Triton committee directs partial restorations to FY27 budget after student plea

The Triton Regional School Committee on March 9 directed administrators to reinstate a full-time visual and performing arts (VPA) teacher and to trim — but not fully reverse — a proposed English Learner (EL) staff reduction as it refines the FY27 operating budget.

The guidance followed a public comment from Emma Walsh, a Triton High School sophomore, who told the committee she and other students rely on VPA teachers for theater and choir and urged the district to keep those staff in place. “Please consider our concerns as students because it is our education that matters, our opinion that matters, our visual performing arts department that matters, and we are serious about keeping our beloved teachers in our school district,” Walsh said during the public-comment period.

The superintendent told the committee the district faced “a perfect storm” of budget pressures — an 11.6% medical and dental renewal, rising staffing and transportation costs, and higher special-education placements — that produced larger cuts than recent years. The tentative budget process resulted in 26.7 FTE in proposed reductions and a net tentative budget that increased town assessments; the superintendent said the tentative assessment increases were about $1.3 million for Rowley, roughly $656,000 for Newbury and about $612,000 for Salsbury. He said the district had generated roughly $1.7 million in savings through proposed reductions.

On the specific restorations, the superintendent said he was recommending that the committee “reinstate the VPA position” and reduce the EL cut from 1.1 FTE to 0.8 FTE (a partial .3 FTE restoration), a change he said could be covered by a combination of lower-than-expected health renewals and an anticipated tentative agreement with TRTA Unit B. The superintendent noted those figures were still being refined ahead of the next budget document.

Committee members asked for details about how EL FTEs would be allocated across schools and what restoring the VPA teacher would mean for course offerings. The superintendent provided a projected breakdown (“probably need .5 at Newbury, .5 at Pine Grove, 1.6–1.8 at Salsbury, 1.2–1.4 on this campus”) and said restoring VPA staff would allow small elective sections such as audio design and choir to run. On mandated IEP services, the superintendent said one-to-one or required high-level supports would be preserved despite other reductions.

The committee also debated whether to add extracurriculars — including girls flag football, unified track and field and previously discussed esports — in the same budget year that proposes staff reductions. One member said adding programs while cutting staff sends a mixed message about priorities; others argued that extracurriculars can improve engagement and attract students. The discussion referenced an $11,851 figure tied to adding programs and whether that money might instead be used to restore instructional positions.

The committee did not take a final vote on the budget at the meeting; instead members provided guidance to the administration to return with an updated budget document that reflects the VPA restoration and the reduced EL cut. The superintendent said any additional state aid from Chapter 70 or other sources could be incorporated in a fall adjusted budget. The meeting closed after a roll-call adjournment vote that passed unanimously among the named members in the transcript.

Next steps: administrators will produce an updated budget document for the committee’s review at an upcoming meeting; any final budget adoption will require the committee’s formal vote.