Bedford School Board unveils $97.77 million FY27 budget; cites contract costs, special‑education placements and program cuts

The Bedford School Board on Tuesday held a public hearing on a proposed fiscal year 2027 operating budget of $97,000,768, an increase of about $4 million (4.26%) over the prior year that Superintendent Mike Fournier said is driven primarily by health‑insurance premiums and recent collective‑bargaining agreements.

"Those rates, before we even started working on the budget, represented a $1,500,000 increase in our operating budget," Fournier said, and he added that a three‑year teacher contract approved by voters adds close to $2,000,000 to teacher salaries for FY27.

The presentation laid out budget priorities that include maintaining class sizes, replacing aging technology, investing in curriculum and instructional resources, and several building‑security and accessibility upgrades. Capital items highlighted include elevator control repairs at Bedford High School (about $24,000), an ADA automatic door‑opener program (five doors estimated at $50,000), and paging/bell clock‑system replacements where equipment is failing.

Fournier said special‑education costs are increasing largely because of out‑of‑district placements for students whose IEP teams determine the district cannot provide an appropriate education in‑district; those placements carry significantly higher costs than in‑district services.

To achieve the proposed numbers, the presentation included program and staff reductions totaling roughly $663,000: elimination of the American Sign Language course at Bedford High School (students may access ASL via VLACS), removal of two classroom positions at Lurgio and one at McKelvey tied to enrollment declines, and elimination of the family-and‑consumer‑science program at McKelvey. "The American sign language position means there's a teacher who's being riffed. ... That teacher will not have a job next year," Fournier said when explaining the change.

Board materials show salaries and benefits account for roughly 77% of district spending; nearly half of the general fund is salaries and another ~30% is benefits. Fournier also noted the difference between gross appropriations and the tax impact: enterprise funds such as food service and grants are included in the gross number but are offset by non‑tax revenues.

Tax impacts presented to the public list a base rate of 79¢ per $1,000 of assessed value for the proposed operating budget; with the additional warrant articles described to voters, the maximum projected rate noted in the presentation would reach 93¢ per $1,000. Fournier illustrated the household effect by saying a $700,000 home would see a $651 annual increase if the proposed budget and articles pass.

Several residents asked questions during the hearing. Linda Kimmerada asked whether the district's cost‑per‑pupil figures include transportation; the administration replied the state and Bedford figures shown do not include transportation. Resident Edward Kamisky praised the board's presentation and asked staff to ensure on‑site viewers can easily see slides displayed during the meeting.

Next steps: the public deliberative session is scheduled for Feb. 3, and the official ballot (session 2) will be March 10, when voters will decide the warrant articles and the operating budget. The board closed the public hearing and subsequently moved to a nonpublic session under RSA 91‑A during the same meeting.