.4 million net increase, shifts $5 million in cuts to central office
Summary
Superintendent and Boston City Council Ways and Means members discussed the Boston Public Schools (BPS) FY26 budget, including a $53.4 million spending increase, net addition of roughly 37 school-based positions, and $5 million in additional central office reductions identified ahead of the school committee vote.
My name is Brian Worrell, District 4 city councilor, chair of the Boston City Council Committee on Ways and Means, opened the April 15 hearing and said the session would cover BPS partnership and external funds, central office, contracts and staffing, and the technology revolving fund. "The full hearing schedule is on our website," Worrell said.
The superintendent told the committee the FY26 budget represents a $53,400,000 spending increase over FY25, including $22,000,000 in new investments and roughly $21,000,000 in cost savings. "This has allowed us to reinvest $43,000,000 back into our schools," the superintendent said. The superintendent also said he had asked staff to identify an additional $5,000,000 in cuts to central office budgets, citing efficiencies in transportation, facilities, and contract spending.
The superintendent and Budget Director Serena LaRocque described staffing changes: the budget shows a net increase of about 37 positions compared with the prior year. "In general, these positions are instructional-focused teaching positions," the superintendent said, and officials said nearly all new positions are school-based (instructional or paraprofessional) rather than central-office roles. LaRocque told councilors central offices reviewed programming, tied staffing to specific programs and regional support models, and examined long-vacant positions when identifying reductions.
Councilors pressed for line-item detail. Councilor Weber asked why central office spending is rising and was told much of the central increase reflects student-facing services that are budgeted centrally (for example, transportation) and centrally budgeted health insurance increases; the superintendent said roughly $8,000,000 of central budget growth was associated with transportation. Officials said some central costs grew because of inflationary pressures and collective-bargaining increases rather than new central programs.
Councilors also received a list of where central reductions came from: the district reported a net deletion of 24 central positions as part of the $5,000,000 reductions, transportation savings of about $1,000,000 after renegotiation and operational changes, and contract renegotiations and usage-data reviews that yielded additional savings. The superintendent said the district used usage data on academic contracts to renegotiate supplier rates and identify efficiencies.
The superintendent noted this FY26 is the first year without ESSER pandemic relief funding. He told the committee that thanks to prior planning the district avoided major disruptions but that some programs—particularly high-dosage tutoring—had been affected and required transition planning.
