Leominster School Committee approves FY26 budget, confirms adjusted last school days after high‑school fire

Leominster School Committee members on the evening’s agenda approved a fiscal year 2026 budget request and a set of related operational items, and set differing final school days after a January fire at the high school cafeteria.

The committee approved the proposed FY26 spending plan presented by district staff and clarified several timing and funding details. The committee also approved that the official last day of school for kindergarten through eighth grade will be Monday, June 16, and that Leominster High School and the CTEI building will have a final half day on Tuesday, June 17, to make up a day lost after a January 6 cafeteria fire.

The budget matters because the plan sets staff positions, special‑education placements and operating allocations for the coming year and depends on state funding decisions still pending in the legislature. The committee’s approval moves the district’s request forward to the city budget process.

District staff member Robin opened the budget review, saying the presentation revisited the “key elements of the fiscal year 20 26 budget proposal, originally presented at the meeting held on April 7.” Robin reported a preliminary net school spending increase of $7,579,126, of which $5,952,698 was attributed to Chapter 78 adjustments and $1,626,428 to the local contribution. The presentation noted the legislature’s separate house and senate processes…