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Public gives no testimony at FY 2026 budget hearing; committee considers additional hearing and schedules follow-ups
Summary
The Stoughton School Committee opened and closed a public hearing on the FY 2026 budget Dec. 17 with no public testimony; members discussed scheduling additional hearings and agreed to continue budget review when the superintendent can attend.
The Stoughton School Committee opened a public hearing on the district's FY 2026 budget at 7:15 p.m. Dec. 17; no members of the public spoke during the hearing, and the committee closed the hearing at 7:19 p.m.
Several committee members urged scheduling an additional public hearing to give residents more time to review recent iterations of the budget. A committee member said the town's budget and the school budget had both been posted for meetings on Tuesdays, which limited public participation, and asked colleagues to consider an extra hearing before the district's budget deadline. The committee discussed the possibility of holding an additional meeting on Monday, Dec. 30, before the budget deadline and also tentatively scheduled a public meeting for Thursday, Dec. 19, at 6:30 p.m. in the district conference room; the committee indicated it might change format to hybrid if needed.
Committee members also discussed postponing an in-depth budget review until Superintendent Dr. Baiada, who was on bereavement leave, could attend. Several members said postponing would allow them and the superintendent to 'dig in' to the budget and prepare targeted questions. The committee did not take a formal vote to adopt a final budget during the Dec. 17 meeting; members planned further meetings and follow-up before the district deadline.
Separately, the committee received an informational notice of a $25,000 multilingual newcomer and homeless support grant; members confirmed that the grant notice was for informational purposes and required no committee action at the meeting.
The committee closed its public hearing and continued procedural business, with motions to open and close the hearing recorded in the meeting minutes as carried 5'0'00.
