Duxbury officials say FY26 shortfall led to 18.9 FTE cuts, bigger classes and fewer electives

Duxbury Public Schools administrators told the school committee that the district’s FY26 budget shortfall forced staff reductions that are now affecting class size, course offerings and daily operations. The presentation on the impact documented $46,931,000 in requested “real needs” for FY26 versus a working budget of just over $44,000,000, leaving a gap of about $2.6 million that the district addressed largely through staffing changes.

District leaders said the district eliminated the equivalent of 18.9 full‑time positions across schools and central office. “Overall, really, it is about an increased workload, and stress on the remaining staff,” said Beth, a district administrator, summarizing results of interviews and focus groups conducted while preparing the presentation.

Why it matters: Administrators and teachers said the cuts have immediate classroom and scheduling effects that could ripple across years. Those effects include larger average elementary class sizes, fewer elective choices for middle and high school students, longer help‑desk waits for technology problems and heavier workloads for remaining curriculum supervisors and administrators.

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