Dennis‑Yarmouth school committee approves tentative FY2026 budget, sets 4.89% operating increase

The Dennis‑Yarmouth Regional School Committee voted on Jan. 13 to adopt a tentative Fiscal Year 2026 budget for the district, the committee confirmed by roll call after discussion of enrollment, staffing and rising special‑education and transportation costs.

Superintendent Mark Smith (title in transcript: doctor Smith) told the committee the tentative operating budget represents a 4.89% increase over the prior year and that the board must approve a tentative number at this meeting. "The large task that the committee has for today is ... to vote the tentative budget," he said during a slide presentation on district enrollment, staffing trends and cost drivers.

Smith said pupil enrollment is up compared with the recent post‑pandemic years; he reported the district's most recent check indicated roughly 3,184 students. He also noted that high‑needs students — including English learners and economically disadvantaged students — have grown as a share of enrollment and that out‑of‑district tuition and transportation costs have risen substantially in recent years, taking a larger share of the district budget.

On assessment shares under the regional agreement, Smith said Yarmouth's foundation enrollment share had shifted slightly toward Yarmouth and away from Dennis (figures described in presentation). He added that a major missing factor for final assessments is state revenue in the form of Chapter 70 aid and other state reimbursements; the superintendent said those figures typically arrive with the governor's budget late in January.

After discussion and questions from committee members about relative wealth calculations, staff levels, special‑education expense growth and recruitment pressures, the committee took a roll‑call vote. Committee members read their votes aloud and the chair announced the motion carried. The motion to adopt the tentative FY2026 budget was presented on the record; the transcript records committee members saying "aye" and the chair confirming the motion carried.

The committee's adoption is for a tentative budget; Smith and staff said the number will be updated when state aid numbers, retirements, and other savings and obligations are finalized before the district's public budget hearing in February.

No dollar amounts for the final town assessments appeared in the committee’s motion text on the record (the motion language in the transcript included garbled numeric text). The superintendent and committee repeatedly stressed that state aid from Chapter 70, the Student Opportunity Act (SOA) implementation and other state calculations will change final assessments to Dennis and Yarmouth.

The committee will hold additional budget discussions and a public hearing after the state releases the governor's budget and Chapter 70 figures later in January.

Votes at a glance

- Motion: "I move that the school committee adopt a tentative FY 2026 budget..." (motion text as stated in the meeting transcript; numeric wording in the recorded motion was garbled in the transcript record). Mover: committee member identified in the record as "Jenny" (last name not specified). Second: committee member identified as "(second not specified in transcript excerpt)." Outcome: approved (roll‑call; motion carried).