Lacey McCabe, chair of the Groton‑Dunstable Regional School District school committee, opened a Saturday budget forum by saying, “The purpose for today's forum is to provide a brief overview of our budget at this point.”

Superintendent Dr. Bruno walked attendees through three scenarios for the district's fiscal year 2026 budget and the consequences for staffing, programming and local assessments. “It represents a 6.95 increase from fiscal year 25 to fiscal year 26,” Dr. Bruno said of the superintendent’s level‑services proposal, which would maintain current programming and restore two positions cut last year (a middle‑school nurse and a middle‑school counselor).

Under the superintendent’s proposed, level‑services budget (scenario 1), the district would seek operational overrides in both towns. Dr. Bruno and the committee provided town‑level estimates: Groton would need an override of roughly $827,090 (about an 8.3% increase in that town’s assessment), and Dunstable would need roughly $582,000 (just under a 10% assessment increase). The district said the combined increase across the region equals about a 6.95% rise from FY25 to FY26 — roughly $3.3 million.

If only Dunstable voters approve an override and Groton does not (scenario 2), the district described a smaller package of reductions and a reduced override request for Dunstable (about $333,000). Under that mid‑case, Groton would be able to increase its assessment within its levy limit by about 5.2%. The district estimated personnel reductions under scenario 2 of roughly $980,000, which it said would include 3 full‑time equivalent (FTE) central office positions, the two positions slated for restoration (the middle‑school nurse and counselor) not being restored, about 7 FTE student support (paraprofessional) positions and roughly 2 FTE classroom teachers.

If neither town passes an override (scenario 3), the superintendent said the district would need about $2.5 million in reductions, producing a proposed budget increase of about 1.66% over FY25 but with deeper staffing cuts. The district’s estimate for that worst case included roughly $2.0 million in personnel reductions — 4 central‑office FTEs, the two restored positions not returned, about 12 paraprofessional FTEs and about 8 teacher FTEs — plus roughly $500,000 in non‑personnel reductions.

Dr. Bruno framed the local pressures as the result of a longer decline in the state share of school funding. He said Chapter 70 funding has fallen as a share of the district’s budget over time: the district received about 35% of school funding from Chapter 70 in 2008 and about 24% in 2025, shifting more of the cost to local property taxpayers. He explained that the district and town leaders have been meeting through intermunicipal groups and finance committees to analyze multi‑year projections and options.

Committee members and residents pressed the superintendent on consequences if reductions are required. Attendees asked whether accreditation could be endangered and how class sizes would be affected; Dr. Bruno said the district is already constrained and that further reductions could jeopardize the district’s ability to sustain the breadth of high‑school course offerings and could increase class sizes. Residents and committee members also raised staff morale as a concern after last year’s cuts; the superintendent acknowledged morale strain while praising staff dedication.

Community members urged voters to consider the proposed overrides. Several speakers noted last year’s cuts removed roughly 24 FTE districtwide and warned similar or deeper reductions would follow if overrides fail again. The forum also included practical information: the district’s FY26 budget book and slides are posted on the district website (gdrsd.org), a FAQ and an email address for questions have been set up, and the committee said it will certify the proposed budget on March 12. The town meeting dates mentioned were Groton’s town meeting on April 26 and Dunstable’s on May 12.

The forum also included brief recognition of the new regional middle/high school building and the volunteers and contractors who completed the project. A member of the building committee reported the project came in on time and under budget and that the district expects a refund of “a couple million dollars” to apply to the bond, a figure the committee said would be finalized later.

Where to find documents and next steps: the committee repeated that the budget book and presentation slides are on gdrsd.org, a virtual budget forum was scheduled for the coming Wednesday, and the school committee will vote to certify the proposed FY26 budget on March 12.