After heated debate over elementary Spanish and staff cuts, Sharon committee approves FY26 budget option with 4% increase

The Sharon School Committee approved, by roll call on March 5, a FY26 operating budget package described in committee materials as "option 1B," a plan that carries a 4% increase over the current budget and includes a list of additional cuts that would be implemented if the town’s finance committee requires a lower target.

Committee members said the motion strikes a compromise between minimizing fee increases and avoiding deeper cuts to high-school programs. The motion passed 6–1 on a roll call (Shauna voted no). The approved package contains specific personnel reductions, restructuring savings, and program changes intended to trim roughly $800,000; committee materials say a further $250,000 in cuts would be required to reach the finance committee’s preferred 3.54% increase.

The budget debate centered on two linked questions: whether to preserve the elementary world-language program (commonly called FLES or "Lehi") and how to distribute staff reductions…