Easton school leaders present deep FY2026 cuts, pause further layoffs while numbers firm up

At a Thursday, April 3, Easton School Committee budget hearing administrators presented a draft FY2026 spending plan that includes 44.8 full‑time equivalent reductions and 18 reduction‑in‑force notices across schools and central office.

The presentation, delivered by district leadership during the committee—udget hearing, described a months‑long process of trimming the earlier level‑service request of 8.2% (about $4,079,362 more than FY2025) down to a current request of roughly 3.6% from the town. Superintendent-level presenters said the district has already removed about $3,000,000 from its operating budget and reported that the town dministrator—orecasted an initial $6,360,000 deficit that had been reduced to $2,289,990 in a March 24 change memo.

Why it matters: The reductions include classroom and student‑facing positions, central office roles and program cuts that school leaders say will change class sizes, extracurricular offerings and response times for administrative services. Administrators warned core, legally mandated services such as IEPs will be met, but non‑mandated supports and turnaround times may slow.

District leaders said the principal drivers of the increase were routine payroll rollover costs (including step/lane changes) of 5.7%, modest increases to fixed contracts and…