Grafton officials outline $1.48M FY27 gap; school leaders propose about $1.06M in staff reductions

GRAFTON — School and town officials presented a preliminary plan to close a projected FY27 budget shortfall of about $1.484 million, with the school side proposing roughly $1.061 million in reductions that would come mainly from personnel.

The school presentation led by Jay outlined three central cost drivers: salary increases, higher out‑of‑district special‑education tuition (an increase Jay estimated at about $881,000 for FY27), and higher transportation costs (about $231,000). "What I'm gonna talk about tonight will be it would total roughly $1,061,000," Jay said, adding that the proposal is “entirely people in positions” and that further cuts “will be student programming and class size” if reductions go beyond the preliminary plan.

The town administrator, Evan, told the joint meeting the combined municipal and school deficit remains roughly $1,484,000 and described recent changes to key inputs: a lower‑than‑expected group insurance commission (GIC) estimate and a slightly favorable Worcester County retirement number, which narrowed the gap modestly. "The current budget deficit remains at 1,484,000," Evan said.

Why it matters: Grafton spends well below the state average per pupil, officials noted, and much of the district’s budget is fixed staff costs. Jay said the district aims to find $1 million–$1.2 million in reductions and that his early plan would remove about 14 positions (primarily teachers and counselors at elementary and secondary levels), with a few retirements reducing the net number of layoffs.

Details and tradeoffs
- School reductions: Jay described an initial target of 14 positions (mostly instructional), noting some retirements that would offset the number of layoffs. He also said there is uncertainty about unemployment payouts if staff are separated and recommended planning for potential unemployment liability in modeling reductions.
- Municipal reductions: Evan sketched municipal-side reductions in the $300,000–$425,000 range, roughly equivalent to 5.5 full‑time municipal positions in his preliminary work.
- Revenue options: Committee members and administrators discussed modest revenue options, including limited expansion of school choice (the district collected about $906,000 from school choice last year) and athletic fees; Jay confirmed athletic transportation and sports‑fee options will be on the school committee agenda.

Committee responses and next steps
Committee members pressed for a “scrubbed” line‑by‑line budget showing precisely how contract increases and staffing changes feed into the FY27 totals; several asked that administrators provide those detailed numbers before the boards finalize reduction plans. Evan and Jay said they would refine the reduction budgets and present more detailed figures in coming weeks; Evan noted February 11 as a charter date to present the select board’s budget to the finance committee.

The meeting did not produce final votes on any reductions. Administrators said they will continue refining numbers and return with updated, more granular budgets for the select board, school committee and finance committee to review.