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School department to present FY26 budget at Jan. 30 summit; proposes small special-education reserve funded over time
Summary
Superintendent Allison Lisonbee said the school department will lead a budget session Jan. 30 and floated a warrant article to create a special-education reserve starting at roughly $75,000 to help cover unpredictable out-of-district tuition and transportation costs.
The Westborough School Committee was briefed on an upcoming budget summit scheduled for Jan. 30, during which the school department will present its FY26 budget and explain the budget-development process to the select board and finance committee.
Superintendent Allison Lisonbee told the committee the district plans to propose a warrant article to establish a special-education reserve intended to smooth the impact of volatile out-of-district tuition and transportation costs. Lisonbee said the department is recommending a modest initial funding level—roughly $75,000—equal to about the cost of one typical out-of-district placement at a collaborative; earlier internal discussions had considered a substantially larger fund (about $500,000) but the department said the smaller start balances fiscal prudence with the need for a safety net.
Lisonbee and committee members discussed funding mechanisms for the reserve. The department currently submits quarterly Medicaid reimbursement claims for eligible services provided by speech and language pathologists, occupational therapists and similar staff; those reimbursements are paid to the town and now appear in free cash. School leaders said they will explore ways to direct reimbursement revenue toward the proposed reserve and said they will present options on funding the account when the article is filed for town meeting consideration.
Committee members stressed that maintaining high-quality in-district programs reduces reliance on expensive out-of-district placements. Lisonbee said the district has invested in programs that keep many students in-town, and that recent increases in out-of-district costs have nonetheless driven greater budgetary risk: the school department recorded a 14.7% increase in out-of-district tuition in FY24 and an almost 5% rise in FY25, figures the administration cited as drivers for the reserve proposal.
The department will present the detailed budget and the warrant-article language at the Jan. 30 summit and will provide comparative data about peer districts’ approaches prior to the committee’s vote.
