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Westford proposes FY27 budget that leans on temporary offsets and modest fee increases

Westford School Committee · December 2, 2025
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Summary

Superintendent presented a FY27 $71.49M budget balanced with $176K in additional revolving-account offsets, modest subscription efficiencies and a small comp-reserve draw; staff warned those offsets aren't sustainable and projected a FY28 shortfall of roughly $465K.

Superintendent (speaker 6) presented a FY27 budget proposal to the Westford School Committee on Dec. 1 that would increase the district's budget to $71,491,045 (a roughly 3.3% increase over FY26), funded through a combination of recurring revenue and one-time offsets. "This year, we're looking at a reduction of $233,000," the superintendent said, and added that the proposal increases non-general fund offsets by about $176,462 to help present a balanced FY27 budget.

Finance staff (Jenny, speaker 12) walked the committee through the non-general fund guidebook (NGFG) line by line, outlining changes to revolving-account usage. The presentation identified specific offsets that have been augmented in recent years — integrated preschool tuition, extracurricular and music fees, parking and school choice revenue — and explained why those offsets cannot be relied on indefinitely. The superintendent highlighted a projected FY28 gap of approximately $465,354 if current offset levels decline: "We're looking at an initial hole of $465,000 for the FY '28 budget before we've even approved the FY '27 budget," he said.

Staff proposed modest fee adjustments to help offset costs: raising integrated preschool tuition from $6,350 to $7,000 (still in the middle of regional comparables) and increasing athletics fees by $25 per sport (projected $300 per middle-school sport and $350 per high-school sport for FY27). Jenny noted many programs'fees fund their own expenses and do not represent general-fund profit: "These fees are covering bus runs, staff and program costs; they supplement but do not fully cover the costs," a committee member observed during discussion.

The presentation also flagged major cost pressures: transportation contract costs (DBus) are expected to rise from about $4.6 million to $5.2 million in FY27, and special-education out-of-district tuition demand remains variable (64 current cases, 65 projected). Circuit breaker reimbursement was budgeted at $4,024,734 for FY27, reflecting an increase that staff said had been audited and adjusted by the state.

The committee did not vote on the full budget but agreed to continue deliberations: the superintendent asked members to funnel questions via a shared Google Doc ahead of upcoming meetings. Key next steps are a continued discussion on Dec. 15, a public hearing Jan. 5, and a committee vote on Jan. 20, with the town meeting vote scheduled for March 28.