Dudley‑Charlton schools present FY26 operating plan, ratify contract and outline $94M 10‑year capital needs

Superintendent Steven Marsh told a joint meeting of the Town of Charlton select board, the Charlton finance committee and the Dudley‑Charlton Regional School District school committee on April 16 that the district’s FY26 operating budget is balanced around several optimistic state funding assumptions and local cost reductions.

Marsh said the House budget released that day proposed $150 per student under Chapter 70, up from a $75 figure in the governor’s draft, and that change — if it survives the legislature — would translate to roughly a $200,000 to $300,000 increase in state aid for the district. "It's between 200 and 3 hundred thousand dollar increase in chapter 78 for us as a district," Marsh said.

Why it matters: State aid levels, transportation reimbursement rates and health insurance costs are the district’s principal budget risks. Marsh said those three variables, plus negotiated personnel costs, drive the assessment the two towns will see this year and that earlier in the spring the district built a budget that uses one‑time funds to smooth the operating plan.

Key budget details - The district is aiming to use excess and deficiency funds to help balance the FY26 operating budget; Marsh said the district targeted about $1,100,000 from that reserve to offset operating costs. - The school committee and Marsh reported a successful ratification of the teachers’ contract that the district budgeted as a 3% increase for FY26. Marsh said, "we successfully ratified a contract with our teachers ... the association has agreed to what we budget for next year, a 3% increase for next year." - Health insurance was a major pressure; Marsh said initial projections showed a 28% increase but after negotiation the number used in the plan is a lower figure (Marsh cited a 20% figure during the presentation). - Transportation reimbursement remains uncertain. Marsh explained reimbursement is a trailing payment based on prior‑year costs and that the House budget’s separate surtax language means the FY26 reimbursement percentage is not yet guaranteed.

District enrollment and operations Marsh highlighted closely matched class sizes across Dudley and Charlton for the coming year and said the district is holding some positions vacant (including one full‑time teacher replacement and one district office clerk) as part of the budgeting work that yielded roughly $811,000 in reductions. He noted Amazon grant proceeds are being designated for adoption of high‑quality instructional materials and a multi‑year curriculum rotation, not for recurring operating costs.

Facilities assessment and 10‑year capital plan Joseph DeSantis, director of finance and operations, said the district contracted Habib & Associates in May 2024 to perform a facilities condition assessment and student capacity study for all seven schools. The firm catalogued deficiencies across site, envelope, interiors, mechanical, electrical and other systems and provided cost estimates and priorities. "The assessment describes current conditions and provides priority recommendations as well as budget estimates for repair or replacement of the deficient building components and systems," DeSantis said.

Joe Karen, director of facilities, walked officials through how the assessment maps to a district 10‑year capital plan. He said most near‑term items are roofs and heating systems, and the plan adds categories for equipment replacement and technology needs that were not in the original assessment. Karen pointed to Heritage School as a high‑cost entry on the plan: the assessment documented deteriorating exterior masonry and an obsolete heating system made up of room‑level heat pumps. Karen said preliminary estimates put replacement at a very large number and that the school has roughly 78 individual heat pump units, each roughly estimated at $15,000 to replace. "For us even to repair or replace those systems ... it's about $15,000 for each heat pump. And there's about 78 of them in that school," Karen said.

Next steps on capital and grants Marsh said the district plans to apply to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) for Heritage School next year because of the scale of the work the assessment flagged. He cautioned there is no decision yet whether to refurbish or rebuild; if pulled into MSBA the district would enter that agency’s multi‑phase review process. DeSantis and Karen emphasized the capital plan will remain fluid and be adapted as grant opportunities or changing needs emerge.

Speakers quoted or referenced: Steven Marsh, superintendent; Joseph DeSantis, director of finance and operations; Joe Karen, director of facilities.

Ending: The district asked the two towns to consider the FY26 operating numbers as preliminary until the state budget and final contractual numbers were confirmed; Marsh said the school committee would return with final assessments and additional detail after the legislative process and final negotiations were complete.