Bridgewater-Raynham committee accepts preliminary FY27 budget 5–2 and sends it to subcommittee

At a school committee meeting in Bridgewater-Raynham, members voted 5–2 to accept the superintendent's preliminary fiscal year 2027 operating budget as the school committee's budget and referred it to the budget subcommittee for detailed review.

The budget presenter told the committee the district counts 5,458 students as of Oct. 1, a drop of about 224 from last year, and noted that roughly 41 percent of students fall into state 'high needs' categories (English-language learners, low-income and special education). The preliminary operating budget, excluding capital, was presented at roughly $107.7 million; the presenter said that figure represents a 5.3 percent increase over last year and includes a proposal to restore 10 positions that were cut in prior years.

The superintendent and administrative team framed the shortfall as a product of small increases in chapter 70 state aid and lower-than-expected transportation reimbursements. The presenter warned that the district's per-pupil expenditure — reported as $16,783 — ranks near the bottom statewide and that continued staff losses and higher student needs are already depressing achievement metrics.

Committee members split over how ambitious to be. Several members urged asking the towns for more funding to restore additional positions and lower class sizes; others cautioned that requests approaching double-digit percentage increases would be difficult for the two member towns to accept and could force deeper cuts, including reductions in extracurriculars or school consolidations if local revenues cannot be found.

The motion to accept the superintendent's FY27 preliminary budget as the committee's budget was made by Mister Mohs and seconded by Mister Gutierrez; the committee recorded the outcome as 5 in favor, 2 opposed. The committee referred the budget to the budget subcommittee for review and revision. A public hearing on the preliminary budget is scheduled for March 11 at 7 p.m. at the Bridgewater-Raynham Regional High School Lecture Hall, with a final adoption vote planned for the school committee on March 25.

Public commenters urged a mix of transparency and incrementalism. Leslie Cola of Cardinal Circle said the district should "build trust with the community" through smaller, phased increases with clear accountability. Lynn Ellenberg offered to help form a grant-writing team to pursue supplemental funding.

Next steps: the budget will be reviewed in subcommittee meetings, updated as needed, and presented for public comment on March 11 before the committee's March 25 adoption vote.