Southbridge School Committee backs FY26 budget presentation, votes symbolic support amid receivership

The Southbridge School Committee voted unanimously March 11 to approve a resolution of support for the district's fiscal year 2026 proposed budget and to allow the chairman to sign related documents.

The vote was symbolic: the committee is operating under state receivership and cannot adopt the budget final; the resolution will accompany the district's presentation to the town council. Chairman Murch called for the vote after a presentation and public hearing; members voted "unanimous of all present," with no individual roll-call names recorded on the motion.

Committee members spent the discussion period asking for clarification about revenue sources and program impacts. Dr. Villar, who described entitlement grants and other revenue streams during the budget presentation, said the budget lists federal grants including Title I, Title II-A and Title III and spelled out state support such as Circuit Breaker and IDEA-related reimbursement. "At this point, there's no indication that we shouldn't expect to receive these entitlement grants," Dr. Villar said of the federal funding lines included in the presentation.

Dr. Villar explained Circuit Breaker as a state reimbursement mechanism that offsets excess special-education costs from prior years and framed IDEA as the federal program focused on special education. He gave a numeric example to illustrate how Circuit Breaker functions: if educating a student typically costs about $20,000 but special education placement costs $75,000, "the cost above the state cutoff" becomes eligible for reimbursement under the Circuit Breaker formula, though the transcript did not provide a formal formula or the precise cutoff amount.

Members pressed on staffing and program changes. Dr. Villar said the district is maintaining its current services and "maintaining our footprint rolling forward," but noted two staff reductions: elimination of one dean position associated with Southbridge Academy (the program was outsourced last year) and elimination of a central-office communications position. He said the district prioritized student-facing staff when making additions and reductions.

Several members placed the FY26 increases in historical context. One member said the initial appropriation request when they joined the committee in 2019 was about $28,000,000 and that the current appropriation figure shown in the presentation is approximately $39,000,000. Dr. Villar and others attributed much of the increase to state aid generated by the Student Opportunity Act (SOA). "77% of our budget is paid for by the state," one member said, adding that the SOA was designed to help districts with higher concentrations of students needing extra supports.

Committee members also discussed federal and state grant lines listed in the presentation binder. Dr. Villar identified several named sources printed in the materials: Title grants (federal), IDEA (federal special-education funding), Circuit Breaker (state reimbursement), supplemental support from the State Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), and community or private funding such as the Central Massachusetts-based foundation listed in the materials. He said some state pass-through funds and state-directed supports (including a listing labeled "receivership") appeared in the budget tables.

During the budget discussion members asked whether services were being cut or added; Dr. Villar said services are being maintained overall and reiterated the two staffing reductions. Attendees also raised concerns about national-level policy changes; one member urged vigilance in monitoring federal decisions that could affect Title grants and federal lunch programs.

The resolution of support will accompany the budget as it moves to the town council, where councilors are expected to review and ask questions before the town's budget deadline. Dr. Villar and committee leadership said they will respond to town-council questions during that process.

Votes at a glance

- Motion: "Vote to approve a resolution of support for FY26 proposed budget and allow the chairman to sign related documents." Mover: not specified. Second: not specified. Outcome: approved (unanimous of all present). Note: committee stated it is under receivership and that the vote is symbolic; the town council will take subsequent actions.

The committee indicated it will provide additional details to town council members during the town-level hearings and follow up on specific grant and line-item questions raised during the meeting.