Colchester board warns and adopts FY26 budget; estimated tax increase modeled at about 3%

The Colchester School District board voted Wednesday to notify voters and adopt a $64,889,466 budget for fiscal year 2026, the board chair announced after a presentation by district administrators.

The budget the board approved follows “scenario B,” presented by Amy (Colchester School District administrator), which includes drawing the district's first bond payment to start renovations at Porter's Point School and models a 3.01% estimated tax increase to Colchester taxpayers under current state variables. The board approved the motion without recorded roll-call names; the motion passed by voice vote.

The administration said the district's enrollment is rising, to just under 2,300 students, and that Colchester remains one of the few Vermont districts with increasing enrollment. Amy said that the Vermont Education Quality Standards set target class sizes (no more than 20 in K'3 and no more than 25 in grades 4'12) and that some Colchester kindergarten classes and several fourth-grade rooms are at or slightly above those targets.

Why this matters: administrators said roughly 80% of the budget is salaries and that a large driver this year is an 11.9% increase in required district contributions to employee health care, an expense beyond local control. The adopted scenario also includes the first bond payment for planned elementary renovations and a staffing plan that preserves numerous positions; the administration said the scenario presented included removing about 14 currently vacant positions to meet budget targets.

Administrators walked the board through how statewide variables set by the tax commissioner and the legislature affect household tax bills. The board packet included a table showing how COVID-era and post-reform funding formula changes make yields and tax estimates volatile. The administration modeled three yield scenarios: using the adopted plan the district's estimated tax increase would be about 3.01%; if the state's per-pupil yield fell by $100 the estimate would rise to roughly 4.3%; if it fell by $200 the estimate would rise to about 5.62. Amy emphasized that the per-pupil spending figure printed on the warning is fixed by statute and does not change with the yield, which is why ballot language can appear higher than the estimated tax impact.

Ballot language and outreach: the administration said statutory ballot language requires a rounded figure on the warning (the wording the district expects to use states the district will seek authority to expend "$64,000,000 and change," per the statutory template). Amy said the district will mail an informational flyer to every household and run presentations at school PTO/PTA meetings and faculty/staff sessions; she and staff plan additional community presentations between now and town meeting.

What did not change: George (Colchester School District staff, finance) and Amy said they used scenario B for the board's warning documents; board members who spoke supported moving forward with the warning rather than delaying a week to await possible state action. Several board members said they were comfortable warning the budget now while the administration begins taxpayer outreach. The board directed the administration to continue monitoring the legislative session and to update the board and public if statewide variables change.

Ending: With the vote, the district will include the proposed FY26 budget on the warning for the upcoming town meeting; the administration said it will continue outreach and provide periodic updates to the board and community.

Votes at a glance

- Motion to adopt and warn FY26 budget of $64,889,466 for fiscal year beginning 07/01/2025; motion made on the record and approved by voice vote (mover/second not specified in the transcript).