Superintendent Bonner told the School Committee on Jan. 9 that central office has begun fiscal-year 2026 budget work and plans to present three budget versions in March: a targeted 4% proposal, a level-services budget, and a "dream" budget listing additional administrator requests.

"We are going to do 3 versions of the budget," Bonner said, describing the level-services, targeted and request-driven scenarios the district will prepare as a first look for the committee.

Finance staff clarified a recent appropriation related to Bridge Street School. The committee and staff discussed a $40,000 appropriation that City Finance recommended and the committee accepted; the finance director explained that the appropriation will be folded into the district's recurring base for FY26 budget calculations rather than treated as a one-time supplement. That change means the base used for percentage-based scenarios will include the $40,000 increment going forward.

Committee members and staff noted that some revenue lines (Medicaid reimbursements, college-donation distributions, grants and school choice) are handled differently in municipal accounting and that those distinctions affect how the district calculates a starting base for next year's budget. The finance director said she would present a quarterly financial report and more detailed grant/revolving-fund information at the February meeting.

Several members urged near-term conversation about whether the committee should request supplemental appropriations this winter to address pressing staff shortages after multiple public commenters described operational impacts at JFK and other sites.

What comes next: The superintendent plans to bring the first-look budgets in March; the finance office will provide a quarterly report and grant/revolving-fund update in February. Staff said they will roll the Bridge Street positions funding into the FY26 base used to compute the 4% and level-services scenarios.