Stoughton committee recommends 3.8% FY2026 school budget increase; approves three warrant articles as gap remains

Dr. Baiada, superintendent of Stoughton Public Schools, presented a school-based FY2026 budget recommendation on Dec. 19 that he said would go forward to town officials as a 3.8% increase and outlined a new school-level budget format the district will use to show expenditures by building.

The recommendation sets the district’s preliminary FY2026 budget at $65,257,429 and reduces a previously presented increase down from figures the superintendent said began near 7.4% and then 5.5% to the 3.8% figure the town manager and select board are asking the schools to send forward. "We have put together a school committee budget that will go forward as a recommendation of a 3.8% increase," Dr. Baiada said.

The superintendent told the committee the recommendation leaves a remaining gap of approximately $1,060,000 between the district’s preferred increase and the number the town is likely to forward; he said that gap is “predominantly gonna be in personnel” and estimated the million‑dollar-plus reduction could equate to roughly 15 full‑time equivalents (FTEs) for each $1,060,000 depending on average salary assumptions. "If you take a million 60,000 and you say on average ... the average is 65,000, you can calculate that to about 15 FTEs," he said.

Why it matters: the committee repeatedly noted that staffing is the single largest portion of the budget and that reductions to positions or programs carry direct risks to classroom supports and services. Committee members pressed for…