School committee approves $398,000 reduction to FY26 request, outlines potential program cuts and staff impacts

The Westborough School Committee voted unanimously (5-0) to present a reduced FY26 budget that cuts $398,000 from the district’s operating request, following a district presentation that described a tiered approach to reductions and identified programmatic and staff impacts.

Superintendent (name not specified) briefed the committee on the FY26 proposal and a tiered reduction plan. She said the FY26 level-service budget request was $70,864,779 and that the proposed budget represented a 5.77% increase over FY25 driven largely by contractual salary obligations, transportation and special-education cost increases. She warned plainly that “any reduction we make is going to be a reduction in services for children and families.”

The administration presented three tiers of cuts. The superintendent described Tier 1 as increasing the district FTE reduction to roughly 7.95 positions, adding a $100,000 reduction to technology purchases and a $150,000 offset tied to preschool revenue — producing a tentative total reduction of…